i have a 1998 John Deere 345 lawn tractor. approx. 900 hours. tried to start this morning, engine fired instantly as usual then it made a slight noise, similar to a backfire and then it stalled. tried to restart and the engine spun over too easy. I pulled the plugs, I have compression in the left cylinder and no compression in the right cylinder. The engine is clean, uses no oil and oil is changed every 50 hours with 10-30 Mobile 1 and NAPA 1394 oil filter. Any idea where to look?
Is it a flat head, that has the valves in the head? If so, pull the head on the cylinder with no compression, and see if a valve seat popped out. If it did, drive it back in all the way around with a wooden dowel, and peen the metal all around it with a punch, to prevent it popping out again. You may need a new head gasket if the old one is damaged in removal.
