1963 Ford 2000 cranks, runs, sputters, dies

[aknnra]

My '63 Ford 2000 turns over good, good starter and battery, turns over a few times, fires up sometimes, sometimes doesn't, when it does I use it a few minutes then it sputters and dies.
I leave it alone for hours or overnight and cycle repeats.
New shutoff valve on bottom of gas tank, new gas lines and inline filter.
Any suggestions ?

 

[Fixingfarmer]

6volt? Our 64 had an 8v battery that caused some problems although not this

it sounds like it’s running out of fuel does it fill a pail if you open the valve or just flow for 5 min? Debris in tank

Other things to check would be the coil they can go bad and start but then once warm not spark. Condenser can do that as well. Too narrow a gap of spark plugs I guess will also do this but unless they were just changed or never have that would be unlikely

The carb and choke on these can be fun too it’s fully below the manifold ours had a hole in the inlet pipe from the ethanol fuel as well when we bought it we still use ethanol just bought a resistant hose. But you could see a rush of fuel down the intake and back out that hole when you let off the starter.

The last thing I did was time it with a light based on the mark on the engine and that helped as well. I could also tell I had a loose distributor shaft

Then we converted it to ei and it’s been a good tractor since then

 

[rrlund]

That inline filter is awful close to the manifold. It could well be vapor locking. If you have a good sediment bowl, take that filter off and throw it away.

 

[Steve in IL]

One thought on your photo... I've had issues with in-line fuel filters on gravity flow systems (without a pump, gravity fuel struggles to flow well through a filter). You might want to try running it with that filter by-passed.

If that doesn't work, try this... Remove air intake hose from air cleaner to carb. Get yourself an old spray bottle with gas. Spray a few squirts into the intake. Start. With care, see if you can keep it running by spraying more fuel into the intake as it runs. With care and practice (and a decent spray bottle), you'll find you can keep it running fairly well (its really not as tough as it sounds on these old machines). If you can keep it running, you have a fuel supply issue (could be supply from tank, or issue with carb). If the tractor refuses to run with this completely independent fuel supply, you likely have an ignition issue. I have used this trick so many times to get old gas powered machines running. Often, once you get it running like this for a bit, with the vacuum, vibration and heat, the issue can clear up on its own.

 

[rrlund]

Blowing up the picture and looking closer, I can't believe it was designed for that gas line to run through the manifold like that. Reroute it away from there. Somebody has undoubtedly run it through there themselves and it was a huge mistake. There's not enough gas in that filter to even be able to see it.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Blowing up the picture and looking closer, I can't believe it was designed for that gas line to run through the manifold like that. Reroute it away from there. Somebody has undoubtedly run it through there themselves and it was a huge mistake. There's not enough gas in that filter to even be able to see it.

It is difficult to imagine what they were thinking with the fuel line that way but mine was the same. I believe originally it might have been a metal line but mine was similarly repaired with a hose. I’ll go look in the morning and see what I did I remember it seems unsafe. Probably made my own metal line.

 

[rrlund]

It is difficult to imagine what they were thinking with the fuel line that way but mine was the same. I believe originally it might have been a metal line but mine was similarly repaired with a hose. I’ll go look in the morning and see what I did I remember it seems unsafe. Probably made my own metal line.

I don't know how it can run long without vapor locking that way, factory or not.

 

[a49deere]

turn that little red handle on!!

 

[Andy Wickiser]

My '63 Ford 2000 turns over good, good starter and battery, turns over a few times, fires up sometimes, sometimes doesn't, when it does I use it a few minutes then it sputters and dies.
I leave it alone for hours or overnight and cycle repeats.
New shutoff valve on bottom of gas tank, new gas lines and inline filter.
Any suggestions ?

If it were mine I'd go back to the original fuel line setup. There's a tophat screen on the fuel shutoff, a mesh screen at the sediment bowl assembly, and the sediment bowl itself - plenty of filtration. That said fuel flow might not be your problem. When I had similar symptoms my carb float level needed adjustment (which, of course, isn't to say that's your problem). If you verify good fuel flow I would look at the carb. Also confirm you have adequate ignition, symptoms can be caused by weak or failing spark.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

I don't know how it can run long without vapor locking that way, factory or not.

It shouldn’t really do that at least mine hasn’t.

The other thing it does bring up I guess though is the fuel cap vent working does it run without the cap on.

 

[showcrop]

Performing the standard fuel flow test should be your first step in isolating a fuel flow problem.

 

[Jim.ME]

I believe the standard test would be filling a pint jar in less than 2 minutes (not a pail in 5 minutes) from the carb bowl drain (starting after the initial surge of the bowl draining). You want the steady flow that is passing through the carb needle and seat.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Here’s the picture of where that would have originally been routed I made the line out of the ez bend brake line from napa

It isn’t where I would pick either but it’s about what you have for an option

I believe there should be a strainer as part of the tank valve?

 

[showcrop]

Here’s the picture of where that would have originally been routed I made the line out of the ez bend brake line from napa

It isn’t where I would pick either but it’s about what you have for an option

I believe there should be a strainer as part of the tank valve?

The strainer was on the tank of 8Ns but after that it moved down to the intake of the carburetor.