Milwaukee M18 Drill Problems - New Gearbox Needed?

[bulletpruf]

So I'm a big fan of the Milwaukee M18 stuff, but now my drill is acting up. I've been using it on high-torque tasks lately, and now I think the clutch is fried -- it will still run, but as soon as there's any resistance on the drill bit, the drill starts clicking and stops turning.

From what I can tell, a new gearbox will fix it, but these run about $100, and that's too much. Is there another way to fix this issue?

FYI - the drill I have is a 2703-20.

Thanks!

Scott

 

[Walkers]

Watch CL or FBMP, you can find a bare tool used fairly cheap. I run through a drill and an impact about every year or two, so I just watch for a sale on an impact/drill kit.

 

[rlitman]

I killed my 2703 like that. One stack of planetary gears has a plastic ring gear that ate itself. The Milwaukee M18 Fuel drill gearbox is not made for high torque applications. Once I destroyed one, I went out and bought a Hole Hawg for these sorts of uses and treat my drills better.

As for what you can do, you could find a doner drill. I temporarily took my gearbox apart and filled that one planetary gear with JB Weld, so it now only runs at speed 2. It's still plenty useful.

 

[KnurledNut]

If you have proof of purchase, the drill hasnt been abused, and its been less than 5 years, its possible Milwaukee will repair it.
Ive never dealt with their customer service, so take this advice lightly. But its worth a shot.

Heres a parts list that might help others searching:
https://documents.milwaukeetool.com/54-06-2740.pdf

 

[Dumber than lumber]

How old?
You the original owner?
Three year coverage I think

 

[dnschmidt]

It's five year coverage and Milwaukee doesn't seem to care if you're the original owner or not. They determine the date of manufactture from the serial number. Worth a shot to either send it in to Milwaukee, which is what I do since they are willing to pay the shipping both ways, or take it to your nearest Milwaukee authorized service center. The worst that can happen is they say no. I've got a friend that has been using an M18 drill to mix up all of the thinset he's using to tile his entire 2,000 sq. ft. house. I'm pretty sure that by the end of this massive job he'll have blown it up, we shall see. Milwaukee makes a M18 mud mixer which I've offered to loan him but he's pretty much a block head and hasn't accepted my offer. I'm truly curious to see if he kills his M18 FUEL drill or not.

 

[bulletpruf]

Watch CL or FBMP, you can find a bare tool used fairly cheap. I run through a drill and an impact about every year or two, so I just watch for a sale on an impact/drill kit.

Good point. There are several out there reasonably priced on FBMP.

 

[bulletpruf]

I killed my 2703 like that. One stack of planetary gears has a plastic ring gear that ate itself. The Milwaukee M18 Fuel drill gearbox is not made for high torque applications. Once I destroyed one, I went out and bought a Hole Hawg for these sorts of uses and treat my drills better.

As for what you can do, you could find a doner drill. I temporarily took my gearbox apart and filled that one planetary gear with JB Weld, so it now only runs at speed 2. It's still plenty useful.

I wouldn't mind a donor drill if I knew the gear case was good. Tried eBay but only reasonably priced one is beat to hell and listed "as is, for parts only." https://www.ebay.com/itm/284507446957?epid=2302336219&hash=item423df71ead:g:8hUAAOSwHZlhe1BO

 

[bulletpruf]

If you have proof of purchase, the drill hasnt been abused, and its been less than 5 years, its possible Milwaukee will repair it.
Ive never dealt with their customer service, so take this advice lightly. But its worth a shot.

Heres a parts list that might help others searching:
https://documents.milwaukeetool.com/54-06-2740.pdf

Thanks for posting the pics. I'm in need of the gear case assembly 14-29-0027. Looks like these are out of stock pretty much everywhere.

 

[bulletpruf]

How old?
You the original owner?
Three year coverage I think

3.5 years old. I'm the original owner.

thanks

 

[bulletpruf]

It's five year coverage and Milwaukee doesn't seem to care if you're the original owner or not. They determine the date of manufactture from the serial number. Worth a shot to either send it in to Milwaukee, which is what I do since they are willing to pay the shipping both ways, or take it to your nearest Milwaukee authorized service center. The worst that can happen is they say no. I've got a friend that has been using an M18 drill to mix up all of the thinset he's using to tile his entire 2,000 sq. ft. house. I'm pretty sure that by the end of this massive job he'll have blown it up, we shall see. Milwaukee makes a M18 mud mixer which I've offered to loan him but he's pretty much a block head and hasn't accepted my offer. I'm truly curious to see if he kills his M18 FUEL drill or not.

Ok, I'll look into sending it back. That sounds like my best bet.

Thanks

 

[rlitman]

Ok, I'll look into sending it back. That sounds like my best bet.

Thanks

1-800-SAWDUST

 

[carmantl]

Be sure to run it through its paces when you get it back. I have sent a sawzall back that would stop reciprocating under ANY load. It would recip fine with no load. Got it back and didn't need it for a month. Got it out and THE EXACT SAME RESULTS! I don't think they even opened it up.

 

[Showkey]

I have a “whole fleet” of M18 and M12 stuff………..

But not a fan of the warranty service at the moment.

Currently arguing with Milwaukee M18 service with a 6.0 M18 battery.
Battery charges then goes into red/green light alternate flashing. Which means battery has a problem. As per the instructions and chargers error lights.

Battery is under warranty.
Sent to Milwaukee factory service ……..they sent it back “NO PROBLEM FOUND”.
Then they said it was the charger? But the error occurs on 3 different chargers.
On the upside no cost on shipping so far.

Currently it’s under review on the next step ?

 

[bulletpruf]

Shipped it to Milwaukee today. You have to create an account, enter in item details, and then they provide a shipping label for FEDEX. Hope it's a quick turnaround.

 

[vwpieces]

Shipped it to Milwaukee today. You have to create an account, enter in item details, and then they provide a shipping label for FEDEX. Hope it's a quick turnaround.

Don't be suprised if you get a New drill
Milwaukee. GL...

 

[bulletpruf]

Don't be suprised if you get a New drill
Milwaukee. GL...

That would be cool! But if I get mine back and it works fine again, that's mighty fine, too.

Thanks

 

[bulletpruf]

Got it back today - fixed! They installed a new chuck, too. 8 day total, including shipping both ways -- not too shabby!

Thanks for the input.

 

[budget76]

glad you had success. For those reading, look up the way to decipher the S/N prior to sending in.

I had a similar issue with the gearbox. Bought within the past 5 years, but lost the receipt. S/N turned out to be >5yrs old so apparently it sat on the shelf a long time. Sent in to Milwaukee, got the "too old, $150 to repair" email. I said no send it back. Got it back in pieces. Luckily I was able to reassemble it and still use it now.

I'm on the hunt for a cheap strong corded drill. Mine got angry trying to use it with long wood auger bits into pressure treated and oak. Still works for the most part and I really don't want to kill it.

 

[bulletpruf]

I'm on the hunt for a cheap strong corded drill. Mine got angry trying to use it with long wood auger bits into pressure treated and oak. Still works for the most part and I really don't want to kill it.

My corded stuff just doesn't get used anymore unless it's a specialty drill - hammer drill, magnetic drill, right angle drill, etc.

 

[tarbellb]

That there is amazing service and warranty


I've also had good luck with Milwaukee eService over the years.

 

[captain14]

Sounds like a win if they fixed the drill and replace the chuck.

Did you notice it was “broken” or it was part of the line item check off prior to returning to you?

 

[bulletpruf]

Sounds like a win if they fixed the drill and replace the chuck.

Did you notice it was “broken” or it was part of the line item check off prior to returning to you?

Definitely a win.

It wasn't broken; the return ticket said "replaced worn chuck".

 

[bulletpruf]

That there is amazing service and warranty


I've also had good luck with Milwaukee eService over the years.

I've got a lot of Milwaukee stuff. Ditched all of my non-Milwaukee cordless tools several years ago and invested heavily into M18. It was painful, but necessary. Anyway, I've been real happy with pretty much everything I've bought from them.

Still need to pick up a 1/4" M18 impact and an M18 chainsaw. I have dozens of gas powered saws, but still would be nice to have something you can run early Sunday morning without ******* off the neighbors.