Any chance at getting warranty to cover a valve job. I have a 23 vanguard that was missing/backfiring and they are saying that the valves/valve seats need to be cleaned up.
They supposedly found some bad gas in the carb bowl and are saying thats what caused the valve issues. If warranty doesn't cover it up front, any chance of getting a lawyer to get them to fork it up. Motor only has 39 hours on it. Anyone ever have similar circumstances?

Cleaning up the valves and valve seats isn't that big of a deal. If THEY charge you it shouldn't be much.

But, being the engine only has 39 hrs. on it I think they should fix it up free of charge for ya.

My .02.

That wasnt too specific was it?

"They" refers to the Master Briggs and Strat Dealer Lawnmower shop that I took it to. Supposedly, the mechanic says it was bad gas that caused the valve issues. I've heard other people with engine probs say that fuel related problems weren't covered under warranty, even if it causes further damage. Im guessing Briggs and Strat will say the valve issues are related to bad fuel(thus not covered under warranty). Is that true regarding the warranties on these little engines? Does bad fuel pretty much rule out any chance of warranty work on the valves? There's no real way for me to prove that it was good/bad gas at this point. Like I said though, the engine only has 39 hours.


I was told by the shop owner that he would change the headgaskets(since the heads were taken off), clean the valves, and "true" up the valve seats.

When you say shouldn't be too much, in what "neighborhood" of dollars and cents would you think? Sound like a $200 job or more like $700??

I would bring the motor back to the dealer (instead of a corner briggs shop)and see what they say. Most of these Mud motor companies will go the extra mile for a customer with an issue like this. It is a mud motor right? If not, where are you located? As for as cost goes, it shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred bucks to clean up the valves and seats.

As for as the warranty, I doubt anyone will cover fuel related issues.

Is the motor still under warranty? Not that it matters much unless you have someone willing to work with you. This is a major issue with getting Briggs Warranty work. Lawnmower shops don't want to do it. There are a couple pages in our phone book listing Briggs Service Centers and NONE of these azzhats wanted to work on my Briggs. Lucky for me PD now is a certified Briggs service center and took care of me. Apparently its not as easy as your motor having issues and Briggs covering it. It seems they may try to get out of it if they can.

Craig- yes it is a MM. Its a 2008 Mudbuddy Mini with a 23 vanguard.

Motor ran like a champ before, and then just started backfiring/missing out of nowhere. There are some hot spots on the cylinder walls, but nothing too bad. The motor is in warranty until December 12, 2009.

BJG, thats kinda what I thought. Arent lawnmover engines the ones that we put the old gas in because they're notorious for eating old fuel without complaint?? I have no way to prove it was old gas or what caused the issue.

If I approach Briggs with a reason that they should service it under warranty, what evidence is out there to support that old fuel shouldn't cause valve issues? In order to stand any chance of getting this thing warrantied, I'm gonna have to figure out a valid reason for the valve issues regardless of the fuel condition.

Bayoufrogg, the dealer would be your best bet in trying to get it warratied.

Motor has 39 hours. Motor has been ran with AMS 3000 5-30 full synthetic oil. Im located in St. Charles Parish, La.

The shop already has the motor taken apart and is waiting on headgasket to come in and valve job to be finished. I can't exactly take it anywhere until they put the motor back together. The motor does have some hot spots on the cylinder wall, but the shop said that they were pretty insignificant and shouldnt cause me problems. Their plan is to get the valves done, put it back together, and then test it again under a load.

Believe me, if the motor wasnt taken apart right now, I'd say give it back and take it to a mudbuddy dealer. I don't ever want to have to go through the b.s. that this shop has given me again. From here, I need to think about how to put this all in writing to Briggs for reimbursement. That is looking like my only option at this point.

So my biggest question is, how can I approach Briggs in the aftermath?? How would you approach Briggs with causation?

Your motor has a 2 year Briggs warranty. Leaking valves on stock heads is a common problem with these mass produced engines. My MM friendly shop just replaced my head under warranty without question. You should owe nothing on this work- bad gas causing the valves to not seat after 39 hours is a pretty laughable. Call the regional Briggs service manager (get the number from Briggs). Get the warranty certified before you pick it up- once you do you are out of pocket.

Next time- try the BoatDr. He has just about everything common for service in stock (i.e. you would not be waiting for gaskets). They are certified Briggs mechanics and he is a big MB dealer and stocks alot of their parts as well.

Andy Johnston- (The BoatDr)
825 S Al Davis Rd
Harahan, LA 70123-7306
(504) 737-1203

Maybe I missed dis, but what is this engine mounted on?

yep , you missed it. Its a 2008 23 hp mudbuddy mini.

deadbird - You are right that I wouldn't be waiting on "parts" with the boat Dr., but I would be waiting on them to even look at the motor. Last time I brought a go-devil there to replace the driveshaft, I was told it would be about 3 weeks and it ended up being 4 months(and I supplied a good bit of the parts).

I went there to see if he could work on this thing and he said he couldn't touch it for three weeks. I knew what that meant, so I brought it to someone else.

Who did your warranty work and what was wrong with the head? I may be able to use your situation as an example when speaking with the regional Briggs service manager.

In several of my posts I have indicated why it was not brought to the Boat Dr(only mudbuddy dealer around) and why I cannot bring it at this point.

At this point, I just need to know what other issues can cause a need for valve job and if bad gas at 39 hours is one of them.

BF: Sorry to hear that you are having these problems. No one wants to be out time and money on a relatively New Motor no matter what brand. Unfortunately the information from your post's show that you have made a decision to use an engine shop that seems to be less than helpful for your needs. You in good faith have asked them to either fix or research the problem and they have given you their evaluation of the problem. You and others may not like or trust that evaluation, but unfortunatly you have made the decision to use this shop so as painful as it may be you will need to pay some amount to get to the next step in your story. Now having said that I will be interested to see if Briggs will honor work that has not been authorized as being under warranty. That usually has to be approved by the original dealer or some dealer/repair center that has enough Briggs history to support a Manufacter as large as Briggs. Not trying to preach here just stating what I am sure others have thought. Good Luck and I will be interested in what happens.

PS. I believe from personal experience the wait for Quality work is seldom a loss.

When I look for a place to eat in an unfamiliar area, a full parking lot is usually a good indication of which place to go. Just my 2 cents.


Deadbird: Could not have said it better.

The shop that I took it to has 77 years in the business. I looked them up on BBB and saw that they were a "Master" Briggs and Strat dealer with a long history of good work. That's why I took it to them. I wouldn't drop it off to some corner hillbilly.

Thanks for giving me the details deadbird.

bayou, We have done hundreds and hundreds of these heads and I can tell you that they are all junk in stock form. The seats go out of round right away, the valves are soft and go out of round and the guide position can actually move up to 3 degrees. Made in Japan my ass.... Gas as an issue in valve seal is ridiculous and non-provable. I would stand firm with the shop and ask them to give you the phone number of the Briggs rep that services their Briggs account before you pay the bill. If they will not give you the number, it would be really easy to find. I can help you if you need to.
Call the Briggs rep and explain the whole situation to him/her. They will more than likely help you out with the shop you are working with. They are interested in preserving the customer for the most part.
We have been a Briggs Dist for 24 years and when crap goes wrong, I call the rep and let him sort it out. A lot of what they build is junk. A nice set of replacement race type valve seats and stainless valves that we have made really fix the problem. What you will most likely find is that your heads will "move" once again. That is the whole problem to start with. As with most engines, after up and down temperature heat cycles, the core and it's components will go through "shift". These low quality heads and seats seem to move more than others. Some only do it the first time and some do it several times getting better as it gets older.

Good luck,
Sheldon