eBay seller "abcdave" ripped me off

The pictures speak for themselves, and yes he knew about it because he put the DynoJet kit in. Anyone know of a way to repair this, or do I need a new carb body? ..and don't tell me to JB Weld it again and sell it on eBay, like this complete jerk did. Man, this makes me ill.

 

That's not exactly a high-stress part, all it does is hold the float in place.
You could try welding, or there was an aluminum-solder stuff posted in a thread not too long ago.
But JB weld would hold that just fine, but not without a little modification. I'd cut a groove on the 3 sides you can get to with a dremel, so the JB weld (or whatever) could have something to hold and brace.
Sorry to here about the ebay rip-off. It's always a gamble. :/

 

I had the same thing happen on a set. drilled a hole through center of each piece an put a tiny steel pin to hold each piece and then took an expoxy which is not affected by gas or oil to hold pieces together.

Should have been disclosed by seller though.

 

Regular JB Weld won't hold up to ethanol--it starts to become pliable and then breaks down. The JB Weld that was in it was flaking apart already. Every gas station around here is at least 10% Ethanol blend. Anyone know of an epoxy that will hold up to ethanol/alcohol? If not, I might try and get it welded. Thanks for the tip.

 

Don't forget that's aluminum. If you weld that, you'll have to do some filing and reshaping. Also, make darn sure that the hole is lined up perfectly for the float pin.

dAve

 

Yeah, I don't have the resources to weld anything, unfortunately, let alone aluminum. Will have to get someone here who knows what he's doing. Thanks guys.

 

The "Emergency Repair" is:

Drill a hole where the Pillar broke-off from.
Thread the hole with a Tap.
Cut Threads on the end of a Brass Rod.
Thread the Rod into the Hole with Permanent Locktite.
Drill a hole through the Brass Rod for the Hinge Pin.
Shim the Hinge Pin with tiny flat washers to keep the Float geometry.

The BEST way to FIX it:

Replace the Carb Body with one without damage.

Experimental Resource: (Might work; might not)

http://durafix.com/

 

c'mon guys, al the swap meets sell the Aluminum filler rods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWxYK3VF ... ature=fvwp

There's tons of videos on Youtube.

Get to work.

 

If you paid through Pay Pal you can get your money back and buy another carb set. If the seller did not represent what he sold truthfully then Pay Pal will get you a refund, the seller pays shipping to return the item.

 

+1
Nail that jerk and get your money back.

 

it ain't easy but they can be saved, permanently

 

File a dispute on Ebay.
It's pretty simple and I've gotten my money back three times.
One time I never paid for the part (the seller paypal account problem) and I never got any communication from him. The seller never shipped the part (obviously) but they gave me his money anyway! I just needed to file a dispute otherwise it could have been a strike against me as a non-payment transaction.

 

As suggested, ... file a complaint.
Get your money back.

People shouldn't use Ebay as a way to Pawn-off junk on others.
And since the Carb he unloaded on you is virtually ruined; the people reviewing complaints should side with you.

If they don't.
It's not too hard swapping-out a Carb Body after you find one to replace that one with the broken Float Hinge Pillar.

 

If you can't repair it I have a set of carbs from a 1980 xj650. They need a rebuild, but the throttle bodies are in good shape.

 

Thanks guys. Lots of good advice. I might try and get a single carb body locally (Polock has offered, among others), and contact this guy independently first, to see if he will do a partial refund. The dynojet kit in these carbs is probably worth keeping, but if he doesn't communicate or says "no," I'll go the PayPal refund route.

That aluminum soldering rod is fascinating, but it looks as if:
a.) I would have no way to clamp the material, making it a two person job
b.) The sustained heat would possibly damage other parts of the carb unless I completely gutted it first (why not, I guess)

Anyway, thanks again--I have a plan.

 

Polock, why didn't you just put a dowell in there? that dovetail looks impossibly difficult, did you actually do it, or was it another Photoshop exersise?

 

why no dowel, i was into making gun sights at the time, making the dovetail is the easy part after you make the cutter to cut them

 

Can you give us a link to the auction?

dave

 

hogfiddles, here's that link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120570482076&viewitem=

 

ouch! if they were soaked in Berryman Chem-Dip for any length of time i hope he replaced the throttle shaft seals
pull off the E clips from the outside of carbs 1, 4 and see if the seals are still soft, no need to take it out just touch it

 

Well, I haven't gotten the chance to do that yet, but those outside seals have been wet--just barely "weeping" gas, say, when petcock was set to "prime." They have never dripped though. Bad sign?

 

Yeah, ... That's a bad sign.

Generally, when Gas is just dripping out of the Throttle Seals ...
It's pouring into the Crank Case.

You got to sort-out that Ebay description stuff.

Man, like, when they say the Carbs were sent up to the Space Station to have the Float Levels set at Zero-G's ... you pretty-much know that's some boulle-sheet.

 

I have a bank of Hitachi carbs from an xj650 which already have an aftermarket jet kit installed in them. Diaphragm needle is adjustable to 6 positions. They need one float bowl, and two screws and some float bowl drain screws. I bought them under the assumption that they were stock but they had been modified.
I would like to get $50.00 plus shipping for them but I am open to offers. Let me know if you are interested. Jack

 

Well, the float levels were all very low, and the pistons/plugs were always bone dry when I pulled the plugs, so... Maybe I averted disaster? If oil level is exactly the same now, how do I know for sure without changing the oil (again--I just did it)?

Jack, that sounds pretty tempting. I will be in contact with you one way or the other soon.

 

Well, not to sound like the 'devil's advocate', but I don't see anything misleading in the ad. It could very well be that something happened after the carbs were re-assembled, it could be that something happened in shipping, it could be that it happened when you were taking them apart and didn't know it, etc....

The seller's feedback shows a consistently high rating, I don't know as he'd want to jeopardize that ..............

The auction also states a 3 day inspection period is granted. Did you inspect it within the three days, did you then contact the seller? If not, then it's YOUR problem. I would still contact him, first, not us. We're going to side with you, but that doesn't correct the original problem.

You need to talk with the seller, and if nothing is resolved there, then go through ebay for reimbursement through the dispute resolution circuit.

Let us know what actually happens.

Dave Fox

 

Did I neglect to mention that the pillar was JB Welded together and it that it fell apart as I gently slid the float hinge pin out? He definitely knew about it, because he installed the DynoJet kit.
To answer your second question, I had the bowls off immediately after receiving them, but that was only to see if the jets/floats/valves were in there. I didn't immediately disassemble anything--otherwise I would have seen this, and I certainly had no good reason to suspect that area as a trouble spot to be inspected. Had I gone through this unfortunate process before, I might have done it differently.
So, in closing: No, it's not my problem. At best it certainly was misrepresentation on his part, even if accidental, and at worst it was willful and fraudulent. Yep, I will let you know what happens.

 

My question was "Did you inspect it within the three days, did you then contact the seller?" if you didn't, then in closing I will still stand by my statement of "If not, then it's YOUR problem." The longer you wait to contact him, or ebay, the less chance you have of getting ANY sort of refund. It gives them that much more leverage to say that it happened after it was received due to "the fact that even after three days there was no poblem and then 'all of a sudden' a part turns out to broken" , that would be their position.

Of course, he make take issu with you calling him a jerk when you haven't even contacted him yet.

Contact the seller, contact the seller, contact the seller, contact the seller.

Dave Fox

 

Dave,

You seem to be in the mood to assume things today, but I still have some patience left so here goes. I am NOT the type of guy to jump to conclusions, so please understand that my accusations come only after careful consideration of the condition of the item as well as the possible causes. Let me straighten things out for you.

1.) I have contacted the seller (how you could be sure that I haven't I don't know).
2.) I know that I have a problem, and...
3.) The problem is a seller who misrepresented his item.

Yes, I have heard the phrase "buyer beware," and yes it may even apply in this situation. However, I also believe in personal integrity and honor, which means that:
1.) I expect at least a partial refund from this guy, and...
2.) I wouldn't call him a "jerk" without absolutely believing that he knew about the broken carb body.

This may be my first broken carb, but it is by no means my first business transaction, and I know the difference between honesty and dishonesty. The seller's ability to "get away with it" has no bearing on that.

In the interest of fairness, let's say he had no idea about it. He completely rebuilt the carbs, chem-dipped them and installed an expensive jet kit; all without noticing the epoxy job. Ok, seems like a stretch to me, but we'll proceed. In that case, it was an honest mistake, and I am sure he will have a hard time believing that I didn't break it myself. Although there is no real way to prove either side, I do know that I received a broken carb body, and I am asking him for a partial refund as a result. I think that's fair, and I don't mind if you think me a fool for it. I hope I have made everything clear.

 

I wasn't assuming anything. So far, you've said one time that you were going to contact the seller. Otherwise, we haven't been told that you actually did, nor what he said.

Yes, it's hard to believe that it wasn't noticed before it was sent. It's equally as hard to believe that it wasn't noticed when you first took the bowls off.

...there is no real way to prove either side...

My point exactly. You call him a jerk, he calls you something else. Did he tell you point blank that he knew about the break? Then you can call him a jerk. If he didn't, well.....who's assuming what? Basically, you'll say he broke it, he'll say you broke it. Stalemate.

I don't care if you still have patience or not, I don't think you're a fool for asking for a partial refund...or a full refund. I hope it works out for you.

Feel free to respond, I won't bother.................

Dave

 

Just to clarify, my comments in this forum, as public as it is, are not a good reflection of my actual message to the seller.

Having said that, I need to say that the seller is NOT a jerk, and that yes I DID speak too soon in saying that he was.

He offered to give me a small but appropriate refund, and I believe we will part ways on good terms.
My comments here were rash/reactionary, despite my convictions that the seller knew about the issue. I should have waited for our dealings to conclude before I reported on the situation.

Dave (hogfiddles), your advice was pretty much spot-on, and I think I may have jumped on you a bit--sorry 'bout that. I was still a bit worked up from struggling to get this bike working for the past few months, only to find that broken carb. This forum has been a great help, and I don't want to be the one to make it look bad. Something tells me that if we were all to get together and talk face-to-face it would go much better. Oh well.

 

Thanks. I appreciate that. That's what I was trying to tell you. That's all.

Good luck with the project,