Pyrometer void warranty?

[Walker111]

I’d like to install a pyrometer in my L2501 just for reference. The day will come eventually where I might modify the timing and fuel, but for now it’s strictly for reference.
Will the pyrometer alone cause problems with any warranty?

TiA

 

[Elliott in GA]

Probably not, but like anything - it depends. Minor modifications/additions should not cause you any problems, but extensive/systematic changes certainly can. However, if you were to do a hack job on the installation, you could inflict damage that might produce real issues.

If you are not confident in your ability to install it, you could always ask the dealer to do it. In fact, even if you intend to install it yourself, you might want to ask the dealer to quote you a price and/or give some advice.

Your plans to modify the timing/fuel will expose you to serious potential warranty claim issues for everything down stream from the point of your intervention including your install/modification.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Will the pyrometer alone cause problems with any warranty?

TiA

Only the warranty of the pipe you install it in. If it cracks or splits then it's on you. Maybe a electrical circuit if you tap into something for power. Everything else will remain covered.

 

[Walker111]

That’s what I figured. I plan on asking my dealer as well, stuck at work today so I figured I’d post up. Thanks for the replies.

The day I play with timing and fuel I know the warranty is gone.

 

[Rdrcr]

Only the warranty of the pipe you install it in. If it cracks or splits then it's on you. Maybe a electrical circuit if you tap into something for power. Everything else will remain covered.

Agreed.

Mike

 

[Rdrcr]

That’s what I figured. I plan on asking my dealer as well, stuck at work today so I figured I’d post up. Thanks for the replies.

The day I play with timing and fuel I know the warranty is gone.

Yep, that’s what I’d recommend. Since at this point you’re only ‘monitoring’ the performance of the tractor, the only item you’d be responsible for is the muffler (assuming that’s where you install the probe).

The moment you adjust the timing, RPM limit and/or fuel….the Kubota warranty is void.

Mike

 

[The Evil Twin]

Rule of thumb is anytime you make an engine more fun it voids the warranty. Lol

 

[GeoHorn]

Oh, Sure….any one of us Forum Participants can speak with authority about whether or not Kubota will still warrant your tractor for you when you modify it….

 

[Elliott in GA]

Oh, Sure….any one of us Forum Participants can speak with authority about whether or not Kubota will still warrant your tractor for you when you modify it….

Well - yeah, forum members with personal experience or knowledge of such matters and legal professionals with the same can definitely provide some useful guidance.

What part of my post was in error?

 

[fried1765]

Well - yeah, forum members with personal experience or knowledge of such matters and legal professionals with the same can definitely provide some useful guidance.

What part of my post was in error?

I do believe that you know a "legal professional"

 

[DustyRusty]

Warranty coverage is almost always determined by the dealer on behalf of the manufacturer. If the dealer does believe it is a warranty issue, you seldom will get the manufacturer to do anything except to back up the dealer's assessment. If the dealer were to install the unit, then there should be no issues with the warranty, but if you install it, and the dealer doesn't install the unit, then he has no reason to warranty the problem if he remotely believes that it is a modification caused issue even though common sense would say otherwise.

 

[mcmxi]

I’d like to install a pyrometer in my L2501 just for reference. The day will come eventually where I might modify the timing and fuel, but for now it’s strictly for reference.
Will the pyrometer alone cause problems with any warranty?

TiA

Where you put it and the quality of the thermocouple could make a difference .... maybe. I realize that you don't have a turbo, but if you're thinking of adding one like @Rdrcr you'll have to decide on where you want to put it. For those of us that have factory turbos in our tractors it's already something to think about.

Back in 2002 when I bought my first F350 SuperDuty 7.3L and mods were all the rage, there were endless discussions on where to install the thermocouple to measure EGTs. I remember back then I installed one post-turbo for the simple reason that if the sensor broke it wouldn't go through the turbo. That said, I don't think thermocouples were breaking off and causing problems but there were "experts" on that Ford forum who insisted that it was a thing.

My current F250 SuperDuty 7.3L came with a thermocouple pre-turbo but only for a turbo temp monitoring system that would shut off the engine once the turbo cooled to a set temperature. I run a chip and programmer from Dp-Tuner, and the programmer has inputs for two thermocouples so I added one post-turbo as well and monitor both. There can be a big difference in pre and post turbo temperature under certain conditions so I like having the two inputs.

I got off into the weeds a bit here and have no idea if there's a significant temperature difference pre and post-turbo on our tractors. I'd like more information in the cab such as turbo temperature (inferred), hydraulic oil temperature, engine oil temperature, water temperature etc, and the question of warranties is a good one.

 

[GeoHorn]

Well - yeah, forum members with personal experience or knowledge of such matters and legal professionals with the same can definitely provide some useful guidance.

What part of my post was in error?

Elliot….I wasn’t trying to be particularly critical of your post… I was responding to the OP…in which. I was commenting about the validity of any internet forum-participants’ authority to determine what a third party (Kubota or dealer) might decide about your warranty after you perform the mod. I.E., the only one able to legitimately address the question you pose is not on this forum.… it is the one who actually promised you they’d warrant the machine…. Kubota or a Kubota dealer. (and in-fact, the particular dealer may not even know and may differ in opinion from a different dealer.… Just because dealer “A” says “Sure, no problem”…. doesn’t mean dealer “B” to whom you’ve delivered it for warranty-work will honor the other dealers verbal “OK”.
Certainly no one on an internet forum can assure you whether nor not your modification invalidates the factory warranty.
If you really want to know ….. be specific with Kubota in writing…and get an answer on Kubota letterhead. Otherwise, this is only another opinion-thread…about as useful as “what oil brand and viscosity…??”

 

[The Evil Twin]

Oh, Sure….any one of us Forum Participants can speak with authority about whether or not Kubota will still warrant your tractor for you when you modify it….

The feral government actually made it pretty clear. A 5th grader could probably speak with authority on it.

 

[Elliott in GA]

Elliot….I wasn’t trying to be particularly critical of your post… I was responding to the OP…in which. I was commenting about the validity of any internet forum-participants’ authority to determine what a third party (Kubota or dealer) might decide about your warranty after you perform the mod. I.E., the only one able to legitimately address the question you pose is not on this forum.… it is the one who actually promised you they’d warrant the machine…. Kubota or a Kubota dealer. (and in-fact, the particular dealer may not even know and may differ in opinion from a different dealer.… Just because dealer “A” says “Sure, no problem”…. doesn’t mean dealer “B” to whom you’ve delivered it for warranty-work will honor the other dealers verbal “OK”.
Certainly no one on an internet forum can assure you whether nor not your modification invalidates the factory warranty.
If you really want to know ….. be specific with Kubota in writing…and get an answer on Kubota letterhead. Otherwise, this is only another opinion-thread…about as useful as “what oil brand and viscosity…??”

As you may have noted, I provided general guidance based on limited information - much like the vast majority of useful posts on this forum.

Your analysis of Kubota being the only arbiter of what is covered under their warranty is flawed; Kubota is subject to the same laws and regulations as similar companies. It is not what Kubota claims; it is what the law requires. Corporations are often successfully sued for failing to meet their warranty obligations.

The OP asked a reasonable question, and he received responsible answers from several posters. I do not understand how this differs from other posts involving personal experience (a poster did or used something) and/or training/education.

 

[GeoHorn]

As you may have noted, I provided general guidance based on limited information - much like the vast majority of useful posts on this forum.

Your analysis of Kubota being the only arbiter of what is covered under their warranty is flawed; Kubota is subject to the same laws and regulations as similar companies. It is not what Kubota claims; it is what the law requires. Corporations are often successfully sued for failing to meet their warranty obligations.

The OP asked a reasonable question, and he received responsible answers from several posters. I do not understand how this differs from other posts involving personal experience (a poster did or used something) and/or training/education.

Well, perhaps I wasn’t as clear as I might have been…. my understanding of warranties and the law is not flawed and I was not suggesting that there is no legal avenue for a warranty denial. My point was that opinions of keyboard-warriors as to the Mfr’rs willingness to continue to extend warranty protections are not likely to carry much weight with those mfr’rs when owners start modifying their tractors. I would not expect anyone in this forum to have more validity than Kubota themselves to discern what Kubota might or might-not cover after I modify the machine.

IE…go to the source….Ask Kubota directly.

 

[Elliott in GA]

Well, perhaps I wasn’t as clear as I might have been…. my understanding of warranties and the law is not flawed and I was not suggesting that there is no legal avenue for a warranty denial. My point was that opinions of keyboard-warriors as to the Mfr’rs willingness to continue to extend warranty protections are not likely to carry much weight with those mfr’rs when owners start modifying their tractors. I would not expect anyone in this forum to have more validity than Kubota themselves to discern what Kubota might or might-not cover after I modify the machine.

IE…go to the source….Ask Kubota directly.

Well, now I am not sure what you are trying say.

You do continue to interject denigrating terms, such as keyboard-warriors, into your posts. Would you refer to trained mechanics, engineers and etc. as keyboard-warriors? Are legal professionals just keyboard-warriors in matters of the law?

 

[GeoHorn]

Well, now I am not sure what you are trying say.

You do continue to interject denigrating terms, such as keyboard-warriors, into your posts. Would you refer to trained mechanics, engineers and etc. as keyboard-warriors? Are legal professionals just keyboard-warriors in matters of the law?

I’m not interested in a nit-pick-back-and-forth with you over WHO best knows the limitations of warranty on a modified tractor. I’m only saying “go to the one who KNOWS the answer”.…. but if you want a long-winded-diatribe of opinions that don’t count…. the OP can get yours and mine as well as others that can’t really provide a reliable answer….and won’t be there with the OP when a controversy arises over it. Doh

 

[Elliott in GA]

I’m not interested in a nit-pick-back-and-forth with you over WHO best knows the limitations of warranty on a modified tractor. I’m only saying “go to the one who KNOWS the answer”.…. but if you want a long-winded-diatribe of opinions that don’t count…. the OP can get yours and mine as well as others that can’t really provide a reliable answer….and won’t be there with the OP when a controversy arises over it. Doh

You answered neither of my questions.

Do you know of any instance of a person, making such a request of Kubota regarding a modification, getting an answer from Kubota?

If not, why suggest it?

I would be surprised if Kubota responded in any meaningful way. I would expect them to decline to answer based on insufficient information and/or refer you to the dealer.

 

[lugbolt]

read the warranty statement that came with the tractor

it might say something like, "non approved modifications are excluded from kubota limited warranty", or something along those lines. And that brings up whether or not a pyrometer is an approved modification. So if it's not, you have the answer. If it is, you have your answer. But I don't recall the booklet saying whether a pyrometer is specifically approved or not, and for that you'd have to reach out to kubota, and expect many different answers from the different people you ask.