Expensive Cheap Parts Lesson

North Idaho Wolfman · Dec 27, 2013

I did a complete transmission rebuild this fall and used all Kubota replacement parts to get it done, wasn't cheap but everything fit like a glove, and works flawlessly!
At the same time the water pump was making noise and leaking so I though why not replace that too why I'm at it, I found one off EBay for $40 less than Kubota so I thought what the heck go for it.

About 3 weeks ago we got a little snow and thought I would give the new snow blower a work out, It was real cold so I bundled up and took off, the fun part about snow blowing powder is any slight wind and you get it in the face, Just shut up you cab guys!

Everything was going fine, then at three quarters of the way done and about mile and a half from home I got a flood of steam out the front of the engine, checked gauge not overheating???? So I quick jumped off expecting a blown hose or something of that sort, well it was spitting water out of and around the water pump (insert many a cuss word), I thought I should be able to limp it home, well got about 1/2 way and temp started to rise, so better safe than sorry shut it down and walked home got a jug of antifreeze mix and head back to the tractor, dumped it in and limped it home. Grumbled some more and broke down and ordered a new Kubota pump.

The new pump came today and tore out the faulty pump only to discover that the pump had spun back into the housing and ate 2 holes into the back of the case, that was enough to make me want to scream...in fact I did, thank goodness I live a ways away from anyone and the wife wasn't home to here me, it wasn't pretty!

I've heard of this happening just never had one do it to me!
Well, lesson learned, or it will be after I buy the $650 in parts and spend a couple of days fixing it!

Moral of the story...
The money you save right this second could come back and bite you in the butt another day!

And dang it I knew better!

SteveF · Dec 27, 2013

Mr Wolfmam thanks for sharing that, some might be too proud to admit it. Tranny rebuild... wow, you certainly got my respect on that one! Couldn't agree more on OEM parts. Thanks.

Eric McCarthy · Dec 28, 2013

Must have been a remaned water pump that wasn't refurbished right. I had something similar happen to me years ago with an alternator from NAPA on a 99 Pontiac GrandAm. The first replace lasted two weeks before it went out on me. Took it back with receipt in hand and got a free replacement. Then about 3 weeks after that the 2nd alternator went out.

FINALLY 3rd time was a charm and the 3rd and final one held up.

NAPA had told me that many parts are refurbished to save on cost of building new and sometimes it happens that a remaned part doesnt hold up very long.

Lil Foot · Dec 28, 2013

Deja vu….
Years ago I had a '78 Toyota pickup with about 375,000 miles when the original water pump started leaking. Toyota wanted about $160 for a new pump, and a local parts place had brand new, lifetime guaranteed, American made pumps for $50, so of course I saved some money & bought the cheaper pump. Almost exactly 5000 miles later, at about 75mph, the bearing seized, the pump housing broke, and let the fan destroy the radiator, shroud, both v-belts, upper pulley, the vacuum advance diaphragm on the distributor, and of course the fan itself.
After a 100 mile tow, I went back to the store with the destroyed pump & told my sad tale. They apologized profusely, gave me a new replacement pump, & flatly refused to cover any of the other damage. About $500 later I was back on the road.
Wait for it…….
Almost exactly 5000 miles later, at about 75mph, the bearing seized, the pump housing broke, and let the fan destroy the radiator, shroud, both v-belts, upper pulley, the vacuum advance diaphragm on the distributor, and of course the fan itself. Needless to say, they refunded my money for their crappy pump, but again refused to pay for the damages it caused. I bought a Toyota pump, spent another $500, and never had any more trouble with it. Traded it in with 435,000 on it….. never should have let that truck go….

thirdroc17 · Dec 28, 2013

I read this thread immediately after reading the thread on how and where to find cheap filters. Makes one wonder. It's possible an aftermarket filter manufacturer who makes nothing but filters, could produce a superior filter to the Kubota branded ones. Or, they might be inferior products. How does one really know? I doubt a cheap aftermarket filter would be superior, or even equal to, the Kubota brand. Or could it? Maybe Kuibota are cheap ones, of sufficient quality, with a big price markup. Just don't know, do ya?

The same could be said of every brand of tractor, car, truck, etc., out there.

mendonsy · Dec 28, 2013

I think this is extremely useful advice for anything, not just for Kubota!!
It doesn't necessarily mean that there are no equivalent aftermarket parts, just that you need to be very careful about what you elect to use. One of the ways that some aftermarket companies save money is by eliminating the quality control step in parts (re)manufacturing.

olthumpa · Dec 28, 2013

I wondered why it was raining Smurfs.

I learned the difference between rebuilt and re-manufactured a long time ago, also with a water pump. Took out the alternator, battery, heater and rad hoses. also put some beauty bumps in the hood.

Oh yeah, I got the rebuilt water pump from Napa also.

SteveF · Dec 28, 2013

thirdroc17 said:
I read this thread immediately after reading the thread on how and where to find cheap filters. Makes one wonder. It's possible an aftermarket filter manufacturer who makes nothing but filters, could produce a superior filter to the Kubota branded ones. Or, they might be inferior products. How does one really know? I doubt a cheap aftermarket filter would be superior, or even equal to, the Kubota brand. Or could it? Maybe Kuibota are cheap ones, of sufficient quality, with a big price markup. Just don't know, do ya?

The same could be said of every brand of tractor, car, truck, etc., out there.

I was going to chime in about using non-kubota filters, parts, and fluids but then I remembered I use RotellaT in my Cummins but then I remembered I buy all Cummins filters and parts so I'm chiming in. If we really think that Kubota would manufacture a first class machine and adorn it with crappy maintenance and replacement parts we are doomed. I have faith, possibly misguided, that Kubota is a top shelf company and cares about quality (however you want to define that word) and ensures it's maintenance and repair parts are the best products for their equipment... IMHO

Steamguy · Jan 3, 2014

Wow, Wolfman...

Deja vu here, also: Let's step into the time machine and go back to 1976, to the time when I was a mechanic in a gas station. We had a '74 Cadillac come in with a bad water pump. The guy insisted, INSISTED, that we put in a rebuilt one as he thought the factory ones were too much. We looked around and found one about a half hour away, and sent one of the guys after it.

Meanwhile, we got after tearing down that Caddy so we could R&R the pump. Two guys, an hour and a half, to do the job. That car was far and away the most designed-to-be-complicated thing we'd ever worked on before or since. If anything could be bolted on in the way, it was. As a comparison, had we been working on anything else, it would have been maybe 10 minutes with us two working on it.

Put the rebuilt pump in, and had to bolt most of the stuff back on so we could get the radiator on for a pressure-test. Stream of water coming from somewhere! THE REBUILT PUMP HAD A PINHOLE IN IT.

Down it came again, with the boss having a rather loud discussion with the customer in the office in the meantime. The replacement came from the dealer, and in it went, with no more problems.

The guy ended up paying 3 extra hours of labor because he wanted to save $50. Oh yeah, and no refund for the core at the parts place! So it was an extra $35 on top of that! (Remember, these are 1970's prices.) It was always that way at that shop - the guys who grumbled the loudest about the prices and the rates were the guys driving the fanciest cars...

Hope that eases your pain just a bit...

hodge · Jan 3, 2014

SteveF said:
I was going to chime in about using non-kubota filters, parts, and fluids but then I remembered I use RotellaT in my Cummins but then I remembered I buy all Cummins filters and parts so I'm chiming in. If we really think that Kubota would manufacture a first class machine and adorn it with crappy maintenance and replacement parts we are doomed. I have faith, possibly misguided, that Kubota is a top shelf company and cares about quality (however you want to define that word) and ensures it's maintenance and repair parts are the best products for their equipment... IMHO

Simple logic dictates that Kubota isn't going to spec or use junk appliances like filters and such. Expensive warranty work isn't worth the risk of saving a few bucks.
I trust Kubota.

adventure bob · Jan 3, 2014

A poor man can only afford to buy the best because he can't afford to buy it twice.

BadDog · Jan 3, 2014

hodge said:
Simple logic dictates that Kubota isn't going to spec or use junk appliances like filters and such. Expensive warranty work isn't worth the risk of saving a few bucks.
I trust Kubota.

Sadly, Kubota is a corporation, not a person (or owner with vision). And there is little continuity of conscience or goals. Like Craftsman, Stanley, Jacobs chucks, and an endless list of others; all it takes is a "realignment of priorities" (or some other corporate MBA Orwellian double speak) and all that rational long term viability and building a brand stuff goes right out the window for "leveraging the brand" for the sole goal of fluffing the next quarter reports to get a bonus for a few.

When that happens, it won't matter what came before, or how good it was, or how much it will cost in the next few years to address the problems. And we've already seen evidence in a number of long known problems (3 point L series problems among others) and (seemingly?) higher incidence of basic QA issues that seem to indicate Kubota is at least flirting with such ideas. Before long (if not already) you may see Fram's budget line (or worse) of filters with the Kubota brand. And that will happen all the sooner if folks blindly buy into the "brand" without due diligence.

And, many of us have (local) access to Kubota brand parts only through local dealers with exclusive regional contracts and (seemingly) excessive markups.

For my part, I'm always going to look for the best quality/value (NOT best price) regardless of brand. I've seen too many brands raped and gutted to put much stock in any name...

m32825 · Jan 4, 2014

If I'm doing the work myself I'm already saving money, so I use OEM parts. That way the "mechanic" doesn't run into "hey, this almost fits" scenarios that chew up my time. I have enough handicaps already...

-- Carl

efharg · Jan 4, 2014

I spent nearly 40 years working as a mechanic, and I can't even begin to name the number of times I have seen expensive failures caused by someone trying to save money by using inferior parts. I use nothing but OEM whenever possible, even if it cost twice as much.

beemerphile · Jan 25, 2014

It reminds me of an old saying in BMW motorcycle circles that "the cheapest part on a BMW motorcycle is the rider". I guess that could extend to other products and brands as well. The hay is always cheaper once it has been run through the horse.

Donystoy · Jan 25, 2014

efharg said:
I spent nearly 40 years working as a mechanic, and I can't even begin to name the number of times I have seen expensive failures caused by someone trying to save money by using inferior parts. I use nothing but OEM whenever possible, even if it cost twice as much.

I agree! When it comes to critical parts on my Kubota I always use oem parts. For non critical items such lighting etc. I might use aftermarket parts.
The only time that I have swayed from this is certain automotive suspension and driveline components where I have found aftermarket components to be sometimes superior. I remember years ago a mechanic showing me a Moog suspension part for a GM Safari van (not mine) which was far beefier than the original.
I replaced the water pump on my tractor five years ago when I noticed the outer tips of the fan wobbling almost 1/2". I was amazed that it was not leaking. I took the opportunity to replace all the water hoses at the same time.

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Expensive Cheap Parts Lesson

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