Points adjusting

[Mr Bob]

Rebuilt my 149 engine during the summer. Set the timing while it was on the work bench. Far easier than setting it while in tractor. When starting tractor, it some times kicks back and a slight poof noise in the air filter. Seems the timing is a little advanced. Do you make the point gap more narrow or wider to retard the timing? Once running, it takes gas good and idles as well as could be expected so I do not believe it is a carb. issue. Thanks in advance for your help and have a great day.
Bob

[cooperino]

Does it do this only when cold and choked? When you start it cold what position is the throttle in when it does this?

[R Bedell]

My 1450 runs better at .018" than .020". You may have to find the "sweet spot" for your engine.

[twoton]

Originally Posted by Mr Bob

.....Do you make the point gap more narrow or wider to retard the timing?.....

Widening the gap advances the timing and narrowing it retards the timing.

[Gompers]

How did you set the timing?

[Mr Bob]

Thanks for the reply's. I timed it while on the work bench. If I remember correctly, I brought the piston up to where the valves were closed. I could feel the play in both valves. Turned the crank till the "S" mark was lined up with the line in center of inspection hole and adjusted the points where a test light would flicker off and on. My memory is not the best so I could be off on something. The tractor is in my heated garage that stays about 60 degrees. The throttle is advanced about a quarter inch or maybe a little less. If I remember correctly, I have to give full choke until it fires then back off the choke slowly. I probably will have to close the points a couple thousands inch. Thanks for all the help and have a great day.
Bob

[dodge trucker]

I have a K341 in an Ariens (sorry!) That coughs and backfires sometimes thru the carb sometimes a fireball out of the exhaust, is a Royal pain to get started in cold weather but starts right up when it is warm out, even when the engine hasn't been started in a couple of weeks. I had to throw points and condenser in it outside last year when it was-10* F out, but I had only recently gotten this machine running after many years of sitting dormant, the previous fall.

I always thought that the popping and farting when trying to start it in the cold was because of how sloppy the exhaust valve is within the guide, something that I discovered when I had the head off for a look see. The Piston and bore are also sloppy as I can see about 1/2 of the thickness of the top ring on the valve side of the block. I know that the whole engine is tired but when running it runs strong and no smoke.
I had thought about replacing the valves back then while it was apart but decided not to as worn as everything else looked, was just interested to see if it would run at all out of curiosity at the time. Being as how I use this machine which last winter was with a back up plow blade and in the rest of the year just to move my trailers around and pull a leaf sweeper in the fall I thought I'd leave it alone for now.
As hard of a time as I have finding 16hp kohlers around here I want to pull it off for an overhaul to put on something else before it does grenade. I have a couple of 301s that I can put on that machine and it will still do what I need it to do.