I had contacted a man at acamerica in hoping to start a dialogue about my situation and here is his reply...
From: Dave Smith
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 6:47 PM
To:
bclark@antoniocarraro.com
Subject: Help my tractor broke in half!!!
I have an Antonio Carraro TRX 8400 68 HP tractor with a front end loader. It's 2 years old... I bought it new from a fellow in CA named Eugene Canales whom trucked it out to me.
I was lifting up the front end of the tractor with the front end loader (like I have done with all of my tractors)[Bruce Clark] This method voids the warranty on all tractors that I know of and is usually prohibited in a loaders operation manual to put jacks under the frame to perform maintenance....[Bruce Clark] Floor jacks are recommended when performing such a task I heard a groan and then the whole thing just pop, pop, popped in half in a sickening sag and then a pool of hydraulic oil.... I wasn't even on the tractor when it happened, just standing to the side working the levers.[Bruce Clark] Even though this is not recommended, this should not cause such damage. There must have been another factor involved
I am convinced that this is a manufacturing defect and am not getting much of a response from the company...I知 sorry to hear that you have that opinion. The odds of this being a defect is very remote. The dealer thinks the repair would run about 18,000!!! Oh yeah, the warranty expired a couple of months before this happened too... figures...[Bruce Clark] this would have nothing to do with the cause of the failure
I believe that the casting is defective. [Bruce Clark] Then you should send this part to our office. They then could examine the part. If in their expertise and examination they find it a defect, I知 sure they would help you even if your warranty has expired. On the other hand, be aware that this kind of failure would be very remote. When I looked at how thin the housing walls were, I was shocked. Barely thicker than 1/4 inch in spots. [Bruce Clark] The design is very sufficient
They also skimped on the metal around the threaded bolts that hold it together. [Bruce Clark] Please do not insinuate that there is a design fault or that the company is skimping on metal. Such accusations are very damaging if publicized and would be defended in a court of law. Antonio Carraro Tractors are of the finest quality and their reputation for producing a market leading product with a great reputation is very important to the company. That's where the casting initially failed as well. When the shoulder casting around the bottom bolts went, the rest just went for the ride.[Bruce Clark] I would suggest that you look for wear in that area that would be uncommon. Loose bolts can cause this in tire rims. I would look to for loose or missing bolts to contribute to this failure and not a design flaw.
I'm sure that if the integrity of the metal wasn't compromised by any internal defects and the shoulder metal was a little more substantial, the failure would never have happened.[Bruce Clark] A full investigation then maybe required
I had to bring it back to the dealer for the initial 100 hour servicing and we discovered that the cast metal bumper guard weight had cracked in half...[Bruce Clark] I am a little confused, what dealer was this and where? I had never hit it. This is a 1" thick chunk of metal that protects the engine... We sent it back and the one that the dealer got was ALSO broken... no damage to the box it came in either. Third time was a charm...[Bruce Clark] hmmm
I would like to think that the company received a bad batch of cast iron from one of it's suppliers.... My tractor should not have broken in half under it's own weight.[Bruce Clark] It did not. The only other possibility is that some one vandalized it. [Bruce Clark] Please explain The dealer noted that almost all of the major bolts holding the housings together were not tight and 3 were missing. [Bruce Clark] Dave, this issue is finished. If after 2 years those bolts have become loose and or lost, then of course this explains the failure you experienced. If you allowed operation of this tractor with or without a front loader on it, with loose or missing bolts on the bell housing, you were risking a failure due to neglect and lack of maintenance that could have resulted in causing major harm to the operator. He thinks that they were present at the time of the break though.[Bruce Clark] You stated that 典he dealer noted that almost all of the major bolts holding the housings together were not tight and 3 were missing? Please do not contact our department on this issue. Please do not make statements about flaws in the tractor.
Do you think it is possible that since they are putting bigger and bigger engines on the same frame that was initially designed for (40 - 50 HP tractor) that once you get into a 68 - 84 HP tractor, the chassis is under designed?[Bruce Clark] No. I think that all owners must examine their own tractor for loose bolts.
Any advice, answers, comments appreciated. I got your info from this forum...[Bruce Clark] I went to the forum. I think it would be in all our interest, if you explained that the loose bolts caused this failure after 2 years and not a design or material defect.
I will look for this update on the forum.
http://www.tractorforum.com/showthre...0&pagenumber=2
Well, instead of trying to contact me and talk about my problem, I have been immediately dismissed and told NOT to contact the office about this matter!!!
The thing is, if they could determine that It was vandalism my insurance would cover it!!! Why slam and accuse me of something NO ONE is capable of inspecting... All of the housing bolts are so inaccessible that you have to take everything off in order to inspect all of them. But, it would not be that hard for someone to take a large hand wrench and back the bottom ones out that are accessible. Also, I am not claiming that the bolts were not tight. That was the DEALER!
Vandalism and theft in our neighborhood has been documented and people have been arrested because of it. My property has already been targeted on 3 occasions.
No one working for a living can inspect every single bolt on a tractor before they start it up and work with it every single time!!! Especially the inaccessible ones that are supposed to be designed never to get loose in the first place!!! And when you have no reason to suspect damage AND you are getting ready to perform maintenance!!!
My dealer is the only one in New England and he is a 9 hour round trip from my location... He had experienced too many difficulties in working with acamerica that he (unbeknown to me at the time I dropped it off) quit being a dealer for Carraro.... So I'm sure he is not getting the best response from acamerica either...
He has thrown out an estimate of around $18,000 to repair... I am going to get pictures of my own and see it for the first time tomorrow....
The ONLY other dealer is somewhere in New York and some 15+ Hours away in one direction...
