Just had a conversation with my local B & S agent;
He said that ever since CV19, supply of engines/parts (across several brand's) from the USA has been awful. Doesn't know why.
B & S Australia are pathetic and only interested in wholesaling to Bunnings & Mitre 10
I no longer fit B &S engines unless specifically asked to do so
B & S Australia will tell you things are NLA when they are readily available either from the USA directly or from John Deere Australia because they are just too lazy to import them .
Genuine Gator blades being the prime example .
John Deere will supply B & S engines cheaper than B & S will and also they are cheaper for parts but of course you need to know the JD part number .
Better still is the JD engines have much better air filter covers that do not rust the fasteners like std B & S covers do .
Now you have to pull the engine out in any case so pull it out and slip the sump off and see what sort of damage there is inside .
You have nothing to loose but a couple of hours .
3 usual reasons for dropping a rod, in order , over heating , low oil , over reving
Small Engine Warehouse in Australia is affiliated wth Small Engine Warehouse USA who sell superceded engines cheaply
I buy a lot of Kohlers form them as my Australian aftermarket wholesalers only sell Kawasaki or Loncin .
Do not worry about the size of the engine, it makes almost no difference as they all spin at the same speed and the extra power means next to nothing unless you are mowing pasture .
I have fitted a lot of engines that are as much as 5 Hp lower than the original and all the customers ever say is the mower is quieter and uses less fuel.
And this includes 3 commercial customers who mow up to 6 hours a day.
It is TORQUE that does the work and Torque is a function of piston area , stoke & compression.
All B & S engines with the same capacity prefix 44 for instance have the same bore stroke & compression the only difference apart from the stickers is a restrictor gasket between the manifold & the head to reduce the maximum air flow on the lower power engines & some times the governor spring .
Unless you are north of the Qld border the grass should be slowing down by now
Here there is nothing growing here other than Tussock grass, clovers , fire weed & sticky night shade right now