Low compression

[Rturner]

I recently purchased a JD 116 with a Briggs 16 horse cast iron bore,one cylinder has only 50 pounds of compression, I found valves need adjusting but my Biggs book doesn't have my model so I'm looking for intake& exhaust clearances and spark plug gap

 

[bertsmobile1]

0.004" each side will do you fine.
THe valve lash is in your owners manual for the mower which you can view on line off the JD web site.
The valve lash is also in the Briggs & Stratton owners manual which is a free download from the Briggs web site.
Fo the latter you will need the model & code numbers from the engine.