It's a bit worrisome when a factory weld that hardly needs any real strength fails. This looks to me like a classic case of a cold weld. No penetration at all on one side, but it looked perfectly fine under that pretty orange paint. This is the pin that holds the loader kickstand up when it's not in use so it never gets more than a few pounds of force on it. Notice in the picture with an arrow that there is a tiny bright spot. That's all the more metal that was actually holding the pin prior to failure. It's still under warranty, but hauling the whole tractor 30 miles, leaving it for a day, then hauling it home again is a lot more trouble than just welding it myself.
Factory welds aren't always great
- Thread starter aeronutt
- Start date
Many of the implements are not the same quality as the tractor itself.
I see you have 2 choices:
1) Jump thru the hoops that the warantee force you to.
2) Weld it up in a fashion that makes you comfortable and move on.
BTW: Why do you feel that taking that part in to be welded under warantee requires the ENTIRE tractor to be hauled?
I see you have 2 choices:
1) Jump thru the hoops that the warantee force you to.
2) Weld it up in a fashion that makes you comfortable and move on.
BTW: Why do you feel that taking that part in to be welded under warantee requires the ENTIRE tractor to be hauled?
You see a lot of production line 'welding' like that. They hire folks off the street, hand them a MIG gun, and they're a welder. If it looks good and doesn't fall apart before it leaves the paint line, it's good.
kubota won't warranty anything if you take parts to them and tell them to weld it up. That is a cold weld, or a dirty weld (or both). Most of it is done robotically nowadays. What little bit is done by a real person, that person has a quota. If a part comes through that needs a little weld, and he's behind or close to getting behind and the part is contaminated, or the welder has an issue (ground, etc), he's gonna throw some dirt dobber's nest of a weld on it and send it. Unfortunate but that is how production works. I've done it in the past and have seen lots of this kind of thing.
if they feel like it is indeed a warranty issue, they'll replace the part. The entire part. They don't want nobody welding anything. Been there done that. Denied claim because "I" repaired a loader, similar to what you have there (broken kick stand pin). Not a big deal, was only a couple hundred dollar once all the paint + dealer fees were added + labor, but the fact that they (kubota) denied it because it was "modified" (welded) kinda upset me--and the customer--and the dealer I was working for. I left the dealer, but I "heard" that they eventually paid it. Dunno.
yes you have to take the equipment that has the serial number to the dealer and let the dealer send pictures to kubota. Then kubota decides whether or not they're gonna fix it. Part of the picture-taking process includes picture of the hourmeter, so if it's a loader, a loader doesn't have an hourmeter and they will almost always deny the claim if the requested hourmeter picture isn't there. So take the tractor with the loader installed on it; it's easier than taking just the loader anyway. They want pictures of everything now and this goes with all warranty claims. For instance, don't show up with a locked up idler pulley expecting them to warranty it, they'll send you home to get your machine that the pulley came off of, or they'll sell you a new idler pulley. The booklet doesn't say bring the broken part to a dealer within X amount of time, it says bring the failed equipment to dealer within x amount of time. That is unfortunately how warranty works, and it reads that way in the warranty policy handbook. You also have a certain period of time, so if your pin broke off in July and you're just now getting around to repairing it, either (1) don't tell them that it's been broken since July or (2) fix it yourself. It wasn't a huge deal but it always amazed me that someone would bring me pieces of a failed ball bearing and say I need new deck bearings under warranty. Nope. How did I know that bearing came off of the mower you just purchased? How does Kubota know? Why did it fail? What was the root cause? Was the housing damaged in any way? Go get your failed equipment or go buy yourself some new bearings. Talk about people being mad, but there was no choice in the matter. Warranty statement spells it out in plain language. In short, take the entire tractor with the loader, drop it off and wait for them to call you when it's done. If warranty, they'll probably replace the loader main frame assembly and decals, IF there's one available in the warehouses. Another sore subject but it's already getting to be a long post so I'll leave it alone....
unless the processes have changed, it's gonna be some time to get it all done, and some of that is dependent on the dealer. Anyway, the process goes like this. You drop it off. They take pics. They sent pics to kubota along with writing up a claim. The claim now sits at kubota for x number of hours/days/weeks/months and they decide, and send the claim back to dealer with either a paid amount or a denial or sometimes with questions, why this or where's that. It's an involved process sometimes.
if you have a welder, and something to get the paint ground or scraped away so you get to bare metal, fix it yourself and save yourself a ton of time/money/aggravation. I have the stuff at the house and if it were my tractor, I wouldn't have even posted...I'd just fix it and go on with life.
if they feel like it is indeed a warranty issue, they'll replace the part. The entire part. They don't want nobody welding anything. Been there done that. Denied claim because "I" repaired a loader, similar to what you have there (broken kick stand pin). Not a big deal, was only a couple hundred dollar once all the paint + dealer fees were added + labor, but the fact that they (kubota) denied it because it was "modified" (welded) kinda upset me--and the customer--and the dealer I was working for. I left the dealer, but I "heard" that they eventually paid it. Dunno.
yes you have to take the equipment that has the serial number to the dealer and let the dealer send pictures to kubota. Then kubota decides whether or not they're gonna fix it. Part of the picture-taking process includes picture of the hourmeter, so if it's a loader, a loader doesn't have an hourmeter and they will almost always deny the claim if the requested hourmeter picture isn't there. So take the tractor with the loader installed on it; it's easier than taking just the loader anyway. They want pictures of everything now and this goes with all warranty claims. For instance, don't show up with a locked up idler pulley expecting them to warranty it, they'll send you home to get your machine that the pulley came off of, or they'll sell you a new idler pulley. The booklet doesn't say bring the broken part to a dealer within X amount of time, it says bring the failed equipment to dealer within x amount of time. That is unfortunately how warranty works, and it reads that way in the warranty policy handbook. You also have a certain period of time, so if your pin broke off in July and you're just now getting around to repairing it, either (1) don't tell them that it's been broken since July or (2) fix it yourself. It wasn't a huge deal but it always amazed me that someone would bring me pieces of a failed ball bearing and say I need new deck bearings under warranty. Nope. How did I know that bearing came off of the mower you just purchased? How does Kubota know? Why did it fail? What was the root cause? Was the housing damaged in any way? Go get your failed equipment or go buy yourself some new bearings. Talk about people being mad, but there was no choice in the matter. Warranty statement spells it out in plain language. In short, take the entire tractor with the loader, drop it off and wait for them to call you when it's done. If warranty, they'll probably replace the loader main frame assembly and decals, IF there's one available in the warehouses. Another sore subject but it's already getting to be a long post so I'll leave it alone....
unless the processes have changed, it's gonna be some time to get it all done, and some of that is dependent on the dealer. Anyway, the process goes like this. You drop it off. They take pics. They sent pics to kubota along with writing up a claim. The claim now sits at kubota for x number of hours/days/weeks/months and they decide, and send the claim back to dealer with either a paid amount or a denial or sometimes with questions, why this or where's that. It's an involved process sometimes.
if you have a welder, and something to get the paint ground or scraped away so you get to bare metal, fix it yourself and save yourself a ton of time/money/aggravation. I have the stuff at the house and if it were my tractor, I wouldn't have even posted...I'd just fix it and go on with life.
+1. That is a chump change weld on a chump part. Ggt your rotary wire brush out and you glue gun and stick it back on
GreensvilleJay
Well-known member
Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
just as bad as the poor weld is the LOUSY powdercoat paint ! It's obvious it never bonded to the steel,which indicates poor 'prep' of the part before painting.
Before trying the 'under warranty' claim, I'd get an email NOT A PHONE CALL, saying 'yes, we WILL replace the part no charge'. In fact they should call saying 'your part's in,please come by anytime for it'.
THAT can be done...it's called 'customer service'. Frankly I'd expect the dealer would do that,without hesitation. It might cost him $10 but retains you as a loyal customer.
Before trying the 'under warranty' claim, I'd get an email NOT A PHONE CALL, saying 'yes, we WILL replace the part no charge'. In fact they should call saying 'your part's in,please come by anytime for it'.
THAT can be done...it's called 'customer service'. Frankly I'd expect the dealer would do that,without hesitation. It might cost him $10 but retains you as a loyal customer.
how's he gonna get a confirmation if the dealer and kubota has not seen it? It must be at the dealership in order for them to warranty anything as I said above.
the only suggestion with that in mind is to make sure to have them write up the repair order with "contact with estimate if warranty does not cover"--make sure it's on the RO before you sign. Once you sign, it's now a legally binding document that you agree to. If it don't say contact with estimate, you may or may not get a call, email, or whatever. I preferred using email or text contact when I did that job but there are still many who don't/won't use either they'd rather show up or receive a phone call.
99% of the time a dealer's gonna contact before spending a customer's money, I typically set that threshold at $300 unless it was requested otherwise, if it's gonna be over that, contact customer. Yes there were lots of phone calls but GOOD communication is key and honestly some people are not good communicators, there are some that are great talkers but poor listeners and some just don't care and some think they don't have time. Seen all of the above.
Jay.. You mean they powdercoat Kubota stuff now? I'll be. Both mine are alkyd enamel complete with bare spots I had to fill in years ago.
GreensvilleJay
Well-known member
Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
If you look at pix #3, the 'paint' never,ever bonded to the steel. That's the typical problem I see with everything that has been powder coated. Scratch the paint, water(moisture) gets in,rust forms,pushes the 'paint' away from the steel, more water gets in...cycle repeats over and over. Also obvious that NO primer was used on that part..ONLY orange 'paint'
Bad welds are usually caused by 'gotta make more in less time' philosophy... looks good on paper('saves' money).. well 'production' money..factor in 'warranty' money and it costs more in the long run.
Bad welds are usually caused by 'gotta make more in less time' philosophy... looks good on paper('saves' money).. well 'production' money..factor in 'warranty' money and it costs more in the long run.
