Are Walbro pumps now trouble free?

[Racetronix]

Not to pick on you GN vendors, but this line tells the whole story and why I'm confused Walbro keeps getting recommended here.

"Did you ever call Walbro to express your concerns with their warranty program or lack thereof"

There's a pump now with a 3 year warranty and they are literally on the board talking to customers. Sounds better to me and I don't even have their pump.

Walbro pumps are union made in the USA. Vendors make relatively low margins on them compared to when they first came out and retailed upwards of $180.00. These new turbine pumps are mostly made in China at a cost of approximately $20.00US. Now if we were buying pumps at $20.00 and selling them at $170.00 we too could offer 3-year warranties and flow each one with a chart. At these margins, we could have a 50% plus failure rate and still pocket more than we do selling Walbro pumps. Now the REALITY of this situation is that 99.9% of Walbro pumps do not fail prematurely but since most people only post when they do have a problem it tends to set the impression that there is a chronic problem with failures. The old adage states “repeat something often enough and people will start to believe it”. That is what is happening here. Let us see how reliable these new pumps are years down the road when and if their numbers ever reach the market saturation that Walbro has. Racetronix has considered offering extended warranties years ago for a slight premium but instead we decided that we would build more value into our kits and keep pump margins down. The percentage (<0.5%) of customer issues with Walbro pumps did not justify that approach since most were installation related issues. If a customer feels more comfortable with a liberal warranty program, they are welcome to buy generic-fit Walbro pumps under the Holley or BBK label from Summit at a $30 plus premium.

 

[Racetronix]

I was answering the original post question "Are Walbro pumps now trouble free?"
The answer being "Yes from Mike, and no from Racetronix".

In answer to your first question, no I did not send the pump that I puchased from Racetronix to China or wherever they are made for any testing.

In answer to your second question, no I did not call China or wherever they are made to express my concerns. I called you at Racetronix. You sell the item, you are responsible for customer service and the product. At BEST, Racetronix showed me an unbelieveable amount arrogance and unethical behavior. To not replace or provide a refund for a defective product that you sell is the poorest of business practice. I have spent tens of thousands of dollars from purchases off the internet for years, and have never had such a bad experience as I had with Racetronix. Never again.

If I purchase anything from anywhere and it initially does not work, I return it to that location. Be it Walmart, Sears or wherever. I have never had a problem with that, nor should I. It would be ridiculous to do otherwise. If I find a flaw in a diamond from the local jewelry store should I contact South Africa to complain? No, of course not.

Mike and Racetronix use the same sources for Walbro pumps so your problem could have just as easily arisen with a pump from FTR. I am sure Mike does not hand out free pumps with no questions asked based on a customer’s diagnosis.

We explained the procedure for you to pursue a warranty claim. You chose not to send your pump in for inspection. You expected Racetronix / Walbro to replace it based on your diagnosis. Instead, you chose to get on the forum and complain about it. Perhaps you dropped, contaminated or ran your pump dry and that is why you did not want to send it in for testing?

Walbro conducted a study prior to cancellation of their ‘no-questions-asked’ warranty policy back in 2004. Walbro found that 98% of all pumps sent in under warranty were not defective. Of the 2% that had failed most had succumbed to impact, sediment/rust, moisture or being run dry.

We provided you with contact information for Walbro USA to voice your opinion.

Vehicle fuel and electronic components are too sensitive to installation error and environmental issues to be able to offer the same type of warranty programs of yesteryear.

I recommend that anyone who considers installing a pump study these videos. Section 6 – tank cleaning should be of particular interest to people on these forums:

Videos

 

[NEVER ENOUGH]

Subscribed.

 

[Mike Licht]

Jack is correct here, here are the FACTS, no matter if you like them or believe then they are what they are. Walbro has made pumps that have stood the test of time and preformed better than anything for many years. Out of the 800 or so 169 pumps I sold in the questionable time I took back 44 that Walbro exchanged even though they do not offer warranty. Thay says everything I need to know. The 340 and the 169 are EXACTLY the same pump and have the same flow just a different inlet, so are the 341 and 342 pumps. Buy one form Jack, But one from me you are getting a quality pump from a quality vendor that supports your car of choice, pick your poision one is not better than the other. Walbro will have some new High Performance pumps made in the USA not china like the some of the others that have come out recently that will outperform anything out there.
Mike

 

[GNVYUS 1]

Guys, some of the Walbro comments come off sounding like things the brother of a Thief might say to make it seem, not so bad. Customers got stuck with blown up parts and a dead pump, Walbro got to keep the $ from the dead pumps while setting a questionable flawed pump date and a date on when you have to return that dead pump to them.

How again did Walbro even come to find out there was an issue, ah yes, customer after customer after customer blowing parts up. Then they continue to sell this know flawed pump to customers without pulling them from Vendors shelves and having them inform past and current customers. There's plenty of proof of this on the board here, let alone all over. But it's USA made, great, Bernie Madoff's an American too, getting robbed by Americans is ok I guess.

BTW, TB's are a small group of Walbro pump users that had issues and we had more than any company should feel comfortable with. Maybe not after hearing so many just toss the issue to the side. So are we to buy that they're going to change how they treat customers from now on, or was there not an issue at all on how they handled it?

Anyone care to estimate how many Walbro pumps failed IN THE COMMUNITY of racers?
Look around, leave Turbo Buick land, it wasn't just GN's, it was WIDE SPREAD. There's no real way to even calculate all the ones that failed because guys like me VOWED to never use Walbro again so we didn't send it back after seeing they weren't going to refund anyone's $.

Common Jack, you're not really saying .1% were flawed are you?

But what about those who would've stuck with Walbro, THEY COULDN'T because of the lame ass return date and production date of flawed pumps Walbro set. They stopped taking back dead pumps that were clearly dead, why, why not take it back regardless? ,

My Talon had a center diff recall and I took it in 5 YEARS after it was issued and all was good by Mitsubishi. CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Most customers don't care or know about margins, we care about quality and prices. Maybe Walbro should charge more and flow every pump this time around so their customers wouldn't have to bring to them a MASS issue of pumps not pushing past 58psi. I'll pay the extra $20 a pump to know it's good. If the Chinese pumps are doing it, then why not recommend them, because their Chinese made? Who's got the customers back here and why aren't we supporting that?

What stuns me is everyone keeps glancing over how Walbro handled that situation. I find it sad that the FAKE Walbros didn't have the failures the USA ones did. Walbro got away with decimating a COMMUNITY of enthusiasts and make $ doing it. The right thing to do would've been to pull this pump, inform as many Vendors and customers as possible and offer to test or swap out any of these pumps to the newer version. But that would've cost them $$, the same $$ customers gave them for this crappy pump. So instead of them eating a bit, we should. Sounds like a great company policy, lets keep giving them our $ because that's all they truly care about obviously.

But by all means, lets forget the past and embrace this new pump coming from them.

 

[JDSfastGN]

I won't get into it but I will say the percentage of pumps that I had go bad was much higher than what was stated and really thats all I care about. What walbro states could be true but its hard not to think they are covering their backsides. I had 3 pumps go bad in a months time and I never ran it low, have no rust in the tank and did not get bad gas or any other circumstance. I was stranded multiple times on the side of the road and and was tired of dropping the tank so I invested my money in a Bosch 044 that has been flawless for a long time now. I will run a walbro in future cars and was happy to receive my two replacement units but they most certainly were bad units and its hard to believe that 2% were really all that was bad.

 

[87GNSteve]

Guys, some of the Walbro comments come off sounding like things the brother of a Thief might say to make it seem, not so bad. Customers got stuck with blown up parts and a dead pump, Walbro got to keep the $ from the dead pumps while setting a questionable flawed pump date and a date on when you have to return that dead pump to them.

How again did Walbro even come to find out there was an issue, ah yes, customer after customer after customer blowing parts up. Then they continue to sell this know flawed pump to customers without pulling them from Vendors shelves and having them inform past and current customers. There's plenty of proof of this on the board here, let alone all over. But it's USA made, great, Bernie Madoff's an American too, getting robbed by Americans is ok I guess.

BTW, TB's are a small group of Walbro pump users that had issues and we had more than any company should feel comfortable with. Maybe not after hearing so many just toss the issue to the side. So are we to buy that they're going to change how they treat customers from now on, or was there not an issue at all on how they handled it?

Anyone care to estimate how many Walbro pumps failed IN THE COMMUNITY of racers?
Look around, leave Turbo Buick land, it wasn't just GN's, it was WIDE SPREAD. There's no real way to even calculate all the ones that failed because guys like me VOWED to never use Walbro again so we didn't send it back after seeing they weren't going to refund anyone's $.

Common Jack, you're not really saying .1% were flawed are you?

But what about those who would've stuck with Walbro, THEY COULDN'T because of the lame ass return date and production date of flawed pumps Walbro set. They stopped taking back dead pumps that were clearly dead, why, why not take it back regardless? ,

My Talon had a center diff recall and I took it in 5 YEARS after it was issued and all was good by Mitsubishi. CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Most customers don't care or know about margins, we care about quality and prices. Maybe Walbro should charge more and flow every pump this time around so their customers wouldn't have to bring to them a MASS issue of pumps not pushing past 58psi. I'll pay the extra $20 a pump to know it's good. If the Chinese pumps are doing it, then why not recommend them, because their Chinese made? Who's got the customers back here and why aren't we supporting that?

What stuns me is everyone keeps glancing over how Walbro handled that situation. I find it sad that the FAKE Walbros didn't have the failures the USA ones did. Walbro got away with decimating a COMMUNITY of enthusiasts and make $ doing it. The right thing to do would've been to pull this pump, inform as many Vendors and customers as possible and offer to test or swap out any of these pumps to the newer version. But that would've cost them $$, the same $$ customers gave them for this crappy pump. So instead of them eating a bit, we should. Sounds like a great company policy, lets keep giving them our $ because that's all they truly care about obviously.

But by all means, lets forget the past and embrace this new pump coming from them.

I am glad you posted this. The evil deed is trying to be swept under the rug. SO many communities other were affected by it to, Impala SS, Camaro, Fords. Walbro can keep their "union USA" made crap if they dont stand behind their product for any amount of time. If that is the case it shouldn't spend any amount of time attached to a vehicle.
Stroll down memory lane: http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/general-turbo-buick-tech/251342-premature-walbro-failure-8.html

 

[Mr.Spool]

funny thing put a new walboro intank in a gn stock combo.put an alky kit on,tt chip and the usual supporting mods.car starts leaning out on top,added a little more alky,even more fuel via the chip,same deal.put a fp gauge i could read while driving,made it to the stoplight and car stops running.walboro failed,first time i got stuck without braking something and while idlingthings do fail and i have a walboro in mine that will be coming out just for piece of mind.neat thing is everybody is always worried about the alky pump but that secondary fuel system saved the motor on the stocker.ps i won't drive my gn without a rail gauge anymore.

 

[cetme1]

Mike and Racetronix use the same sources for Walbro pumps so your problem could have just as easily arisen with a pump from FTR. I am sure Mike does not hand out free pumps with no questions asked based on a customer’s diagnosis.

Strange that the pump I got from Mike works and the one I got from Racetronix didn't. Racetronix certainly didn't "hand out a free pump", it cost me about a hundred dollars, and all you sent was a broken part. Not exactly "free" was it? You made a nice tidy profit though, didn't you?

We explained the procedure for you to pursue a warranty claim. You chose not to send your pump in for inspection. You expected Racetronix / Walbro to replace it based on your diagnosis. Instead, you chose to get on the forum and complain about it. Perhaps you dropped, contaminated or ran your pump dry and that is why you did not want to send it in for testing?

Damn right I didn't follow your "procedure". Just so everyone here knows, your "procedure" was for the customer that received a broken pump to:
1. Send you $40.00 for testing, PLUS
2. send you an additional $40.00 for shipping (thats some shipping charge there!) and then there just might be a possibility that I could get a working pump, but you couldn't be sure. Sorry. but I'm not sending another $80.00 to you after already paying for a broken pump.

Walbro conducted a study prior to cancellation of their ‘no-questions-asked’ warranty policy back in 2004. Walbro found that 98% of all pumps sent in under warranty were not defective. Of the 2% that had failed most had succumbed to impact, sediment/rust, moisture or being run dry.

We provided you with contact information for Walbro USA to voice your opinion.

No you did not. You must have me mistaken for yet another customer that received inferior Racetronix merchandise. You told me that some Chinese guy was supposed to call me. I'm still waiting on the call 1 year later.

Vehicle fuel and electronic components are too sensitive to installation error and environmental issues to be able to offer the same type of warranty programs of yesteryear.

I recommend that anyone who considers installing a pump study these videos. Section 6 – tank cleaning should be of particular interest to people on these forums:

I know how to install a fuel pump. This was the 4th one I have installed on turbo Buicks. All of them worked except the one purchased from Racetronix. Seeing a pattern here?
Videos

Once again Racetronix shows their arrogance and true colors on how they treat their customers. Racetronix has made it clear again and again that they will not give a refund or a replacement part for non working items that they sale.

 

[williamsGN]

Pretty simple... don't like a product.. don't buy it... don't like a vendor.. don't buy from them !

Go buy performance parts and ask for a warranty Check Summits warranty on electric fuel pumps, or most perf parts for that matter. Want a warranty, buy your pump at Autozone.

 

[Racetronix]

Once again Racetronix shows their arrogance and true colors on how they treat their customers. Racetronix has made it clear again and again that they will not give a refund or a replacement part for non working items that they sale.

Responsibility for the pump’s warranty lies with the manufacturer. Walbro in cooperation with their WD dictates the terms for pursuing a claim. If you Google around you will find our policy is inline with many other Walbro vendors. Whether these terms are to your liking is another issue.

Ford Mustang Fuel Pump from Fuel-Pumps.net

Auto Performance Engineering - Walbro fuel pumps and more

http://www.034motorsport.com/docs/WalbroWarrantyElimination.pdf

There is nothing ‘strange’ about the transaction and it has nothing to do with Mike @ FTR. Your pump issue could have just as easily been a byproduct of a transaction with FTR. Did you read Mike's post above?
SAME PUMPS / SAME MANUFACTURER!

If you are adamant that your pump’s failure had nothing to do with your installation / handling then you should have no reservations about perusing a claim. If Walbro finds fault with your pump, the testing fee is refunded and the return shipping is free. You are responsible for sending the pump in for testing.

There was nothing stopping you from doing a simple internet search or contacting any number of Walbro vendors for TI’s information.

If you were interested in getting your pump replaced you would have followed the required procedures. Instead, you chose to attack Racetronix on this forum because you thought we would make an easy target and hoped these posts would net you a replacement pump with no questions asked.

 

[SGRIM]

Once again Racetronix shows their arrogance and true colors on how they treat their customers. Racetronix has made it clear again and again that they will not give a refund or a replacement part for non working items that they sale.

It is pretty plain to see that the warranty lies with Walboro not Jack. Racetronix is one of our oldest and most committed vendors... If it was his problem I think he would have made it right. You have a problem with Walboro...

 

[TURBOPOWERED68]

I remember a number of years ago thet the Walbro fuel pumps had some kind of problem w/ reliability. I think it was the M style pump from the mustang, modified to fit Gn's. Did they fix whatever issue it was? I don't want to upgrade to a piece of junk!

I currently have a VERY VERY old Walbro 340M BUT i would be cautious in buying a replacement Walbro because of the way they handled their defective pump situation. Just by the info in this site (use the search button) it WAS/IS clear that they new that there was a problem yet continued to sell the pumps which cost some people thousands $$$$$$$ in blown up engines. The sad part is that mines is old as heck and shows what a good product they had at one time to then use another part or manufacturer (possibly to save some money) they cause peoples engines to go the scrap yard.

you guys kill me with your warranty stuff.
If a product is advertised to work a certain way then thats what i expect and pay for.
I also expect my vendor of choice to aid me in the event i get a defective product. They made a profit from me now handle my situation and you can bet that in the future YOU WILL MAKE more profit from me. And that doesn't mean that i expect you to take a hit for me but you got my money help me out bro.

 

[ttypewhite]

Its amazing how some can't see the forest through the tree's. I have bought a Walbro pumps from Racetronix that has lived 4 years now in my Dad's car, then bought two for mine that had one die within a month the other one is still alive today. Jack is one of my best friends, and in the 20 plus years I have known him, he has never lied to me or tried to pull the wool over my eyes. He is just the distributor not the manufacturer. What makes that concept so difficult to grasp? Even being best buddies I never got any special treatment that the rest of people have gotten, nor would I have the balls to ask for either. Bottom line Walbro is one of the best bangs for your buck dollar to dollar. No company on the face of the earth runs glitch free. You have a problem, follow Jack's advice and take it up with the people that made it. Even the very best have issues from time to time, so stop bashing our already limited vendors that actually take time/money and effort to put forth effort in STILL producing/distributing products for our dated cars.
REMEMBER, all vendors get this product from the same place and there are 100's of vendors world wide selling Walbro pumps.

 

[Walbro]

Hi TurboBuick,
My name is Matt Monroe, I am the new sales manager at TI Automotive over the Walbro product line as of July 2010. At the risk of being publicly flogged by TB, I felt that I needed to respond to this issue. I can't say anything that can erase or make up for the past decisions and mishandling of our high performance warranty issues at TI Automotive, and how it personally affected your pocket book and beloved cars. I understand your anger, it is well warranted (no pun intended). All I can say is that I agree that our current policies are not acceptable and must be changed, they are simply not fair to our customers or our vendors. The entire past TI management team that enacted the current policies are no longer with the company, and the new management in place recognizes this as not being handled properly, and changes will be made as soon as possible. Once again, these new policies can't possibly make up for the past, the only thing I can do is improve things moving forward.
Please do not fault Racetronix and Full Throttle, they can't be expected to shoulder the burden of this issue, they needed the proper support from the manufacturer and simply didn't get it.
-Matt

 

[Pronto]

Matt, that's pretty impressive for you to come on and admit that the old warranty was stupid. I'm glad they will be changing that. I have not had any issue with my Walbro and hope I don't. I also don't hold any of the vendors responsible for this.

 

[NEVER ENOUGH]

Hi TurboBuick,
My name is Matt Monroe, I am the new sales manager at TI Automotive over the Walbro product line as of July 2010. At the risk of being publicly flogged by TB, I felt that I needed to respond to this issue. I can't say anything that can erase or make up for the past decisions and mishandling of our high performance warranty issues at TI Automotive, and how it personally affected your pocket book and beloved cars. I understand your anger, it is well warranted (no pun intended). All I can say is that I agree that our current policies are not acceptable and must be changed, they are simply not fair to our customers or our vendors. The entire past TI management team that enacted the current policies are no longer with the company, and the new management in place recognizes this as not being handled properly, and changes will be made as soon as possible. Once again, these new policies can't possibly make up for the past, the only thing I can do is improve things moving forward.
Please do not fault Racetronix and Full Throttle, they can't be expected to shoulder the burden of this issue, they needed the proper support from the manufacturer and simply didn't get it.
-Matt

So that means things will be different as far as warranty in the future? How far in the future?
If an order is placed with Racetronix now, will the pumps they ship be sold under the old policy or the new and improved policy?

 

[Walbro]

So that means things will be different as far as warranty in the future? How far in the future?
If an order is placed with Racetronix now, will the pumps they ship be sold under the old policy or the new and improved policy?

The new policy is in the draft phase, I honestly can't say when it will be officially rolled out, or what the parameters will end up being. There is much room for improvement over the current situation.
Off the record, it should grandfather in current/past purchases for the timeframe that ends up being covered.

 

[Pronto]

it should grandfather in current/past purchases for the timeframe that ends up being covered.

Yes it should, although mine is probably too old to be covered anyway.

 

[cetme1]

Hi TurboBuick,
My name is Matt Monroe, I am the new sales manager at TI Automotive over the Walbro product line as of July 2010. At the risk of being publicly flogged by TB, I felt that I needed to respond to this issue. I can't say anything that can erase or make up for the past decisions and mishandling of our high performance warranty issues at TI Automotive, and how it personally affected your pocket book and beloved cars. I understand your anger, it is well warranted (no pun intended). All I can say is that I agree that our current policies are not acceptable and must be changed, they are simply not fair to our customers or our vendors. The entire past TI management team that enacted the current policies are no longer with the company, and the new management in place recognizes this as not being handled properly, and changes will be made as soon as possible. Once again, these new policies can't possibly make up for the past, the only thing I can do is improve things moving forward.
Please do not fault Racetronix and Full Throttle, they can't be expected to shoulder the burden of this issue, they needed the proper support from the manufacturer and simply didn't get it.
-Matt

Thanks Matt for posting.

I don't think anyone here will flog you for having the guts and decency to come on and explain your new involvement with the company. Welcome. I look forward to hearing more from you.