Reasonable breakage or should I be upset?

[RuT]

I have a TC29D with 881 hours. I use it mostly for mowing and then odd jobs here and there around the house. Yesterday I was mowing and the shaft from the water pump that the fan is bolted to sheared/broke. I suspect the bearings tied up in the water pump which caused the shaft to shear.

The previous event caused the fan to fly into the radiator. I was a little discouraged to have this chain of events happen. My 3 year/3000 hour warranty expired due to time last year.

The costs (with me doing labor) are about $600 for a NH radiator, $200 for a water pump, plus $50 or so in assorted belts/hoses.

Should I expect this to occur or should I be somewhat more vocal with NH on my displeasure?

 

[MikeD74T]

881 hours is a long way from 3000 !! It can't hurt to challenge NH. MikeD74T

 

[SnowRidge]

If you have a local radiator shop, you might try getting a quote from them on repairing your radiator or building a new one.

Couldn't hurt, might help.

 

[jinman]

Should I expect this to occur or should I be somewhat more vocal with NH on my displeasure?

I would say this is a very unusual occurance and I would definitely let NH know about it. I'd be very careful to just state the facts, but be firm in my belief that this failure was due to defective parts.

It's pretty rare to see a complete failure of the water pump shaft without having leakage of coolant. You didn't mention it, but was there any coolant leakage? How about the condition of the coolant. Was it normal color with no signs of rust or corrosion? Is there a chance a limb or other object got pulled into the belt?

If your fan belt was way too tight, a foreign object was pulled into the belt/pulley, or the coolant was in terrible condition, it might cause your water pump shaft to fail. If you are sure it was none of these things, I'd complain just for my own satisfaction.

 

[jimg]

If your fan belt was way too tight, a foreign object was pulled into the belt/pulley, or the coolant was in terrible condition, it might cause your water pump shaft to fail.

I think you could have omitted the red text and still had a true stmt. Ive seen cases where a belt too tight side loaded the bearing enough that it failed (leaked) and eventually seized.

 

[TC29-dude]

Jimg,
I have to ask, how old are you? You always chime in with some great comments and obviously know your stuff BUT from your pix you look to be about 18. What gives? Were you born in a tractor shed?

Keep those comments coming. It's amazing what I have learned from reading posts on this site.

 

[jimg]

Jimg,
I have to ask, how old are you? You always chime in with some great comments and obviously know your stuff BUT from your pix you look to be about 18. What gives? Were you born in a tractor shed?

Keep those comments coming. It's amazing what I have learned from reading posts on this site.

I appreciate the very kind comment but Im just a learner, nothing special here.

Thats a pic of my oldest son who just recently got back from Iraq. I just missed him while he was over there and used his pic as my avatar.

 

[Killer_B]

Thats a pic of my oldest son who just recently got back from Iraq. I just missed him while he was over there and used his pic as my avatar.

I hope your son knows how grateful his nation is for his service. I shudder to think where we would be without men like him, and families who are willing to share in the sacrifice. You must be very proud.

KB

 

[TC29-dude]

Thanks for the reply...and God Bless you and yours for the sacrifice your family is making for all of us.

 

[Bird]

Should I expect this to occur or should I be somewhat more vocal with NH on my displeasure?

Like jinman said, I'd let NH know about it without being confrontational about it. Several years ago, the last motorhome we had was equipped with a 7 kw Onan generator and not too long after its warranty had expired due to time, not hours, it had a major problem; over $700 worth. So I wrote a polite letter to Onan that this appeared to be manufacturing defect, and included a copy of the receipt for the work. They quite promptly sent me a check for the full amount. So you never know.