The first thing that comes to mind is the difference in opinions in this story.

On one hand you have said that the machine is maintained well and on the other hand we hear another opinion that the filter/motor is dirty.

Lets hope tech was smoking dope that day and looking at someone else's machine - and that your unit is as clean as you think it is. Hopefully you have some records to prove or disprove the tech is really looking at your motor ? (Serial numbers maybe ).

With regards to internal dirt/debris in the block - I suspect the decision is going to hinge on this evidence... If that rep sees that your motor truly has dirt/debris in the crank case - then you could be in for a $ride$.

Note that there's a slight chance that metal shavings dont always make it out on the first or second oil change... Be aware you might see shavings in that case (was it from break-in or the crank shredding itself ) who can tell...

If you have some minor grass clippings and debris on the external surface of the motor - thats to be expected.

And if its a dirty air filter - then it was doing its job and keeping the dirt from harming the engine. If its filthy then your story is starting to leak water. HOWEVER - Ive not seen any thrown rods due to a dirty (or filthy for that matter) air filter.

The one thing that you might see - are records of how much oil was drained from your motor - they might even show it to you. An amount Oul less than the recommended levels - also makes your story look "weak". If your not mechanically inclined - then your probably not changing your oil - If you saved your maint records - that could work in your favor. Look for old Visa or checks which proves you had it serviced by a pro.

Be prepared to answer questions in your favor - but if they start showing you numbers and information which dont favor your situation - your probably doomed "Proba-Bila-Doomed" as my kid says.

Some people get themselves caught in a lie - let me give you an example... Someone says the motor has been leaking for months - and I always have to top it off before we use it ... My wife must have overlooked doing this on that special day... However when I look at that oil in the case its filthy black... If you were topping of the engine everytime you used it - we wouldnt be seeing black oil (would we). In this type of case - even if the oil hadnt been changed in years it would be clean - as its always being refreshed little by little.

Some of these guys are a bit like a forensic scientist and their field experience can be impressive. They can be your ally or your enema ...

Be careful what you say - it can be used against you. If your innocent you might get lucky - If you've been bad with your maint scheds, its likely their gonna know it ( get ready for a costly repair ).

Good luck - Dave

"I have always kept the maintenance up to B&S owner manuals specs." Have you kept any records of expenditures toward maintenance, such as receipts/invoices for oil and filters? Those types of records would go a long way toward convincing a factory rep that the engine had been taken care of. Now to focus on the "dirty air filter and dirt in the block"..... A dirty air filter cannot cause any kind of "rod" to break simply by being dirty. A perforated or warped air filter that allows dirt to be inhaled by the engine will lead to eventual "wearout" of the engine (intake valves, their guides & seats, and the piston and cylinder walls will suffer the worst of the damage. The "dirt in the block" statement is much too vague and general for me to draw a conclusion about the exact nature of the "broken rod". And exactly what kind of rod is broken? I am inclined to think you are referring to a "connecting rod" (connects piston to crankshaft), but considering one of your other comments ("I am not at all mechanically inclined."), it might be a "pushrod" (operates the rocker arm to open a valve). You might want to post some engine numbers if you have access to them. The numbers needed are the Model number and the Type number. This would allow a person to know precisely which 24 hp B & S engine you have. "I have read several different post on this site and others where a lot of people are having the same problem." You might want to "copy and paste" these posts into document format, print them off, and carry the documents with you. Other than that, there is not much else this forum can do to change a bad situation. You might try to find a competent and qualified mechanic (of your choice) to inspect the remains of the engine and see if his opinion differs from the personell in the shop that took the engine apart. Your only defense is going to be that the Briggs and Stratton air filter housing was defective and therefore did not provide adequate support to prevent air and dirt from "bypassing" the filter element. Records of expenditures for preventitive maintenance services to the engine and copies of the cases you read about are your best bet. Having a competent mechanic (with some proof of credibility) to disprove the claims of the shop and/or fac rep would be a plus. Just knowing for sure the exact condition of the failed parts would help people on this forum to draw some conclusion or at least, to form an opinion.

If a connecting rod failure due to casting defect it will have a fracture line or zone. You can clearly see the fracture zone if it was a casting problem or metal fatique. Google Metal fatigue and frature zones. People specialize in this field they are called Metallurgist. Try to googling that.

If dirt caused the connecting rod to break it would of been worn first creating slack or gap when the piston goes up and down and a hammering sound would be noticed IMO before the failure. I also agree if the oil is black as the ace of spades and the air filter is filthy with debri getting pass it you will not have a leg to stand on.

naturally they will want maintenance records and probably proof (receipes of oil and filters) oil changes. don't feel bad most people neglect to document or understand pre-ventive maintenance and what has to be done. Hopefully your engine is the one with probably known intake sealing problem as decussed on this forum. If so this would explain why the oil gets dirty quicker than normal by the way of the dirt'dust getting pass the air filterization system which IMO is a design defect that the manufacture should be responible for if you can prove it.

In about 99% of broken connecting rod cases consulting a metallurgist isn't needed because metal transfer between the rod's big end and the crankshaft throw is obvious. Rods usually break after some hammering has taken place. Before the rod fails. a lack of lubrication between the rod and crankshaft will result in material from the rod being essentially melted and transferring onto the crank journal.

Disassembling an engine with a broken rod and finding an otherwise pristine situation is very rare. If the broken rod were due to a flaw, the big end wouldn't show any evidence of the aluminum being wiped off and transferred to the crank.

I doubt that will be the situation here.

Can you post photos?

All of this is My Opinion and some information that may help, but may not in this case. Not knowing the poster or the machine in question I would be guessing at best.

IMO If the chineze cast the rod wrong there will be evidents. The poster needs to beware of and have knowledge of this rare occurance. Can we be sure? Nope can we rule it out Nope. Only a trained eye or someone who has studied this could tell anyway. I agree most cases is from an oiling problem where it be from no pre-ventive maintenance or an actually problem internally.

The post said he did do maintenance, but the finding conflict to that due to the dirty oil and air filter. But, was a design flaw causing this condition to get pass the pre-filter and paper filter IMO that is the question. IMO in certain conditions 10 hours or less of use can cause a real dirty air filter, but it shouldn't get pass it. the engine should start to run rich for lack of air IMO and this should be noticed by the operator. If the dirt is alow to be sucked in pass the air filter then the engine would run normally IMO till the failure. Personnel IMO I don't thing that engine should of failed in less than two years it the owner done nothing but checked the oil and kept it in the XXXXXXXXXXX area of the dip stick. Why do I think this? IMO cause majority of owners do little or nothing the there lawn equipment anyway.

I sure Briggs is going to say it's not there fault beings the dealer has already made the comment about dirt, but does this dealer know that certain models may have a design flaw in the air filteration system? (this is where the owner has to do his homework and google and search fourms to find that out?). I would of be there when they tore it down and take pictures of the crank journal, connecting rod, and where the connecting rod can apart (both pieces). I would also take pictures of the carb. inlet tube down stream of the air filter.

IMO problem is it has been tampered with. I would not let the dealer replace the engine if I had to pay for it. They have to much of Financial interest in new replacement engine at the customers expense IMO.

If it comes to a replacement engine I would by a different brand and replace it myself, If I couldn't do that then I would seek help from a relative or friend that has basic mechincial system knowledge that can remove and replace the engine. Why?? cause of the price of a new engine from a dealer. Or if the repair costs may adds up to the price of a new engine from other sources.

I was the one that actually started the mower that day. The engine gave no sign of any kind of problem. I didn't hear anything strange or did it act sluggish. I had just put new oil in the mower the Wednesday before it was used. I did drain the old oil and it was filthy, black and ran out very slow. I did not replace the filter since B&S said it didn't have to be done at every oil change. But had replaced it the time before. I change the oil every 10 hours, but I don't have the records to prove it. I am one of those people that changes my truck's oil every 3000 mile religiously. I did clean the air filter about every use, by just blowing it out. I live in southeast Texas and we have been under a draught for almost a year and it is dusty every where around here. Every time you mow you have to go in and shower afterward, so common sense told me to check the air filter every time. I can't explain why other than the fact the dirt must of gotten past the filter some way. It used the same amount of gas every time we mowed and it ran like a champ until this last time out. My wife said it made one noise and quit. I wasn't there so I can't explain the noise. And asking my wife to explain it is not going to get us an answer. I do know that the rod that broke was a connecting rod. Also once before it bent a push rod and I and a friend fixed that ourselves. Other than that I can't think of much I else I can explain.

You might want to keep quiet about you and a friend fixing the bent pushrod. Briggs would most likely cancel any warranty considerations for sure if you disclose info to the effect that the engine has previously been "into" by persons other than "bona fide, Briggs authorized persons". Concentrate on the facts you have stated herein. Write up a summary about your maintenance practices and download any and all references you can find to other people having experienced this misery. Have all this collected into a folder or manila envelope when you go to meet with the Briggs rep. You might sway him with your preparations and evidence of this not being an isolated case, but instead just another repeat failure in a long line of similar failures. It will be up to you to prepare and state your case, so get busy and good luck.

"Also once before it bent a push rod and I and a friend fixed that ourselves."

Did it occur to you that the push rod must have bent for a reason? The likely cause was something that they have been covering under warranty.

You don't know if it is a push rod or a connecting rod that broke? And you hope to get info here to bolster your case? Well IF it is a push rod, you probably will be covered unless they find you already messed with it. IF it is a connecting rod, you are probably up the creek.

Walt Conner

I have to say it's very, very, very rare to have a manufacturing issue with a rod take 2yrs to surface. That's normally a "first couple mowings" type of thing.

"broke_not"'s post is 100% on the money when doing an analysis of a broken engine.

I'd also like to see photos of the rod break area and both the crankshaft and rod bearing surfaces.

valve guides comes lose and bend pushrods and valves stick open and hit pistons. Kind of goes hand in hand on somethings.

Piston bends valve stem, no broken connecting rod, broken push rod OK but that is what we don't even know, which is broken.

Walt Conner

I had a briggs 2cylinder on a craftsman tractor 2yrs old was mowing engine went wild threw a rod out the block,took it apart the governor shaft broke and that let the engine go wild the shaft alone was $75 i put a new kawasaki on it BRIGGS,KOHLER, are really making a lot of JUNK. Rick

The man said it was the connecting rod. Can't get much more clear than the following:

"My wife said it made one noise and quit. I wasn't there so I can't explain the noise. And asking my wife to explain it is not going to get us an answer. I do know that the rod that broke was a connecting rod. Also once before it bent a push rod and I and a friend fixed that ourselves. Other than that I can't think of much I else I can explain."

You're right, I totally misread it. Stand by my assessment on that.

Walt Conner

sadly i see that the oil filter wasnt changed during the oil change. I know there are statements saying you dont have to change it on every oil change... the people who make these statements obviously make way too much money and never mow their own lawns .

With residual dirty oil in the machine it makes your fresh oil - look not so fresh...

Im a pessimist by nature - I dont think your story carries enough evidence to get you a free replacement motor.

Still - you have good shot at this if you post your numbers and it can be determined this is one of those motors with the bad air filtration systems.

Being in a dusty environment with one of those motors might help your case.

Hopefully the engine failure analysis will come out in your favor. This is a definite science. Yet the rep has the ability to make their decision towards your side if you prove a good earnest case if the physical evidence says- yes, there is dirt ingestion, yes, the guys a filter isn't new- but was a BS part and should have been doing the job and so on. The reps mission is NOT to deny your claim. If dirt ingestion is due to the inability for the housing to seal, that would be good news with this engine. You wouldn't be the only one who has had that issue if that what it comes back as. I must say that blowing through a paper element is not acceptable as the pressure can tear the media and compromise the filter. Be sure to post how things come out. Bring records of any kind to support your claim of maintenance. Marks on the calender, scribbles on the back of the manual- it all backs your claims.