Your thoughts on seized engine

[Notsohappy]

I just had a second thought. (Only had one cup of coffee this morning) I would contact the engine manufacturer directly and explain your problem to them directly. Let them know that you probably have put two dealers against each other and that is not what you want to do. Admit that you just want your unit fixed and may not have gone about it the best way in the heat of the moment. Don't forget to mention this forum and the advise you received here. Don't put the blame on anyone yet. Many times working WITH the manufacturers rep. Speeds things put and makes everyone look good and feel better.

Awesome advice. I will definitely do this. Thanks again!

 

[Rivets]

Third thought. (working on second cup). You said 12V battery, 5V starter. This is an electrical problem on the unit and not the engine. Carefull what you say to the engine manufacturer. May have to talk to the unit manufacturer in the future. Going for a third cup.

 

[Notsohappy]

I just mentioned that the engine was seized and nothing about the starter voltage. Doesn't really sound like Briggs would help anyway, as they said if it is due to lack of oil, it is a maintenance issue and wouldn't be covered. I contacted the dealer I purchased the unit from and left a message so we'll see what they say.

 

[Rivets]

Lack of oil after 5 hours is not maintenance. Either mechanical problem (rings, valve, breather) or there was not enough oil put in at setup.

 

[KennyV]

I'm with Rivets all the way on this...

seized At the time of an oil change....
(that's possible, low lube will generate a lot of heat, things will expand and when using the engine power to keep things moving, a lot of the parts are going to bind up, after stopping the engine,The starter will not have enough HP to get them moving again)....

5 volts at the starter isn't necessairly a problem... I am not sure what a Locked starter will draw... But it could easily pull enough amps to load a 12 volt battery down to 5 volts, that's possible..

Operating an engine with low oil is surely the operators responsibility, (you "should" always check oil levels...) Not everyone does, including me.
It's easy to assume is going to be there, because it was there the last time used...
B&S along with other engine manufactures have had a lot of new engine failures because of lubricant problems... Engines are always shipped with no oil ... and sometimes, it is overlooked or improperly serviced at the start of it's life...
I wish you good luck, but if you get anything I think it will be at the dealers expense... someone else may have contributed to the low oil level... But as the end user, the ultimate responsibility should fall to you.

You may be Notsohappy now, but in the longer run... You do have an exceptional mower & other than having a bit More $ tied up in the initial cost, you will still have a great mower.
Plus this is a timely reminder for all of us to remember to check the oil, (first day of Summer, & Heat places a lot of demand on oil) .
Post back with the outcome, and try to become a bit less, Notsohappy... :smile:KennyV

 

[KennyV]

BTW...
The only reason we are aware that this problem seems to result from operating with a very Low level of oil... is because you measured the amount drained.... and admitted to the quantity...
I'll commend you for manning up to the oversight of checking the oil level before operating... but this one bit of information really pushes the failure probability toward insufficient lubrication and away from some manufacturer's defect or problem.
That said, if it was low or no oil failure, during a close examination of the parts, would reveal that condition... so there would be no advantage to trying to conceal that bit of information.

It is more of a statement of your character, that you are able to admit to your responsibility... so cheer up a little, knowing that your capable of making mistakes like all of us... and you are also capable of taking the responsibility... :smile:KennyV

 

[Rivets]

Please post the results of the inspection, and exactly what they say is the cause is. If it is a bearing, what bearing. Kenny and I are very interested in hearing what they have to say. That is all individuals involved. Mechanic, Briggs rep., dealer where you bought the unit. If everything is as you say, I am interested in what the dealer has to say about setup and what the rep. has to say about failure. If you end up paying, please ask for the parts back and if you are able post some pictures of the bad parts. Would be very interested in seeing what happened.

 

[Notsohappy]

Thanks all for the advice. I am admittedly not an engine expert, so that is why I came here. I will keep everyone posted on the status and Rivets, I did contact the Briggs customer support (I believe I mentioned this in a previous post) as you suggested and they are supposed to be opening a case and someone is supposed to contact the dealer that has my mower and see what is going on. I still have not heard back from the service manager at the dealership where I purchased the mower, so that isn't very promising. I asked the guy that picked up my mower when he thought it would be looked at and he said either today (Friday) or Monday. Kenny, thanks for the kind words. As I believe I mentioned in my original post, I am sure some of the blame is on me as I didn't check the oil before running the engine, so I don't expect to come out of this without paying anything, although it would be awful nice! I understand I have made a mistake, but as you mentioned, I don't check the oil level every time I use my mower (nor do I check the oil level in my car every time I use it either), but you can bet I will start now. Expensive lesson to learn, but I am hoping that either it is something that can be fixed (not likely) or the dealer will step up and help out with the repairs as it was in my opinion partially their fault as well. If the engine oil level was full to begin with, I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. Thanks again everyone for your input as it has been very helpful.

 

[davbell22602]

Have you tried to turn the engine over by hand to see if it really is seized?

 

[Notsohappy]

I did not but the guy that came to look at it tried to turn the flywheel and could not. He could not turn it with both hands which is where I got that it is seized up. I won't know exactly what happened/why until they tear it apart, hopefully today. Seeing I did not get that much oil out when I did my 5 hour oil change leads me to believe it is seized due to lack of oil, but won't know for sure what is going on until I hear from the shop.