Ford 3000 Problems

[lucwhite]

Hi, My name is Lucas and I m a beginner mechanic, but I m learning the basics. I just joined the forum.
I am working on a 1973 gas Ford 3000 tractor. I ve had it for about a year and it s worked great until about 3 months ago. It would run great for about 5 minutes and then it would stall out. That s why I thought it was a fuel issue. However, when I cleaned out the carburetor which looked fine, the time it would run before stalling kept getting shorter. After it died, I would check the carb. and it still had fuel in the bowl which confused me. Now, it won t start at all.
So far, I have replaced the spark plugs, cleaned the air filter, cleaned the carburetor, put new points, condenser, rotor, and cap on the distributor, and hot wired the neutral safety switch (somebody thought it might be that.) Now when I try to start it, it blows black smoke out of the exhaust, sometime misfires, and turns the spark plugs a black color. If someone knows whether this sounds like an electrical or fuel issue, I am open for suggestions. Thanks.

 

[used red MN]

Hello Lucas welcome to YT! First reconnect that very
important safety feature, the neutral safety switch. Do
not take anymore mechanical advice from that
..somebody.. they do not know what they talking
about. The neutral safety switch only keep the starter
from engaging and cranking the engine for starting,
nothing to do with the ignition.
After it has sat an hour or so with the gas on pull the
air intake off the carb. If you have gas running out that
is one of your troubles. The float needle probably got
some junk in it and now does not seal properly. What
may be keeping it from starting now is the fouled plugs
from to rich of a mixture. Pull the plugs out clamp the
hex of one in a vise give it a shot with carb cleaner.
Then hit it with a wire brush then blast it with
compressed air, repeat that again. Put them back in.
Next open the carb drain on the bottom of the carb.
You should have a continuous flow out of there and it
should not slow to a dribble. If it slows to a dribble
then you need to figure out where it is plugging. A slow
dribble will start and run an engine. But if it is not
enough to keep the engine running it will die. Then by
the time you get down there to check for fuel in the
carb there is some there. That is only because the slow
dribble has partly replenished it. Keep in mind some
carbs have a screen in the fitting that screws in the
carb where the fuel line connects to the carb. Also it
may be possible that flushing the float needle seat will
when the carb drain is open may clear the debris out of
the float needle seat so it seals properly. Otherwise
you will have to pull the bottom of the carb off again to
fix the leak that may have been dripping out of the
carb inlet or building up in the intake when the air
intake hose was connected.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 20:27:32 09/03/23) Hi, My name is Lucas and I m a beginner mechanic, but I m learning the basics. I just joined the forum.
I am working on a 1973 gas Ford 3000 tractor. I ve had it for about a year and it s worked great until about 3 months ago. It would run great for about 5 minutes and then it would stall out. That s why I thought it was a fuel issue. However, when I cleaned out the carburetor which looked fine, the time it would run before stalling kept getting shorter. After it died, I would check the carb. and it still had fuel in the bowl which confused me. Now, it won t start at all.
So far, I have replaced the spark plugs, cleaned the air filter, cleaned the carburetor, put new points, condenser, rotor, and cap on the distributor, and hot wired the neutral safety switch (somebody thought it might be that.) Now when I try to start it, it blows black smoke out of the exhaust, sometime misfires, and turns the spark plugs a black color. If someone knows whether this sounds like an electrical or fuel issue, I am open for suggestions. Thanks.

You made a smart move to check the plugs. The appearance of the plugs is your best and quickest way to get a "read" into what is going on inside your cylinders, and black is usually an indicator of a rich fuel mixture. The other important, basic, early test that you need to make is to verify that the plugs are actually sparking. A spark checker is a very good trouble shooting tool to have, but you can do it without one. You just hold the hex part of the plug against a bare metal point nearby to ground it, then crank the motor. you should see a bright arc jump the spark plug gap. If you get none with clean plugs you need to review your work in the distributor. Unless you remove the drain plug from the bottom of the carb it will always have gas still in it because the draft of air can draw it down only to the level of the jet opening in the air path. The float valve maintains the gas level in the bowl at a level of the jet mentioned above. Be aware also that any carbureted motor needs a rich mixture to start when cold, which is why they have a choke. When you are cranking it with the choke closed, if it cranks for more than two revolutions without starting, and you release the button, the liquid gas that has been drawn into the air stream will be coming back down the manifold and out the mouth of the carburetor. Your description of it running for shorter and shorter periods sounds very much like restricted fuel supply, most likely at a screen. As used red MN pointed out you need to have a steady continuous stream coming out the drain. something like 8 ounces in a minute. Gas tanks often accumulate debris that will plug filters. I have had good success cleaning tanks with a siphon. good luck and post back.

 

[lucwhite]

Okay, I cleaned out the carburetor once more and was sure to clean out all the passageways and especially the jet with carb cleaner. It was free and looked like it was in good condition. I also cleaned and checked the spark plugs for spark. When I put them against a ground and turned the engine over, they had a nice blue spark. I turned the gas back on and tried to start it, but it still just turned over and over. I tried the choke (which is working) and that made whitish smoke come out of the exhaust. Is it possible that the spark plugs are just not sparking at the right time to set off the fuel. It seems like the carburetor is getting fuel readily and the spark plugs are working just fine.
When I put on the distributor, I looked for the 0 on the flywheel right after the two push-rods closest to the radiator which should be the first cylinder came back up. I am thinking that this means it is on a compression stroke. Then I aligned the rotor to the one on the distributor cap and stuck it into its place. Of course, since the gear at the bottom of the distributor is angled, the rotor went off closer to 3 when I aligned the two gears up. Is there anything I did wrong? Could I be looking at the push-rods incorrectly? Should the rotor be closer to one after I put the distributor in its place? Also, I haven t tried adjusting the timing bolt that adjusts the distributor. Thanks for all the suggestions. I ll keep trying.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 10:05:45 09/04/23)
Okay, I cleaned out the carburetor once more and was sure to clean out all the passageways and especially the jet with carb cleaner. It was free and looked like it was in good condition. I also cleaned and checked the spark plugs for spark. When I put them against a ground and turned the engine over, they had a nice blue spark. I turned the gas back on and tried to start it, but it still just turned over and over. I tried the choke (which is working) and that made whitish smoke come out of the exhaust. Is it possible that the spark plugs are just not sparking at the right time to set off the fuel. It seems like the carburetor is getting fuel readily and the spark plugs are working just fine.
When I put on the distributor, I looked for the 0 on the flywheel right after the two push-rods closest to the radiator which should be the first cylinder came back up. I am thinking that this means it is on a compression stroke. Then I aligned the rotor to the one on the distributor cap and stuck it into its place. Of course, since the gear at the bottom of the distributor is angled, the rotor went off closer to 3 when I aligned the two gears up. Is there anything I did wrong? Could I be looking at the push-rods incorrectly? Should the rotor be closer to one after I put the distributor in its place? Also, I haven t tried adjusting the timing bolt that adjusts the distributor. Thanks for all the suggestions. I ll keep trying.

WHOA!! WHOA!! simple things first! It is nice that it seems that the carburetor is getting fuel, but what is it that makes it "seem" to be getting fuel? It is nice that the carburetor may "seem" to be getting fuel but it is oh so much nicer when the fuel is getting together with the spark plugs in the cylinders. It is also nice to follow the suggestions that you have, before asking for new more technical ones.

 

[lucwhite]

I know that the gas lines leading to the carb are all open because when I cranked it over a few times without the carb, the gas pump shot out good amounts of clean fuel. So, I know the carb is getting fuel up to that point. After I checked the gas pump, I took the plug off of the carb bowl and cranked the engine over. I had over two cups of gas come out in a minute without any signs of slowing down near the end. But, you re right, I m not one-hundred percent sure. What are some tell-tale signs that I m getting fuel?

This post was edited by lucwhite on 09/04/2023 at 12:03 pm.

 

[used red MN]

Sorry, I did not realize your tractor had a fuel pump so
my description on checking fuel flow was a bit off. On
the distributor timing.. A.. I have to assume you know
the difference between a valve push rod and a valve
spring which sets on the actual valve stem. The push
rods are opposite of the springs. You say ..I looked for
the 0 on the flywheel right after the two push-rods
closest to the radiator which should be the first
cylinder came back up.. The action of a pushrod opens
a valve when it comes up and closes a valve when it
comes down. This is due to the rocker arms reversing
the motion. Well I am going to assume you have the
valve cover back on. If so go find that ..somebody..
that gave you the info on the neutral start switch and
tell him you have a job he can help you with that he
cannot screw up. Pull the number one plug and have
your assistant hold his thumb in the spark plug hole.
Pull the coil wire out of the distributor cap. Then use
quick bumps of the starter button to jog the engine.
When your assistant tells you compression pressure is
passing his thumb stop. A cotton ball in the spark plug
hole can do the same thing. But that is best used when
you are turning the engine by hand. Otherwise the
cotton ball can be drawn in the cylinder on the intake
stroke. Then hopefully there is a way to turn the engine
forward by hand until the pointer and zero line up.
Then check your distributor rotor for alignment to the
cap tower for number one cylinder. If it is off reset your
distributor. By the way to find TDC compression by
watching the valves, I am pretty sure the second valve
from the front is the number 1 cylinder intake valve.
You would turn the engine until that push rod came up
to open the intake valve and then came back down
letting the valve come up and close. Then you would
continue another half turn at which time the number 1
piston is coming up on its compression stroke. While
turning you would stop at the zero mark, now you
should be at TDC compression for number one
cylinder.

 

[lucwhite]

Update, IT STARTED!!! It sounds pretty terrible, I think I just need to keep adjusting timing and my carburetor settings, but it s a lot of progress. I had to have the rotor facing the 1 after I set the distributor in place, not before. It started right up and I let it run for several minutes before I turned it off. Thank you guys so much for your advice and experience. I owe you a lot.

 

[used red MN]

Glad you got it to start thanks for letting us know!
Hopefully it will run longer than the 5 minute cycle that
was the original problem.