Zenith Rebuild Problem

[JOES31]

I had an old Zenith carburetor that I thought I would send in as a core and get a "professionally" rebuilt carb. I sent it and received a rebuilt Zenith. I put it on and as soon as I turned on the fuel it leaked like a river. It was coming out of the atmospheric vent. So I assumed the float was set too high. The sheet that came with it said warranty void if the unit is opened.
So I sent it back for another.

I received another one but on this one the threads for the fuel inlet were half worn down to nothing so the compression fitting would not seal. So I sent it back.

I just got a replacement and this time it leaked like mad. The bolt in the bottom that tightens the two halves is too long and will not seal the two halves. The lock washer isn't collapsed and the bolt is tight.

I am really tired of dealing with this. After three times should I just ask for a refund and tell them to keep the core or just forget it and move on? What would the rest of you do?

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by JOES31

I had an old Zenith carburetor that I thought I would send in as a core and get a "professionally" rebuilt carb. I sent it and received a rebuilt Zenith. I put it on and as soon as I turned on the fuel it leaked like a river. It was coming out of the atmospheric vent. So I assumed the float was set too high. The sheet that came with it said warranty void if the unit is opened.
So I sent it back for another.

I received another one but on this one the threads for the fuel inlet were half worn down to nothing so the compression fitting would not seal. So I sent it back.

I just got a replacement and this time it leaked like mad. The bolt in the bottom that tightens the two halves is too long and will not seal the two halves. The lock washer isn't collapsed and the bolt is tight.

I am really tired of dealing with this. After three times should I just ask for a refund and tell them to keep the core or just forget it and move on? What would the rest of you do?

Ask fort a refund and post how it comes putt, including their name. As you can see I am also in Southern California and might need a carb rebuilt at some time in the future.

Charlie Stephens

[Fred]

Also ask for ALL the shipping Cost`s you have had to pay, Plus get yours back !!..

[Mike V. Florida]

Sounds a lot like the problem posted here a while back. Who is this guy that is selling them?

[larryf]

Go to Bert's

[Ron in Quincy]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Just wanted the Barn to know it is not one of my rebuilt carburetors !!!!!

Ron Rude

[Mitch//pa]

Yes get fully reimbursed and purchase one from Bert's or renners corner

[Franchise_24]

Who are you dealing with Joe so we can avoid them in the future? Too many hassles to be worth it. You should get a core back too, OR they need to test one to make sure it is perfect before sending you yet another one.

[H. L. Chauvin]

Not to be funny but I have met many people like this in my lifetime -- they exist in all professions, all trades, young or old, male or female, & all States have a few.

If you hired a private investigator to check on him it is possible that he also has:

1. A nice flower shop & he restocks his flower shop at night from local grave yards; and/or,
2. He gets tax free cigarettes from across the border & sells them to minors at a slight discount price; and/or,
3. He has a bar with labeled empty bottles of expensive whiskey that he fills every night with cheap whiskey; and/or,
4. He has a neat clothing store full of used Garage Sale clothes; and/or,
5. He sells life insurance that if a widow wants to collect on her husband's policy, her husband has to die exactly at midnight on Easter Sunday after being struck by lightening in the top of a Persimmon Tree; and/or,
6. What ever one can imagine.

I'm sure others have had similar experiences like yours with just about anything.

I would at least "try" for a refund; but if you call him a crook he will get mad.

Hope this helps.

[Tom Endy]

Zenith carburetors can be very troublesome to rebuild. I wouldn't think of selling anyone a Zenith I rebuilt until I ran It on my car for a week or so and put at least 20 miles on it. Even then I only offer them for sale locally so that if there is a problem I can deal with it easily.

I cannot imagine voiding a warranty by splitting the two casting halves. The float could have easily come unhinged during shipment. That would have been an easy fix.

I had two come back over the years. One fellow bought a can of the epoxy sealer sold by Model A suppliers to coat the inside of the gas tank and poured it in the tank half full of gasoline. It clogged the Zenith up such that I had a difficult time cleaning all the sealer out.

Another fellow installed the Zenith on a car that had been sitting for 5 or 6 years with gas in the tank. I warrantied one carburetor and when he told me the second carburetor was bad I quizzed him about what he was actually doing. Zeniths don't run very well on rotten gas.

Tom Endy

[tbirdtbird]

is this the same guy from texas that sells 'rebuilt' generators that are trash? at least give us the state

[Fred]

I just look a one that said "REBUILT" on the tag...The person that had it could not figure out why it would not bolt all the way together, like yours.. I took it apart & one look at the secondary well I knew what the problem was.. Some one had just turned it in place two or three turns & would not let the idle jet go down into it far enough.. Put it in the right place & bolted it right together..

[JOES31]

The supplier is a well respected supplier that has been recommended on this website. The supplier does not rebuild the carb themselves. They have a company do it for them. I think I have had a run of bad luck. I think from now on If I need a Zenith I will rebuild it myself.

[Purdy Swoft]

Its not likely that things will get any better with the person that you are dealing with. I wouldn't count on a refund. The more that you try, the more that it will cost you. I think at this point that the best thing that you can do is along the lines that Fred says above. Remove the bolt that holds the halves together. Check the secondary well and the float. If the bolt is too long, bolts are available cheap.

My wife bought a B carb on eBay several years ago from a guy in California that claimed to be an expert (not anybody that posts here , that I know of ) I installed the carb and it ran horrible, then the gas began to pour. I took the halves apart and found that the float was bent and had a hole in it. The venturi was also missing. This was about 9 or 10 years ago and the price was two hundred dollars plus shipping. I tried several times to contact the guy and he refused to answer my emails. I had the parts and just fixed the carburetor myself. It was a hell of a note but thats the way it goes sometimes.

[rocket1]

I guess you should have went on the forum first,fix it yourself,cut your losses,let us know who you delt with.

[JOES31]

I did go on the forum first and rebuilt two other Zeniths that run well but I thought the idle could be a bit better so I had another old Zenith I used as a core to get a "Professionally" rebuilt one.

Just got off the phone and they are sending a UPS call for both the carbs I still have and will issue a full refund. I am out the core which is not a big thing as I have two Zeniths. I think Bratton's better find another carburetor rebuilder. I guess I found out the hard way what a "Professionally" rebuilt carburetor is like.

I have already ordered a new Zenith 13922 carb and see how that works. Not original but from what has been expressed on this forum it's well liked. I'll report on the performance.

[Fred]

I am VERY surprised who you named as the dealer.. Did you talk to Walt, the Owner, about this ??

[JOES31]

No I did not talk to anyone named Walt. I didn't know who the owner was and I am not in the habit of bothering an owner of a company as I own companies. I delegate to my people how to handle problems that come up every day. I am sure he does the same. They were very pleasant and took care of the problem as they should. I can't blame them. They didn't do the rebuild however after this I would think they would talk to whoever is doing the rebuilds and let them know that this is not acceptable as it makes them look bad.

In the end it is probably just a run of bad luck. It happens.

Joe

[Mitch//pa]

joe,
water over the dam but if you search carburetor posts berts and renners are two places most were happy with on purchasing a quality good running reblt carb.
i never heard to much about all the others
i would consider them when you get refunded
as you mentioned brattons farms them out but i am pretty sure the two mentioned does them in house....

[Tom Endy]

If the Zenith came from Bratton's I would not hesitate to call Walt Bratton. Walt is a hands on owner and manager. His desire is to offer the very best of service. If it falls short he wants to hear about it. Walt will always take you call.

I have called him several times when I received something that was not acceptable and he immediately made it right.

Folks in the Model A hobby should consider that suppliers such as Bratton's are at the mercy of their suppliers and they cannot always control them unless they are advised that the product is inferior.

Tom Endy

[tbirdtbird]

I deal with Bratton's and Snyder's the most and I second and triple second what Tom just said. Walt at Bratton's is ALWAYS available, he makes it point to be available and he is gonna wanna know something is up. It is not clear to what degree his deputies report back to him about problems. Prolly they do but I would call Walt anyway. Just dial the 800 number and ask for Walt. You may have to wait a little bit I am sure he can never put the phone down
When I was ready for my first show with my Deluxe Touring he was back ordered on trunks. I was very disappointed. He offered to send me HIS trunk as a stop gap. Find a better guy than that.

Same for Don at Snyder's

[JOES31]

Mitch
I saw those names and for some reason I think I got Bert's and Bratton's mixed up. I will still purchase from Bratton's when the need arises. I am sure they are a good supplier. What I won't purchase from anyone is a rebuilt carburetor of any kind. I will buy a new one and be done or do a rebuild myself. The ones I did worked pretty good.

Joe

[Mitch//pa]

Joe,
brattons is first class but as mentioned they are at the mercy of their carb builder. . i buy from them all the time along with a couple others.
one thing thats great about this site is you know where to go for the best stuff...
to bad you got the name confused.....

[Mitch//pa]

i rebuild my own carbs also with good success using renners flow tested jets

[JOES31]

Mitch,
Interesting you would mention the flow tested jets. I changed out the jets that came in the Snyder's kit to the flow tested Renner's jets and the Snyder's jets actually worked a lot better. I was surprised. The Renner's jets were actually larger so maybe they flowed too much fuel.

I think the main problem is that we are dealing with a part that is over 80 years old and rebuilt who knows how many times over. I met another model a owner the other day. He has two, a coupe and a speedster. He has a running engine set up in his garage to test parts. He said he has rebuilt several carbs exactly the same way with the same exact parts. Some run beautifully and some don't run worth a damn.

I feel that if you're going to sell these rebuilt Zeniths they should be tested by the rebuilder on a running engine before they go out to the customer. I think others posted that Renner's and Bert's test them.

[Purdy Swoft]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

The flow rate is probably different for ethanol gas than real gas or even the gas that was used over eighty years ago I am lucky enough to be able to get ethanol free gas. I rebuild my own carbs and use used oiriginal numbered jets . I have never flow tested a jet and mine run good .

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Purdy Swoft

The flow rate is probably different for ethanol gas than real gas or even the gas that was used over eighty years ago I am lucky enough to be able to get ethanol free gas. I rebuild my own carbs and use used oiriginal numbered jets . I have never flow tested a jet and mine run good .

Knock on wood, the same for me.

I did one of my carbs about 15 years ago that I want to redo, and may have to remove the brass plugs to get it cleaned out better.

[Rex_A_Lott]

We are really lucky that our old cars run " pretty good" on whatever we dump in the tank.
I have some friends that are into racing and they are fighting the inconsistencies with the various "pump " gases.
One of them ran a go-cart track where they had to run "pump gas". Racers , being racers , naturally tried to cheat this rule...and to try to keep it all fair he resorted to checking specific gravity...which is not a perfect check, but is fairly cheap and would catch the blatant cheaters. What he found was that the stuff they were buying at various stations was not consistent, even without being cheated up. What he ended up doing was going to two stations, on race day, and getting his own samples and this was the standard for that night. He let the guys know where he was getting it, how it was checked.
Another couple of friends, trying to cut their costs, bought E-85 carburetors, and tried that fuel instead of the $8 /gal racing gas. They had problems with the gas station fuel being all over the place, and had to start buying E-85 by the barrel from the racing fuel suppliers to get some consistency...which sort of defeated the whole purpose of their endeavor.
OK. Sorry to be long-winded. None of that has anything to do with leaks and bad floats, but I'm just not sure how much a flow tested jet in New Jersey in the winter is going to help you in California in the summer.
To quote my Asian co-worker.." Good Luck to You".

[H. L. Chauvin]

Hi Joe,

FWIW:

Anytime there is any type of "serious" problem like this, (& especially "(3)" times in a row), with "any" parts, bought from either "Steve @ Bert's", or "Walt @ Bratton's", they definitely want to be the very first to know, even the first time it happens.

Highly intelligent business owners/managers such as these two are fully aware of what made their businesses successful.

Businesses operated by dumb Yo-Yo's not attending to customers who are not content can fold up in a heartbeat whether it be a restaurant, a bank, a Ford Dealership, or whatever -- words of complainers travel so very rapidly.

Just hope it works for you.

[Marshall V. Daut]

To follow-up on H.L.'s comments, I worked for Intel for 17 years and I think you'd agree they are/were a very successful company, and good to its employees, by the way. The company was VERY conscious of its image and reputation among its customers. In our local company newsletter, the Marketing Department published a list of why businesses fail so that we'd know what to avoid. Restaurants were specifically examined. I don't have that list any longer, but I was not particularly surprised by what the #1 killer of restaurant businesses was. I'll save that for last.
Although I don't recall the exact percentages, the following numbers are pretty close to why restaurants fail, and it's NOT because the food was bad. By the time a restaurant actually opens its doors for customers, the food is probably good, or at least acceptable. Even though the following describes restaurant failures, the same reasons (except the food, but substitute "quality" for that), could apply to almost any business:
2% bad food
1% customers die
3% customers moved away
1% location
67% perceived poor attitude/poor service by EMPLOYEES
Yup - a bad employee will kill your restaurant business quicker than burned scrambled eggs! One disgruntled customer tells a friend, who tells two friends, who tell four friends, etc., until no one goes to that restaurant any more. I have personally taken great satisfaction in seeing lousy restaurants (due to employee attitudes) close down after we boycotted them and told friends not to go there. The survey did not mention whether disgruntled customers addressed their issue directly with the restaurant owner/manager. Most people don't want that kind of confrontation and simply don't return.
So, business owners - keep the above in mind when you suspect an employee is hurting your business! That is, if you still want to have a business.
Marshall, the ultimate consumer

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by JOES31

Mitch,
Interesting you would mention the flow tested jets. I changed out the jets that came in the Snyder's kit to the flow tested Renner's jets and the Snyder's jets actually worked a lot better. I was surprised. The Renner's jets were actually larger so maybe they flowed too much fuel.

I think the main problem is that we are dealing with a part that is over 80 years old and rebuilt who knows how many times over. I met another model a owner the other day. He has two, a coupe and a speedster. He has a running engine set up in his garage to test parts. He said he has rebuilt several carbs exactly the same way with the same exact parts. Some run beautifully and some don't run worth a damn.

I feel that if you're going to sell these rebuilt Zeniths they should be tested by the rebuilder on a running engine before they go out to the customer. I think others posted that Renner's and Bert's test them.

Joe,
i have rebuild many carbs using the generic whatever size jets all the suppliers deal with. yes the carbs run but they do run richer, the gav is not as responsive when adjusting it lean/ rich, and the overall carb performance is compromised. i have used these generic jets when i first got into model A ing about 2006 as i did not think myself properly flowed jets were needed. after running these carbs that way for a period of time i did always have black plugs and the slight richness smell from the exhaust. after a while i took these same carbs cracked them open and installed the flowed jets from renners corner and right away i noticed a difference on all the above. my plugs now burn perfect, the gav, and fuel mixture adjusts much better, the exhaust does not smell. i confirmed all of this with my emissions gas analyzer also. they do make a huge difference in operation.
not just my personal experience but the experience of many others also.

[H. L. Chauvin]

To add to Mr. Marshall V's comment, my wife & I recently went to try a newly opened Pizza Shop with some friends.

After taking our order, our female waitress walked over to an adjacent table where several boys & another waitress were eating pizza & they were all also eating fried chicken bought from a "different" fast food restaurant.

Our waitress & the other waitress, while standing & flirting with these boys, ate all of their friend's fried chicken, both licked their fingers to clean them, & then proceeded to bring out pizzas to us & other customers.

At our table, we took bets on how long this place would stay open.

The pizzas were not bad, but in a matter of weeks, you guessed it, the Pizza sign was removed & the front doors were locked.

FWIW: Intelligent self-employed individuals learn quickly that maintaining professional employees "today" ........... who really care .......... is 95% of the business owner's battle to remain in business ....... intelligent owners are "always" most eager to hear "directly" from their intelligent customers.