2007 ZD331 Issue

4wheelfurry · Mar 20, 2012

I bought a ZD331LP 72" in 2008, it was a demo sold to me as used with 200hrs on it however it retained its full warranty and I am the first registered owner. It now has 250hrs and I only use it to mow my place, no commercial use at all.
It has been in my shead since last season, I went to pull it out and get it ready to go for this year and the battery was dead. I lifted the hood and out falls the Exhaust and manifold onto the floor!!
Turns out the manifold broke off on all 3 exhaust ports and the muffler assy fell down onto the starter wire causing the entire harness to melt and it grounded against the hood bracket and partially melted the lower section of the hood trim on the back of the hood!! Needless to say I'm pizzed called my local dealer and they have forwarded my info to some rep or whoever. I really don't know how this happened or when it happened. It has been locked away in my shead for several months, no sign of foul play... The dealer guy said there is a tech service bulliton on manifolds cracking but he'd never seen one break off completely. It did go out of warranty last year however that is when I believe this happened. There is some sign of exhaust smut on the engine and hood and I believe I ran it a few min after the initial break (maybe putting it up for the season).
I honestly don't know how to argue my case to whoever calls me back if they even do... It has to be fixed obviously and it makes my blood boil to think that I have to replace a manifold that broke off due to a defect of some sort!! Not to meantion a harness and hood grill kit pluss I have a burn spot where it discolored the paint on the hood itself!
Anyone ever seen this happen? Any suggestions on how to handle??

Gator6x4 · Mar 20, 2012

"Turns out the manifold broke off on all 3 exhaust ports and the muffler assy fell down onto the starter wire causing the entire harness to melt and it grounded against the hood bracket and partially melted the lower section of the hood trim on the back of the hood!!"

Beyond my comprehension level.

jcummins · Mar 20, 2012

ZD326 here......I have a friend that has the same model and his broke like that. He was here and opened up mine, which was a newer model...and saw an extra bracket to brace that manifold that he did not have.

The short of it...it has happened to others, and Kubota added a support bracket on the newer models. In his case, the dealer fixed by adding that bracket.

KJINTF · Mar 21, 2012

How about posting some pictures
I sure hope Kubota has a proper low or zero cost fix for you even out of warranty.

psdx · Mar 21, 2012

Can you post a picture of the bracket so I can check it against mine?

4wheelfurry · Mar 22, 2012

I'll sanp some pics and load them this weekend. Mine does not have any sort of bracket to help support the muffler. Thanks for stating that I'll hunt that down as well.
I reported the problem to Kubota Saturday and it is now Thursday and not so much as a peep from them! As I figured looks like this will come out of my pocket... I do know one thing if they don't offer anything, no appology, no kiss my %*# this will be the last Kubota probuct I ever buy! And I am getting ready to purchase a tractor next year.

psdx · Mar 22, 2012

If there is exhaust smut on the inside of the hood from running after the failure it seems like the increase in noise would be hard to miss?

masalser · Mar 22, 2012

Ours broke the exhaust manifold as well. It was very loud when it happened. In looking at it I concluded that at least in our case the failure was caused by the engine cover being slightly out of alignment and touching the exhaust pipe. Over time I think the vibration from the cover fatigued the manifold and caused it to crack off. I'll look and see if they added a support bracket

4wheelfurry · Mar 23, 2012

Well it went just as I figured it would go. Out of warranty and Kubota Corp will not do anything for me. Won't help in any way... So an obvious design flaw is my fault, guess I shouldn't have started and run it! It wouldn't have ever broken! So that is about $500 out of my pocket. Thanks Kubota

Kays Supply · Mar 23, 2012

You got me to thinking, and my ZD326 is a 2007. I called my local guy and he said it fell into the serial numbers that had an issue. His results were " repair as needed". He couldn't tell me if there was a preventative fix. He "will call me back". We will see how that goes.