Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): timing, air fuel mixture, briggs stratton engine

Question
Need to set timing on 18hp briggs&stratton engine,can you help?

Answer
James

For power to be developed, the ignition of the compressed air/fuel mixture must take place at exactly the correct instant - just before the piston reaches Top Dead Center (TDC) on the compression stroke. With automotive engines, there are mechanisms to advance the spark at higher revs but simple lawn mower engines do not have this complication, at least.
Timing is set on older mowers with point type ignition systems by adjusting the point gap and generally only changes due to wear. However, these changes are gradual and unless the points come loose for some reason, will not likely suddenly prevent the mower from starting. On newer electronic ignition systems, there is basically no adjustment as the position of the electronic ignition coil/module fully determines ignition timing and this is fixed.

However, timing can be grossly messed up if the flywheel key gets sheared and the flywheel then rotates a fraction of a turn on its mount on the crankshaft. The result may be a mower that does not start, backfires or runs erratically, lacks power, won't run and/or start when hot, etc. This is very likely to happen should the blade strike a rigid object causing the mower to stop instantly. In this case one or both of the blade lock key and flywheel key have sheared to (hopefully) protect the very expensive internal parts from damage.

There are likely not going to be any timing marks for that old timing light you have sitting gathering dust somewhere. The only test really is to inspect the flywheel keyway to determine if damage has occurred.

Thanks