In may '05 I purchased a John Deere L120 riding mower new from the dealer. The tractor came with the Briggs & Stratton 20 hp. engine. All John Deere service publications recomend the first oil change @ 5 Hrs. & again @ 50 Hrs. I changed the oil @ 5 Hrs. & again @ appx. 42 Hrs. with the Briggs & Stratton recomended oil I purchased from the same dealer that I purchased the tractor from. The tractor now has appx. 60 Hrs. and to my supprise has broken the #2 (upper) connecting rod and resulted in breaking the crankcase. I chose the Briggs engine over the Koller engine that was also availible for that tractor because of the reputations, personal experiance with the Briggs & Stratton engine lines & expected a good sevice experiance for the John Deere dealer. My servicing dealer has now told me that the engine repairs required will not be covered by the OEM. warrenty wich was a 2 yr. unlimited Hrs. warrenty. I was told that the engine failed due to lack of lubrication due to lack of, or poor maintnance. I had my servicing dealer contact a Briggs & Stratton feild service rep. He also told me the that the repairs would not be covered by the warrenty. At that point I contacted both John Deere & Briggs & Stratton companies via E-mail. John Deere told me the ultament decision was up to Briggs & Stratton, Briggs & Stratton contacted the dealer wich was working on the tractor and requsted digital pictures be taken and E-mailed to one of their engineers. Now that they have recieved those pictures they want me to pay to have the engine sent to them. I get the feeling at this time that Briggs & Stratton also intends to tell me that the repair will not be covered by thier warranty. All of this is based on the inital dealer mechanic , wich could not show or produce any small engine certifications or cretited small engine repair diplomas, saying that the amont of oil was severly contaminated and at a low level. I've told all parties involved that the engine was running at the time of failure and that the engine neever stalled but did continue to run for a short period (appx, 5-6 Min.) untill I shut the engine off. After that piont I had to load the tractor in the bak of my truck and drive appx. 20 Min. to the dealer, all of wich would result in a lower than normal engine oil level. Especialy while there was a hole in the side of the block the size of a racket ball! I can also provide the receipt for the oil & filters puchased dated 06/03/06 for the manufacturers recomended oil & filters. I have seen the engine since the unqalified tech performed the tear down of the engine the #2(upper) rod journal is completely destroyed while there is minimal damage to the #1(lower)rod journal. I am a mechanic at a reputable car dealer have had many years experiance with engines both profecinaly and other hobies including: gas and diesel engine, small engine, motorcycles and watercraft. I am a certified tech that can show all of my credentals by the company I work for, and a diesel and gas engine driability,engine repair,and electrical specialist. Also known as a gas or diesel engine master. It is of my personal opinion that there was no realitive damage to the #1(lower) rod journal that would indicate a base engine oil failure by oil level, oil viscosity, or a base oil presure concern (like a faulty oil pump) but that the inital concern was that of a manufacture defect either in casting materials or a defect in machining the #2(upper) conecting rod. In all they may be more expenssive but stay away from John Deere and try to find something with the availible Honda or Kawasaki engines! Steve L. 32656 FL.