I have 2014 Exmark with a 21.5 hp kasakasi engine. Engine has ninety hours on it. Last week carb started flooding. Dealer told me that fuel contamination was the problem. My issue is that the dealer diagnosed this problem without taking carb apart. Repair cost will be $225.00! We are talking about a Lawn mower carb!! I asked about the needle or float being defective and they again stated that it is fuel contamination. I checked the fuel filter and it was not dirty or no water but again I was told that the carb was contaminated and they have not removed the carb to inspect. This Exmark is under warranty. Any thoughts?
Carb warranty is almost impossible to get. Some manufacturers will not pay for carb replacement without factory preauthorization, and kitting a carb is not covered. About the only way you will get warranty on a carb is it will need to be within about the first 5 hours of operation and the carb must have a casting flaw that is causing it to leak. If a dealer replaces a carb under warranty I will guarantee that the company will request the carb shipped to them, and they will reclean the carb according to their standards and it it works the dealer doesn't get paid.
Heard this scenario many times and sorry to say they are right 75% of the time. Today's carb are built to run so lean, that it does not take much to cause problems. I don't like the idea that the dealer is not opening up the carb before giving his diagnosis, but I suspect he is giving you the worst case scenario to prepare you. Today's engine manufactures are making it very difficult to warranty carb/fuel related problems, which means the customer is paying. I would start by asking the following questions.
1. What will it cost to clean and rebuild the carb?
2. What is the cost of a new carb?
3. Will this repair be covered under warranty?
4. What is the difference in the length of time it will take to rebuild or just replace the carb?
5. Will the dealer contact the manufacturer to help you cover the costs if not warranty?
6. What will be done for $225?
If the dealer acts defensive, get out of there and go to a different shop. If you feel comfortable with the answers you receive have the dealer do the repairs, but remember you may have to pay $225, which seems high to me, but I'm not there. You are going to have it repaired, so make sure it is done by someone you feel comfortable with. Because it is an engine, most good dealers can do warranty work for you. We do a lot of work on units which were sold by two other dealers who sharply undercut the costs of their whole units to get them out the door, but they have service departments who throw parts at problems, charge for repairs that are not needed and have a labor rate 15% higher than we do.
I have 2014 Exmark with a 21.5 hp kasakasi engine. Engine has ninety hours on it. Last week carb started flooding.
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This Exmark is under warranty. Any thoughts?
Yer finding out about "Warranty"... so convoluted it parallels
LIFE Insurance - yer gotta be dead to collect.
And often the dealer shares the risk with you, the brand
name on the door does not always mean the dealer gets a free
run.
Your choices?
Void warranty and fix it yourself.
Join the team play and pay up.
After 6.5 shaker in LA and 20 years of premiums our insurance company redlined our zip code because..."you don't want us to go out of business, do you"?
After installing the oil cooler on the Intek which (IMO) has prolonged its life I read about an owner who wanted to install one. Briggs told him it would void the warranty.:confused2:
Are you now seeing why the box stores sales are soaring?
Pull the bowl off and run a pipe cleaner through the jet saturated with a little Berryman B-12 Chemtool, wipe the needle valve tip clean and reinstall it and the float. Connect a hose to the carb inlet so fuel flow can be checked by gravity. With a feather light touch, about a pound of pressure, the needle valve will stop the gas flow if all is correct.
