7424 PC Broke and DAMAGE car!

[Todapwr]

Hello fellow Autogeek members! This is my first time posting and its not a good one! To make a long story short I was detailing a 2012 GT500 over the weekend, using my PC 7424 which I have had for over 3yrs and only used maybe 20 times since I brought it from Autogeek. While using it on the roof of the car with a LC yellow pad @ the 6 setting the backing plate came off along with the spindle. Leaving a 3" scratch all the way down to the metal! I called Porter Cable this morning to see if this was a problem they encounter before and I was told "NO" and they couldn't find any recalls on such issues. Has any one on here had this same problem? Thanks ahead and be CAREFUL with you PC! Now for the pictures

Old PC 7424

What it should look like when the spindle and bearing is together

This is what it looked like flying off my PC and scratching the car!

Spindle off the backing plate


I was too upset to take any picture of the damage on the car

[BobbyG]

WOW, I'm sorry to see this. Breaking the polisher is one thing but damaging the car is a whole different issue.

Was the machine new when you bought it?
I have seen this happen before with this type of dual action polisher.

I also have a first generation Porter Cable 7424 and have been using it for 14 years and so far so good....

[5.4 Shelby]

Bummer. Esp on such a nice car.

Same here. My 12 or so year old PC7424 is still going strong.

[Black Car]

I want to see a picture of the car...

[TimmyG]

Wow.

[Setec Astronomy]

I also have a first generation Porter Cable 7424 and have been using it for 14 years and so far so good....

Yeah but Bobby, you know the bean counters have been in there between the time you bought yours 14 years ago and when the OP bought his 3 years ago...not to mention they moved the plant. But I bet the executives got a big bonus for making that shaft thinner (but not the engineer that did it). The world is so broken.

[BobbyG]

Yeah but Bobby, you know the bean counters have been in there between the time you bought yours 14 years ago and when the OP bought his 3 years ago...not to mention they moved the plant. But I bet the executives got a big bonus for making that shaft thinner (but not the engineer that did it). The world is so broken.

I could not agree more!!

[SRTSean]

Could the size of the pad be an issue that would cause this failure? Looks like a 6.5" pad and the machine says "use 5 inch pad only."

I also have a first-gen 7424 and have never had one issue with it. It's nice to have as a reliable backup.

[hoyt66]

Puke!! I just bought a Porter Cable and a new car! Sounds like a horrible

combination!

[Todapwr]

Could the size of the pad be an issue that would cause this failure? Looks like a 6.5" pad and the machine says "use 5 inch pad only."

I also have a first-gen 7424 and have never had one issue with it. It's nice to have as a reliable backup.

Good point SRTSean...I hope this isn't from my own wrongdoing.