1951 8N won t run without choke

[HFJ]

(quoted from post at 17:45:05 06/30/23) Filling the pan on an N with an updraft carb isn't easy

if my float were to stick open and i forgot to shut the sediment bowl (the one spec'd for my WD) off, all of my gas would end up on the ground because the lower rubber hose from air intake to carb is... very loose. in a setup where that hose is clamped in place properly, where else can the gas go if it keeps flowing?

as far as the gas level monitoring thing goes, i use a wooden dipstick. the ford design stops flowing thru the main pickup with one inch of gas left, so with my rusty tank, one inch equaled empty. now i run out at a half inch with the WD assembly. i check it every time before i mow, which is its only job. i run my riding mower out of gas all the time. it doesn't happen with my N.

 

[HFJ]

i should add that how that air breather snorkel manages to stay in place at all is frankly miraculous, and yet, to paraphrase Galileo, it does.

 

[Lokel Yokel]

If it only runs with the choke, that means its running lean. IE its getting less fuel which is why it runs better when you choke the airflow off.
Id carefully clean the carburetor or maybe the gas bowl under the fuel tank. There is a little screen in there that may be varnished up.
Something is plugged or else the floats are sticking in the up position. But I dont think thats llikely. They tend to stick in the down position causing the motor to get too much fuel.

 

[NW-FLORIDA]

Perform Fuel Flow Test, engine cold. Don't start yanking parts off and replacing willy-nilly; not a logical approach for problem solving. Non-starting has nothing to
do with the air cleaner bath oil. Is Sediment Bulb open 2 Full Turns? Are plugs fouled? Loosen the 4 rubber hose connector from carb to air tube intake and remove
hose. Is there fuel in the carb air intake throat? Yes? Float not right. Do not make any carb adjustments. If carb does not pass fuel flow test, there is at least one
obstruction in the fuel system so will require investigating all possible causes with a total carb removal and rebuilding as the last step. If system passes fuel flow
test, move on to electrical. Check for spark. Forget what year you might think you have, it is not important. The important features are if you have the Front Mount
Distributor or the later Angle (Side) Mount Distributor, and whether using the OEM 6V/POS GRN system or a 12V conversion setup. BEFORE you do anything else, I highly
advise you invest in the ESSENTIAL MANUALS and read religiously before doing any work if'N ya wanna be a FORD N-TRACTOR OWNER. If you don't know what system you have,
and what parts are, how can you expect to perform any maintenance? Not trying to beat you up, and my email is open (SEE lower RH for LINK) if you want to discuss
further offline.


CARB FUEL FLOW TEST:

ENGINE COLD! Find a 1-Pint Mason Jar and place it inside an empty coffee can, then position the can under the carb. Loosen the 7/16 hex nut on the fuel line at the
carb brass inlet elbow and gently lift and slide the fuel line off to the side so it points down into the can and jar. Open the Fuel Sediment Bulb Valve 2 Full Turns.
Observe the fuel flow is a steady stream and you fill the jar in 2 minutes. Any sputtering, hesitation, or failure to fill gas in the Mason Jar indicates the problem
is upstream on the Sediment Bulb, in the carb, or in the gas tank itself. If Test passes, connect the fuel line and repeat using the carb drain plug in bottom. This is
an NPT tapered pipe plug thread; it's not a standard thread size, so do not try to use anything other than that to chase threads or replace. If this portion of the
test passes, reset the drain plug, leave it alone, and move on to carb leaking fuel through the air intake port. Remove rubber hose connecting carb to air cleaner
tube. If it is wet with gas the float may be stuck or the level is not set right. The float is brass and soldered on in two halves. If it gets punctured or sprouts a
leak, fuel can fill it and bog it down. Carb Air Intake Throat should be dry. Either way, wet or dry, it is time to pull the carb and get into a total cleaning and
rebuild.


FORD 8N TRACTOR OEM WIRING PICTOGRAMS by JMOR; 6V/POS GRN; FRONT & SIDE MOUNT:

FORD 8N TRACTOR ESSENTIAL MANUALS:

Tim Daley (MI)

 

[NW-FLORIDA]

Perform Fuel Flow Test, engine cold. Don't start yanking parts off and replacing willy-nilly; not a logical approach for problem solving. Non-starting has nothing to
do with the air cleaner bath oil. Is Sediment Bulb open 2 Full Turns? Are plugs fouled? Loosen the 4 rubber hose connector from carb to air tube intake and remove
hose. Is there fuel in the carb air intake throat? Yes? Float not right. Do not make any carb adjustments. If carb does not pass fuel flow test, there is at least one
obstruction in the fuel system so will require investigating all possible causes with a total carb removal and rebuilding as the last step. If system passes fuel flow
test, move on to electrical. Check for spark. Forget what year you might think you have, it is not important. The important features are if you have the Front Mount
Distributor or the later Angle (Side) Mount Distributor, and whether using the OEM 6V/POS GRN system or a 12V conversion setup. BEFORE you do anything else, I highly
advise you invest in the ESSENTIAL MANUALS and read religiously before doing any work if'N ya wanna be a FORD N-TRACTOR OWNER. If you don't know what system you have,
and what parts are, how can you expect to perform any maintenance? Not trying to beat you up, and my email is open (SEE lower RH for LINK) if you want to discuss
further offline.


CARB FUEL FLOW TEST:

ENGINE COLD! Find a 1-Pint Mason Jar and place it inside an empty coffee can, then position the can under the carb. Loosen the 7/16 hex nut on the fuel line at the
carb brass inlet elbow and gently lift and slide the fuel line off to the side so it points down into the can and jar. Open the Fuel Sediment Bulb Valve 2 Full Turns.
Observe the fuel flow is a steady stream and you fill the jar in 2 minutes. Any sputtering, hesitation, or failure to fill gas in the Mason Jar indicates the problem
is upstream on the Sediment Bulb, in the carb, or in the gas tank itself. If Test passes, connect the fuel line and repeat using the carb drain plug in bottom. This is
an NPT tapered pipe plug thread; it's not a standard thread size, so do not try to use anything other than that to chase threads or replace. If this portion of the
test passes, reset the drain plug, leave it alone, and move on to carb leaking fuel through the air intake port. Remove rubber hose connecting carb to air cleaner
tube. If it is wet with gas the float may be stuck or the level is not set right. The float is brass and soldered on in two halves. If it gets punctured or sprouts a
leak, fuel can fill it and bog it down. Carb Air Intake Throat should be dry. Either way, wet or dry, it is time to pull the carb and get into a total cleaning and
rebuild.


FORD 8N TRACTOR OEM WIRING PICTOGRAMS by JMOR; 6V/POS GRN; FRONT & SIDE MOUNT:

FORD 8N TRACTOR ESSENTIAL MANUALS:

Tim Daley (MI)

Tim! 1 great informative post here! I printed out and put in my manual!!

 

[Dan]

Back to the original problem - you state it has run good for two years and this last time you were using it and it suddenly shut off. THEN after this was when you had to use the choke. I am assuming you used it and it ran fine before shutting off - correct?

If so, you are having a fuel delivery issue as many have stated above. Many things "can" cause this issue, clogged fuel intake inside the gas tank, carb issue, blown manifold gasket allowing more air in, etc. The fuel flow test will show if it is prior to the carb and fairly easy to do (I unscrew the bolt on the bottom of the carb to test all the way through. That said, since your tractor is some distance away, I would say the most probable cause since it was running fine for a bit is you sucked in some rust and it is clogging up the main jet. Take some carb cleaner with the little tube, CAREFULLY seperate the two halves as to not damage the paper gasket so you can reuse (or just replace it) and shoot carb cleaner through the brass tube in the middle of the bottom half. While you have it apart, shoot some though all the openings (protect your eyes, trust me on this). Put everything back together. If this fixes your problem it will last you a bit but plan on a full carb rebuild in the future.

These tractors are very basic and usually easy to troubleshoot if you remember fuel, air, and spark at the right time.

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley RIP]

Ok, but your post that started this was not actually helping anyone with any problem, Tim's post was. As I said before, learn how to use your scroll wheel. If you don't like someone posting some info then don't read it. It's that simple.

Ditto! Can't see how you can own and operate your machine, any machine, without the manuals. Gotcha be cautious though on which ones you get as there are a few incorrect ones out there so always get the OEM ones. Also agree no law that says you have to read every post. Some are just plain jealous a few others know more about these tractors than others and will bad-mouth us that do.

Tim Daley (MI)