Thanks, meep. I also had to replace a wheel, tire, and spindle. The axle was worn half way through and the wheel bearings were shot as a result. But the engine is strong and doesn’t use oil, so it should be good for a few more seasons.
Its the long boat trip from Shanghai. I recently bought a 1 1/2 HP jet pump from Lowes that was obviously flooded at some point in its 12K mile journey. Lowes needs to exercise better oversight of its products. Somebody put an obviously damaged unit in a nice new box.