Briggs exended life series engines

[nomochevys]

WE may be shopping soon for a mower and I see a lot of these on top end mowers. My question is how good are they? Are they glorified inteks? Where have the Vanguards gone to?

Does anybody that is mechanically inclined know about these engines? Does anybody have one? Im skeptical about them right now.

 

[brainpause]

I hope they are good motors. I have a 22 or 23 HP one on an ExMark Quest. 93 hours and so far, so good.

Larry

 

[rainman49]

About 150 hours on the Briggs ELS 26hp on my Scag Freedom Z. Knock on wood, runs like a champ! I change the oil (Mobil 1 TDT 5w-40) at the end of the cutting season, which is about 40-45 hours on the oil. FYI, the bad reputation the large Briggs engines got was from a poorly designed flat air filter on the early models that allowed unfiltered air to get sucked into the combustion chamber. Briggs fixed the filter design with an oval filter and the problems have dropped significantly.

 

[brainpause]

I had a strong 20 HP [censored] on a Murray purchased in late 99. Can't remember air filter shape. it probably had less than 150 hours on it, and I moved. it didn't get used much and it cracked the block. I was kind of mad about it, but there was nothing I could do about it. a replacement engine was apparently way more than a new mower of similar size.

Larry

 

[Cujet]

I don't know if that particular engine is any good. However, I learned my lesson the hard way. I now purchase only Kawasaki powered mowers. I had a number of engine failures, both Briggs and Honda. In the case of the 2 Honda's, it was related to low oil viscosity, high outdoor temps, full throttle, full load and extended operation pumping water, with (possibly) less than ideal air circulation.

In the case of the Briggs, the pressure washer engine held up fine right up to the point that the poor quality of construction on the governor/carb resulted in massive overrev and rod failure. I have got to say, that engine was not built well at all and never ran as nicely as any of the Kawasaki's I now own. 100 hours seems like a short life to me.