Cylinder scratches & internal rust on new Vanguard

[Rivets]

No, those are too big, in my opinion.

 

[ILENGINE]

I would find it hard to believe that they add the proper amount of oil to every vanguard engine then add some liquid fuel then test run for X minutes then drain that oil AND drain ALL the liquid fuel from the fuel system including the float bowl. I would believe they assemble the engine with assembly lube and then fire the engine on a mix of air and propane for a couple seconds then put it in a box and ship it.

According to what was put out to the dealers a few years back when they opened the Vanguard factory all engines are test run on the bench. The correct amount of oil is added to the engine, but the use a special fuel that is injected into a test port in the carb that is sealed off before boxing, The fuel fully evaporates leaving no residue. Basically run them on brake clean. The fuel never enters the fuel bowl. All employees at the Vanguard factory are required to be MST's also

 

[Rivets]

From IL’s post it looks like things have changed since my visit. That said those scratches look like a dry piston score.

 

[I'llTakeTwo]

I believe what you posted, but don’t believe what you were told. Many years ago, before I retired, I had the opportunity to tour a Briggs and Stratton manufacturing facility and can tell you that NOT all engines are tested before shipping. Saw engines go directly from the manufacturing line into boxes. There evidence you posted of scratches show that the engine was rotated in a dry condition. The packaging you posted does look like manufacturing line packaging. There are many ways to read warranty statements and yes once INSTALLED you need to go through Briggs warranty claims. I still stand behind My statement, look for another supplier, but understand your reasoning to stick with them at this time. Good Luck in your venture.

Hmm. Not sure what to make of it at this point. Things change, they could have found a way to do short test runs with tech and process improvements in recent years. This engine had definitely been run, or at least the plugs were used as I could see that they had a slight whitish grey coating like you would see from the heat and by-products of combustion. As you can see from shot of the inside of the crankcase in my second post, there is residual oil hanging around still. And, the gas tank smelled only of plastic.
BTW, the company is Small Engine Warehouse.
The B&S guy said they sell tons of engines and that often they'll get stuff that ended up being surplus for an equipment manufacturer that planned a run of x number lawn tractors or generators for example, but things changed and they under produced, leaving them with a bunch of extra engines on hand that they would not be installing on equipment. SEW apparently buys them up and resells them. So who knows what the deal is, maybe somebody other than B&S ran it, maybe it's a return from a sneaky customer or something. I did find it interesting that when I spoke to the SEW customer support lady, to confirm return shipping details and I asked about securing the box to the mini pallet it came on, she mentioned that the box should have been stapled shut when I got it. There were no signs of any type of staple ever being used on this box, just two strips of clear packing tape across the top seam.
Thanks for sharing your perspective.

 

[I'llTakeTwo]

this says it all.

Yeah, kinda sucks being in this position. I can't really justify spending an extra $1200 to put an engine on the wood chipper that I paid too much for w/out the engine being bad. I would have been happy if all was well, but I got taken advantage of and that's that.
FWIW, engine was supposed to be new, the B&S tech I talked to said that based off of it's model and type number he thought it was an "oddball" engine, whatever that means, but probably overstock from an equipment manufacturer. It's DOM was Feb 2020.

 

[I'llTakeTwo]

According to what was put out to the dealers a few years back when they opened the Vanguard factory all engines are test run on the bench. The correct amount of oil is added to the engine, but the use a special fuel that is injected into a test port in the carb that is sealed off before boxing, The fuel fully evaporates leaving no residue. Basically run them on brake clean. The fuel never enters the fuel bowl. All employees at the Vanguard factory are required to be MST's also

That makes sense in looking at this video. Their process seems pretty robust and although they didn't mention test runs, I could see it being part of their process.

 

[ILENGINE]

Yeah, kinda sucks being in this position. I can't really justify spending an extra $1200 to put an engine on the wood chipper that I paid too much for w/out the engine being bad. I would have been happy if all was well, but I got taken advantage of and that's that.
FWIW, engine was supposed to be new, the B&S tech I talked to said that based off of it's model and type number he thought it was an "oddball" engine, whatever that means, but probably overstock from an equipment manufacturer. It's DOM was Feb 2020.

That engine so odd, that the dealer websites don't show any parts diagrams for that engine. The supposed diagram shows engine accessories catalog only. that entire line of Vanguards was discontinued a few years back. And there are a few select type numbers that were lack of a better term diagrams limited to the OEM that used them. Kind of like you won't find a parts diagram for a Kawasaki engine used on a JD on any US parts websites.

 

[I'llTakeTwo]

According to what was put out to the dealers a few years back when they opened the Vanguard factory all engines are test run on the bench. The correct amount of oil is added to the engine, but the use a special fuel that is injected into a test port in the carb that is sealed off before boxing, The fuel fully evaporates leaving no residue. Basically run them on brake clean. The fuel never enters the fuel bowl. All employees at the Vanguard factory are required to be MST's also

Apparently they need to fog their engines w/ a corrosion prohibitor at the end of the run.

 

[sgkent]

I blew the photo up and could still see cross hatch thru them. They aren't moly rings so I would not expect a mirror finish. FWIW some race engine builders put rings in dry. I don't but some feel it helps the rings seat faster and better.

 

[I'llTakeTwo]

I blew the photo up and could still see cross hatch thru them. They aren't moly rings so I would not expect a mirror finish. FWIW some race engine builders put rings in dry. I don't but some feel it helps the rings seat faster and better.

I just tried zooming and just had noise and pixelation. I don't think resolution is great enough to see what you think you're seeing.