[submaker]

Got an 18 HP K361 (1980). Replaced the head gasket cuz it was sucking air. Now i's backfiring out the carb. Timing marks appear to line up on crank and cam, but points open about 20 deg. soon.

 

[KennyP]

:wave: welcome to the forum! You need this manual.

 

[Tecumseh power]

I got a kohler book let me look it up for you.

 

[Tecumseh power]

http://www.kohlerengines.com/onlinecatalog/pdf/tp_1288.pdf

 

[Tecumseh power]

Got an 18 HP K361 (1980). Replaced the head gasket cuz it was sucking air. Now i's backfiring out the carb. Timing marks appear to line up on crank and cam, but points open about 20 deg. soon.

 

[boyscout862]

Welcome to GTT. The valves may need to be adjusted also. Good Luck, Rick

 

[glgrumpy]

Is this an OHV engine? Valves are real fussy on those and have problems with seats in the aluminum heads going bad. Did you check out all that while apart?

 

[EricFromPa]

1st make sure the head bolts are torqued to 30-35ft lbs Head torque does affect Valve clearances on these.

2nd Both valves get adjusted to .005 or .013mm Cold K361 has adjustable tappets on the rocker arms.This is unique to the K361.

3rd Points to .020

Many people dislike the K361 because the Valve seats are known to drop out of the head.This happens if the cooling fins on the head become clogged up or the engine runs Lean for any amount of time and overheats.

 

[Tecumseh power]

Check your compression you'll be able to tell if you have a valve problem. Or you can put some air in the cylinder at tdc