I have been having loads of fun with my mower. It has a Briggs engine 31C707-0154-E1. A couple weeks ago the engine dropped an exhaust valve seat, so I set out to find another head. After perusing the illustrated parts guide on Briggs' website I found the part they claim for my engine is Part #796026. This includes all the gaskets, valve adjusters, etc. and a replacement shroud. I ordered the kit and found that the head is different from my original one (two extra fins on the exhaust side of the head), is physically wider by 1/4-1/2" such that it doesn't fit the original shroud. The new shroud is L shaped whereas my engine's shroud is U shaped (and this is exactly how it appears in the Illustrated Parts Guide to boot). thinking maybe the part itself was mislabeled, I compared pictures of my old and new head with the head from a completely separate, but same part number head from the dealer. Exactly the same as what they sent me. Both boxes are Briggs labeled... the dealer didn't monkey with them.

So, I called up Briggs tech support and explained all the above. The lady I spoke to said that the part number was correct that I ordered and is still the original part, hasn't been superseded by a newer one or anything. I told her clearly it was incorrect because my head looks different, and that the shroud is different from the one pictured in the parts guide. She said I should return for an exchange from the place I got it from and I explained that I already compared pics from two different kits so I was reluctant to do it since it didn't look like it would make a difference. After a little bit more of this I asked her if there was anyone else there that I could talk to that would know for sure, and she said that they'd have to call me back. Is that going to be hours, or days? Days, she thought. That's awesome.

So, nearing the end of my rope I figured I'd check here and see if anyone else has had this experience with either this engine or Briggs. I have ordered other things off of the parts guide I've got and they were accurate, but not this one.