Follow up to D-17 not running well

[Dave DelDebbio]

This is a follow up on some posts I had in earlier. Still having issues with my D17 running well . It will run good for awhile then start to choke off, I need to play with the choke to keep it running, then it will start to run good, then bad..?? I have put in a carb kit. I replaced the coil ( with a 12v coil w/o resistor, so I had to leave my old resistor on ). Got a new screen and gasket for the sediment bowl. New plugs. Put new points,rotor and cap on 3-ish yrs. ago ( but I dont think we had the capacitor to replace ? ) I sprayed starter fluid by the intakes and got no engine change. What Next ??? I did notice the needle valve does not have a spring on it. Should it ?? Oh where will the water build up in the sediment bowl the bottom or on the screen ?

Thanks much..
 

[Jerry Coulter]

Water will collect in the bottom of the filter bowl, easily seen. This sounds like an intermittent ignition failure. Possibly the condenser is shorting, or the switch has bad contacts. The float valve does not necessarily need a spring.
 

[DiyDave]

Check where the hot wire goes through the side wall of the Dist, there is a black, square bakelight plastic block, that has a stud through the center. Block can crack, and if the ears are too long on your points or condenser wire fittings, can short out to the bottom of the dist. Also don't forget the ignition switch, particularly if you have a heavy ring of keys hanging from it. I have had switches so bad that you have to hold the key in with your finger, to keep it runnin!
 

[old]

When was the last time you serviced the air cleaner??? Things to check when it messes up is the spark and then the carb fuel flow. You need a blue/white spark that jumps a 1/4 inch gap or more and you need a good steady flow of gas from the carb drain for a few minutes
 

[Dave DelDebbio]

Thanks, I have checked the air cleaner, used a flash lite and rod to make sure nothing built something in the tubes, even tried with the hose off at the carb when it was runing bad with no help. And the spark looks good. The sediment bowl stays rite full .
 

[Dave DelDebbio]

Thanks I will check this out tonite or tomorrow after work, May just get a new condensor, since its the oldest part left
 

[Dave DelDebbio]

Thats what I thought about the water, but I have noticed, like bubbles, forming around the screen. When I take the bowl off tho, the gas looks perfect in it. Thats why I got a new screen thinking the old one was bad ? Can the resistor between the coil and Dist. be bad, or if that went, would I get no spark at all ?

Thanks.
 

[Dave DelDebbio]

Checked out the distributor and that block is cracked , but there is a zip tab around it holding it together, Must have been like that for years, cause I didnt put it on. Can that block be replaced, with out replacing the whole distributor ?. I also noticed a bit of play in the distributor shaft. It has a little bit of play in one direction but none in the other. Is that the "back-lash" that is mentioned in the manual. Or do I have a problem ?
 

[DiyDave]

Get in touch with John Brillman, Virginia, somewhere, or other. Google Brillman Co, and you will find him, he sells all sorts of electrical parts, for the old tractors, I'm sure he can get you the block.
 

[lee231]

Dave, have you taken the fitting for the gas line at the carb out? Some have a screen connected to that fitting and it may be clogged. Another possibility might be a plug vent in you gas cap. Had a friend that painted his cap and plugged the vent. HTH's Lee
 

[Dave DelDebbio]

Thats what Im doing today. I had blown back on the gas line before, and thought the line was clear, but maybe not clear enough for gas ! Yesterday, I took off the line at the carb and it seemed like a very slow gas supply running out of the line. So im pulling the lines off and taking off the sediment bowl to give everything a good rod-ing out. Then I can positivly rule out that. It took over 30 seconds to get an ounce of gas, which is over an hour for a gallon, so maybe it is starving for gas

Thanks everyone for the help. I'm just glad this happened now and not in 2 months when its 10 below....or more.
 

[Dave DelDebbio]

Solution found, Or it seems that way so far.. In the sediment bowl, there was a small stone lodged in the fuel path, rite about where the shut off valve seats. At first glance it almost looked like part of the casting, like a beveled corner,(the stone was kinda flat on one side). But with better lighting I could see it was a different color, so I got a stif wire pick and was able to dis-lodge it. NOw instead of 30 seconds to fill that shot glass it took only bout 6 seconds. THanks to everyone for all the help on tracking this down. At least I got some of the 50 year Maintenance items taken care of during this. And just in time winter set in last nite, its 25 degrees colder today then yesterday.