I have a 300KEF lakota. I put a new piston & rings, Valve job, timing chain & guides, and rebuilt the carb. Now IT wont run. All it does is back fire through the carb and exhaust. I check the valve clearances and set them at .006. On the head the timing mark that says top I lined the cam gear up with it and lined up the crank as well, I even check with a timing light to see when it was firing and on each rotation my timing marks were lining up on the flywheel. I don't have a clue as to what it could be. Is it possible for the gear on the crank to slip since it is a press on fit? Could it be a bad seal on the head gasket? I don't have a compression guage but the motor seems to have good compression turning by hand. Thanks for any advice.

 

I don't have a Lakota so I will give you some general things to check that "every" engine needs to have to run. When something like this happens to me the first thing I grab is a compression tester. This will tell me lots of things. I suggest you get one. If you can rebuild your own motor (and you did) then you will need one in the future to check the health of your motor in the future. A good investment for about 20 bones or so. It only takes about 50LBS of compression to light a fuel air mix so more than likely the headgasket is not the problem unless you left it out!!

The next thing I would check is the spark. Plug the plug into the boot and turn the thing over. Any spark? A good strong spark? If so, time to move on. If not check all wires to find the problem.

Next thing is fuel. I check this by giving the engine a shot of ether. Does is start and run for a few seconds and stop? If so, it's time to look at fuel supply. Petcock on? Filter and hoses clean? Any pinches or kinks? Carb clean?

These are all general things that all engines need to run. Check them out and find the problem. You will find your problem if you follow these rules.

Good luck and let us know what you find out so we all can learn.