Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): Mower, adjusting briggs valves

Question
QUESTION: Ok been having mower problems. Mower was spraying oil out the exhaust. I pu;;ed the OHV valve cover off then the head and noticed that the head gasket was torn. This required me taking the lifters (?long steel pipes that run through oil galley and raise rocker arms) and replace. I simply set this tubes back in (motor might have been turned over some during install) placed them into the recession on ther rocker arm and cranked them back down. During the tear down I took off the carb and all the plastic ensemble ontop of the fly wheel. I tested the ignition coil and it had a decent spark. I also tore down and cleaned the carb thoroughly. Now when I crank the motor it turns over and over and over but never fires and occassionally blows smoke and flames back out through the carb.... What do I need to do to fix this? Mower started fine before I took it apart it just needed a new head gasket. Did I miss a step on installing the head gasket? I am not sure what the spacer thing that everyone keeps telling em to check is for flywheel. I never removed the flywheel just the casing over it. There was a line notch on the plastic part that fit right back onto the flywheel...Should I have installed the rods back at TDC? I moved the motor to get pressure off the springs then set the rod into the notches on the arm and turned them so I got pressure off the other....turned the motor over several times and they seemed to be raising and lowering.

ANSWER: What is the make, and model and type numbers of the engine?

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QUESTION: Scotts 17hp intek 42inch cut

Answer
When you put the pushrods back in, did you put them back into the right holes?  Intake for intake and exhaust for exhaust?  Also, they have to be installed a certain way, they can't just be tightened down, there's settings for them called the lash.  If you follow the following link, and scroll down to the bottom, you'll find the procedure for installing and adjusting the valves.  It doesn't sound like the valves are adjusted properly, that would explain why it won't start and is backfiring.  Let me know if you have any questions.  If the system won't let you reply anymore, you can email me through my website that's listed in my profile and we can get this thing running.  Thanks, PK.


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