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.
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.
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.