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Hustler raptor kawasaki crankshaft end snapped off

#1

T

turboawd

The machine is 3 years old. Not used a whole lot, but used hard when we do. Cuts lot of tall grass.
Anyways the crankshaft snapped off flush with the engine case. Why would this happen? And how hard would it be to just replace the crank?
Click on the link for pictures :
https://imgur.com/a/f1AfydK


#2

B

bertsmobile1

That is a fatigue fracture and should be a warranty claim
Take the clutch to your dealer and ask him politely to send a warranty claim into Kawasaki for you.
If he says it is too old just tell him a metallurgist friend of yours ( me ) has identified it as a materials failure in fatigue mode.
Kawasaki are pretty good with warranty claims down here and if there was a bad batch of crankshafts they will either want to know about them or already know about it & will do the replacement.
Down here you will get the crank installed into your engine free, but you will have to pay for the removal & refitting of the engine + consumables like oil filters & oil.
Hustler are the party who will need to pay for the engine removal & fitting but their warranty down here is nowhere near as good.
We get 3 year warranty on Kawasaki products down here don't know what it is in the USA.
And please next time you post pictures, post them directly to the forum not via a 3rd party hosting site you make things difficult for the people who you are expecting to help you for free.

If you get the fracture surface in the right light you will be able to see rings in it, just like growth rings in a tree.
Each ring is the progression of a crak that started in the upper left of the image and progressed towards the centre.
The shinny spot in the middle is a brittle fracture because the amount of uncracked crankshaft was not enough to take the shock loading when you turned the blades on so it just snapped.

IT is funny because it is the wrong shape for a torsional load failure and has the look of a cross axis loading like what you would get if you smacked the clutch with a VBFH


#3

T

turboawd

bertsmobile1 said:
That is a fatigue fracture and should be a warranty claim
Take the clutch to your dealer and ask him politely to send a warranty claim into Kawasaki for you.
If he says it is too old just tell him a metallurgist friend of yours ( me ) has identified it as a materials failure in fatigue mode.
Kawasaki are pretty good with warranty claims down here and if there was a bad batch of crankshafts they will either want to know about them or already know about it & will do the replacement.
Down here you will get the crank installed into your engine free, but you will have to pay for the removal & refitting of the engine + consumables like oil filters & oil.
Hustler are the party who will need to pay for the engine removal & fitting but their warranty down here is nowhere near as good.
We get 3 year warranty on Kawasaki products down here don't know what it is in the USA.
And please next time you post pictures, post them directly to the forum not via a 3rd party hosting site you make things difficult for the people who you are expecting to help you for free.

If you get the fracture surface in the right light you will be able to see rings in it, just like growth rings in a tree.
Each ring is the progression of a crak that started in the upper left of the image and progressed towards the centre.
The shinny spot in the middle is a brittle fracture because the amount of uncracked crankshaft was not enough to take the shock loading when you turned the blades on so it just snapped.

IT is funny because it is the wrong shape for a torsional load failure and has the look of a cross axis loading like what you would get if you smacked the clutch with a VBFH
Click to expand...

Thanks for lengthy reply.
So you think this crank was cracked from the beginning and just slowly growed?
Also, I'm posting from my mobile phone, and the mobile site does not have a picture attachment.


#4

B

bertsmobile1

turboawd said:
Thanks for lengthy reply.
So you think this crank was cracked from the beginning and just slowly growed?
Also, I'm posting from my mobile phone, and the mobile site does not have a picture attachment.
Click to expand...

Yes no maybe.
I would need it here in my hands to make those sorts of determinations
However I can catagorically state it was faulty from the factory
Weather this was a machining flaw, a heat treating flaw or materials flaw is a moot point.
The fact is it was flawed and it should not have fractured and not in the way that it did.
If you troll through the web for images of a tortional failure you will see they all have a distinctive twisted look and some sharp edges
Then search Charpy or Izod fracture surfaces and you will see a structure like the bright section in your photo.
That is a brittle fracture.
Cranks should never ever fracture like that
There are probably a pile of fatigue fracture images as well
Your fracture surface is even not typical of a rotational fatigue failure of sound material.

To get a lab result like yours we would put a rod in a machine that supported each end of the rotating shaft
We then apply a load between the two ends via a wheel and keep the pressure up till the shaft breaks.
Even then we would have to machine in a stress raiser like a groove around the outside.

However as stated before, be nice about it and even if the dealer says Kawasaki will not do anything ask him to submit the claim in writing and request a copy for your file.


#5

7394

7394

Bert- here in the U.S., Kawasaki has 3 year warranty also.

Just FYI.


#6

cpurvis

cpurvis

Your signature says "Midwest." How far are you from Hesston, Kansas, the home of Hustler?


#7

ILENGINE

ILENGINE

May not of been cracked at the onset, but occurred very quickly since there is no rust progression into the crack rings. Definitely warranty, not much on a riding lawnmower that would create enough force to shear an 1" crankshaft. Like Bert commented on. would take multiple strikes with a big hammer, and that type of striking would most likely crack the oil pan before the crank snapped off.


#8

T

turboawd

I'll ask the dealer Monday. But i may be 1 or 2 months past warranty.


#9

ILENGINE

ILENGINE

Sometimes manufacturers will allow warranty repairs if it is a defect and fails shortly after the factory warranty ends. Or in some cases they will offer to pay for parts but you pay the labor.


#10

cpurvis

cpurvis

I have never seen a crank break outside of the crankcase.

Definitely a manufacturing defect. Kawasaki need to make this right.


#11

T

turboawd

I guess dementia is setting in! My machine is actually 4 years old.
I'll still contact kawasaki and see what they say.


#12

B

bertsmobile1

Not the first person who forgot when they bought their mower.
Makes no difference.
If this was a wide spread problem there would be a recall notice out on that series of engines so it should be replaced
If kawasaki does not know about it they will want to know about it because if for instance all of the Hustlers with this engine start dropping cranks at 4 + years then that will push Hustler towards fitting a different ( read Chinese 50% cheaper ) engine.
So it is a loose loose situation for both of them.
The big trick is to be nice & worried not angry & agressive.
IF your dealer thinks he might be facing dozens of customers with broken cranks on mowers that are out of warranty he will not be happy.
From the dealers point of view that is about as bad as it gets. Hard to sell new mowers with an angry ex-customer screaming & yelling in your showroom every week.
From kawasaki's point of view, they will want to know why that crank failed cause they are in line to be the biggest looser cause if Hustler decides to go with an imported engine that hurts them really bad particularly when being better lasting longer than the equivalent Briggs or Kohler IS THEIR MARKETING PLAN.


#13

M

MikeRSD54

bertsmobile1 said:
Not the first person who forgot when they bought their mower.
Makes no difference.
If this was a wide spread problem there would be a recall notice out on that series of engines so it should be replaced
If kawasaki does not know about it they will want to know about it because if for instance all of the Hustlers with this engine start dropping cranks at 4 + years then that will push Hustler towards fitting a different ( read Chinese 50% cheaper ) engine.
So it is a loose loose situation for both of them.
The big trick is to be nice & worried not angry & agressive.
IF your dealer thinks he might be facing dozens of customers with broken cranks on mowers that are out of warranty he will not be happy.
From the dealers point of view that is about as bad as it gets. Hard to sell new mowers with an angry ex-customer screaming & yelling in your showroom every week.
From kawasaki's point of view, they will want to know why that crank failed cause they are in line to be the biggest looser cause if Hustler decides to go with an imported engine that hurts them really bad particularly when being better lasting longer than the equivalent Briggs or Kohler IS THEIR MARKETING PLAN.
Click to expand...




Well said. Going to follow this thread closely to see how this is handled. This should be made right....never even heard of this happening before. Just a matter of getting the right person's attention now.


#14

B

bertsmobile1

The down side is while every one is dancing around in circles & blaming each other the grass is still growing.


#15

T

turboawd

The dealer said there is nothing they can do since it's been 4 years. I sent an email with photos to kawasaki engine plant where these are made (made in the usa). Hopefully I'll get a response.


#16

H

Hugeroost

turboawd said:
The dealer said there is nothing they can do since it's been 4 years. I sent an email with photos to kawasaki engine plant where these are made (made in the usa). Hopefully I'll get a response.
Click to expand...

man I cant believe the dealer said sorry but no cigar, I would have started out nice then went into azz reemin mode, dealers are so chicken shyt these days. Then i would get on my phone and start working my way up the kawasaki ladder till i got someone with some authority to do something. I had a similar situation w Briggs last year and thats what i did, took a whole day but i finally got ahold of a guy up top with a formal education and he made it right...Roost


#17

T

turboawd

Got a reply from kawasaki :
Good Afternoon,
We recommend that you contact your local authorized Kawasaki dealer to obtain answers regarding your Kawasaki engine. Please use the link below to find a dealer close to you.
.......
And if I contact the local kawasaki dealer, I'm afraid they'll tell me too bad, you're out of warranty.


#18

T

turboawd

Oh. And I looked up who my local kawasaki engine dealer is, and it's my Hustler dealer who said they can't do anything......
I thought Kawasaki was a great engine and was happy that they're made in the usa too. I've lost faith in them now.


#19

H

Hugeroost

turboawd said:
Oh. And I looked up who my local kawasaki engine dealer is, and it's my Hustler dealer who said they can't do anything......
I thought Kawasaki was a great engine and was happy that they're made in the usa too. I've lost faith in them now.
Click to expand...

They are a great engine, all the way up to the KX500 which I have 2. I think you need to return that email from them and tell em your local kawa dealer dont give a rats azz about anything once you leave w your new mower. They'll make it good but you may have to ride em a little, forget that dealer they wont help you unless kawa pays them to. I would also inform them of the 36 page thread on the forum discussing how they won't take care of their customers like Koehler and Briggs do


#20

cpurvis

cpurvis

I think most manufacturer's set aside money for 'unusual' warranty claims. This should certainly qualify as an unusual claim. If it isn't, Kawasaki has a big problem on their hands.

It would be interesting to have a lawyer request information from Kawasaki on just how many warranty claims they've denied because of a broken crankshaft snout. If there are a lot, then maybe there should be a class-action suit. If there are few to none, it qualifies as unusual.


#21

B

bertsmobile1

That is very dissapointing .
Up to you if you want to take it further.
You could for instance take it to your consumer safety authority .
They like to appear to be doing their job by forcing recalls on things that are out of warranty.
You might like to contact Kawasaki again & direct them to this thread.
You could also tell them you are going to run the same thread on every mower & small engine forum in the USA ( list them ) and send a second copy to their advertising agency & marketing department.
Also send a copy to Hustler.
Title that one "potential catastrophic failure"


#22

T

turboawd

i went ahead and ordered a new crank. maybe i should mail the old crank to kawasaki.:rolleyes:


#23

The Chairman

The Chairman

My initial thought was "what did you hit?" and then I saw the pic. Wow. Good luck and I agree they should fix this.


#24

T

turboawd

I bought a crank for $150.
It wasn't all that difficult to replace. Took a half day to pull motor out and replace crank. Never done this before. Runs good. Hopefully this new one won't snap....


#25

7394

7394

:thumbsup:


#26

The Chairman

The Chairman

turboawd said:
I bought a crank for $150.
It wasn't all that difficult to replace. Took a half day to pull motor out and replace crank. Never done this before. Runs good. Hopefully this new one won't snap....
Click to expand...
Way awesome! Mechanics always start what they finish! :D :D :D


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