This engine is from a John Deere GT235. It is a Kawasaki FH580V, 2-cyl, 4stroke. I picked it up from a yard sale.  When I got it, it was running on 1 cylinder. I checked compression and one of the cylinders was at 0 psi.  I removed the engine, split the case and found that the ring gaps had aligned. I reoriented the rings according to the tech manual. Reinstalled the pistons, crank and camshafts. I aligned the crank and cam shafts using the timing mars. Reinstalled everything, but when I go to start the engine I see gas spewing out of the carb. I have taken this engine apart 3 times to insure the timing marks are ok and they are. Here are my questions:
1. which cylinder is #1 looking down at the flywheel?
2. When aligning the the crank and cam shafts is cyl #1 completely up in the cylinder or down?
 
Thanks

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1. which cylinder is #1 looking down at the flywheel?
2. When aligning the the crank and cam shafts is cyl #1 completely up in the cylinder or down?
 

I'm not sure of which cylinder is #1 but looking down, it's often at say 6:00 vs the cylinder at 4:00(if that makes sense).
 
Setting up timing, the piston, for #1, is at Top Dead Center, NEVER at the bottom. 

Just found this (on-line):
 
Cylinder #1 is Closest to the Flywheel on Fuel Pump Side 

Thank you for your replies. So I identified cyl#1 the same as SRTsFz6 and the cylinder was at TDC when I aligned the timing marks on the cam and crank shafts.  It did start for about 20m seconds the quit. I checked compression, spark and so I replace the carb just to make sure everything was good. It still will not start. Any suggestions?

Will it continue to run spraying some starting/carb cleaner down the throttle bore?.
 
Do you have a fuel pump on the machine?
 
If yes to both, pull the fuel line to the carb, crank over the machine with the fuel line going into a container to catch it.  You should see fuel pumping out into it (Just cranking , not just running).
 
Also, loosen the gas cap (should it be clogged) and see if there's any difference.

It has fuel. the fuel pump is working. When I try to start the engine I can see fuel coming back out of the carb. I sprayed starter fluid into the carb (actually right into the intake manifold) and when I turn over the engine smoke comes back out of the carb and it won't start even with starter fluid. I adjusted the valves at TDC when the flywheel magnets are aligned to the proper leg of the coil for cyl#1 and cyl#2. I even pulled the flywheel to make sure the key wasn't sheered.
I keep going back to timing, but mechanically everything is according the tech manual. Any thing else? Thanks

Pull the valve covers And engine cover and then check the timing.
 
You want to check that the pistons at TDC, intake cam just opened and closed (compression stroke) and ignition coil lines up with the flywheel magnet
 
Sounds like one of those is not in sync.. (intake cam OPEN when the piston is coming up, -pushing air OUT OF THE intake/manifold..
 
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rechecked the timing. I hate to say this but the engine from a mechanical point of view is very difficult to screw up. The camshaft and crankshaft timing marks can only be aligned when cyl #1 is at TDC. I tried to have the timing marks line up with Cyl#2 at TDC and it's impossible to align the marks. Reassembled and verified valve clearance on both cylinders is at TDC on the compression stroke and the flywheel lines up with the coil leg for each cylinder.
Engine will still not start. Fuel is being blown back out the carb.  I removed the spark plugs and manually cycled the engine and went thru the exhaust stroke, the intake stroke, the compression stroke while watching the position of the cylinder. I still get the intake valve open when the cylinder is coming up. This is not right, but mechanically the timing marks are aligned with cyl#1 at TDC.  Thus my question:
Can the lobes of the camshaft rotate? I know some camshafts have plastic lobes that are pressed on. Does Kawasaki press on the lobes or are they machined?

Does the stock cam have and plastic parts attached to it?
 
It does sound as if the lobe(s) are in-correct.
 
You may want to look up a new cam and compare to yours.. .
 
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I have a Kawasaki FS541 engine, which is basically the same assembly as the FH580, so I checked the cylinder position relative to the valve position. The 541 engine followed what you would expect for a 4-stroke engine, however the 580 engine is nowhere near what it should be. Below is a comparison of both engines: I think the camshaft gear has moved relative to the lobes. Will buy a new camshaft and compare lobes to timing mark. Thanks for your help.
 
EngineFunctionInlet Valve PositionExhaust Valve PositionCylinder PositionKawasaki FS541Compression closedclosedTDC Power StrokeclosedclosedBottom Exhaust StrokeclosedopeningMoving up Intake StrokeopeningclosedMoving down Intake StrokeclosedclosedBottom
 
Kawasaki FH580CompressionclosedclosedTDC ?closedopeningMoving down ?closedclosingbottom ?openingclosedmoving up ?open closedTDC ?closingclosedMoving down ?closedclosedbottom