Lets clear the air here a bit, start from the beginning and dispel a few incorrect responses.
If you did not remove the piston from the connecting rod then that is not the problem.
Flipping the head gasket over will accomplish nothing. Once it has been compressed turning it upside down doesn't renew it. However if it shows no signs of blow by (dark or burned areas through which you could be loosing compression, it will probably be okay.
Did you tighten the head bolts sufficiently when you reassembled the engine? They need to be torqued to at least 120 inch pounds. Same for the spark plug. Torque it to 80 inch pounds.
Did you disconnect any wires? If so did you reconnect them back like they were when the engine was running?
Did you remove the magneto rotor (magnet) from the crankshaft? If so, why?
When you reinstalled the cylinder (finned part that the piston goes in), did you align the piston rings with the alignment pins in the ring grooves. Did you force the cylinder onto the piston? If the rings were properly aligned it should have slid back down with little to no resistance. If you had to pound on it the piston rings are probably broken which would explain your loss of compression.
Start there and let us know what you find and answer the questions I've posted so we can offer a little more help.
Tom
If you did not remove the piston from the connecting rod then that is not the problem.
Flipping the head gasket over will accomplish nothing. Once it has been compressed turning it upside down doesn't renew it. However if it shows no signs of blow by (dark or burned areas through which you could be loosing compression, it will probably be okay.
Did you tighten the head bolts sufficiently when you reassembled the engine? They need to be torqued to at least 120 inch pounds. Same for the spark plug. Torque it to 80 inch pounds.
Did you disconnect any wires? If so did you reconnect them back like they were when the engine was running?
Did you remove the magneto rotor (magnet) from the crankshaft? If so, why?
When you reinstalled the cylinder (finned part that the piston goes in), did you align the piston rings with the alignment pins in the ring grooves. Did you force the cylinder onto the piston? If the rings were properly aligned it should have slid back down with little to no resistance. If you had to pound on it the piston rings are probably broken which would explain your loss of compression.
Start there and let us know what you find and answer the questions I've posted so we can offer a little more help.
Tom
try doing this