6' finish mower behind 8n

[kyford8n]

I hooked up a 6' land pride finish mower to my 52 8n. If I go up any incline big or small it bogs the tractor down no matter which gear I am in. then when attempting to get back on flat surface my radiator starts steaming out of my radiator cap.

Is it just to much for my tractor or Is my tractor just wore out/weak?

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 10:09:22 04/13/18) I hooked up a 6' land pride finish mower to my 52 8n. If I go up any incline big or small it bogs the tractor down no matter which gear I am in. then when attempting to get back on flat surface my radiator starts steaming out of my radiator cap.

Is it just to much for my tractor or Is my tractor just wore out/weak?

Unless you are mowing thick heavy foot high grass the tractor has an issue.

TOH

 

[kyford8n]

unfortunately, that was what I was thinking.

It didn't seem to matter if it was tall or shorter grass I had the same issue. I even raised the mower up some to see if that helped and it did not.

what would I look at from a tractor standpoint to trouble shoot? tractor idles and runs pretty good otherwise, just not when blades are turning on mower

 

[R Geiger]

I would check to see if it is firing on all four. they run pretty good on three but with no power.

 

[kyford8n]

I am getting good white spark on all 4

 

[Jim L WA]

I would run a compression check. It might be tired, or it could be a valve or two not seating. Might even be a weak spark.

 

[L.Fure]

(quoted from post at 15:09:22 04/13/18) I hooked up a 6' land pride finish mower to my 52 8n. If I go up any incline big or small it bogs the tractor down no matter which gear I am in. then when attempting to get back on flat surface my radiator starts steaming out of my radiator cap.

Is it just to much for my tractor or Is my tractor just wore out/weak?

Your ignition timing might be too advanced. Check/adjust it with a timing light.

 

[R Geiger]

(quoted from post at 08:47:27 04/13/18) I am getting good white spark on all 4

I have one that will show good spark on all four but number one will foul the plug and it will not fire and lacks power. assume you have verified that the wires goes to the correct plug.

 

[HFJ]

it might be a long shot, but i'd also check the mower. are all the spindles/blades turning freely?

 

[Dean]

It could be either.

How close are you mowing and how heavy is the grass?

A good 8N should handle a 6' finish mower in most FINISH mower conditions but finish mowers are not rough cut mowers. If you are trying to cut dense, heavy grass, and especially, if you are trying to cut such grass closely, the mower will not clear properly and the HP requirement will skyrocket.

Regarding the overheating issue: VERIFY that the radiator is not debris clogged before looking elsewhere.

Dean

 

[kyford8n]

Yes, I verified that first.

Grass is not terribly high or heavy. I also raised the deck just to see if that helped and it did not.

 

[Dean]

Are you saying that your 8N will not pull a 6' finish mower that is lifted above the level of the grass when going uphill?

If so, you have tractor problems.

Dean

 

[kyford8n]

Dean,
That would be correct. Cuts decent on flat ground but any type of incline no matter how small will big down and cause radiator to steam over

 

[R Geiger]

How full are you filling the radiator? just over the coils is plenty. Have you checked the float level?

 

[gwstang]

My '52 8N did that for about 3 years and I finally got tired of it chugging down on a slight incline. 4' Brush Hog or my 5' finishing mower...still did the same. OK going down the incline but choking down going up a slight incline, unless I ran it wide open. Got tired of it and compression was getting below the acceptable level. Split tractor and removed engine and rebuilt with a kit from our host on this site. It is now relegated to just the 5' finishing mower cutting a fairly smooth yard/front field and it does it with no effort at about mid throttle. World of difference. Pretty sure you will find your compression to be down in several cylinders. Doesn't take much for a marginal break down in power, to get to the point it won't quite do the job anymore. Good luck.

 

[kyford8n]

coolant is just over the coils. Not sure what you mean by float level though.

 

[Dean]

If the fuel level is (much) too high in the carburetor, caused by an improperly adjusted float, the engine will flood on inclines. Do you see excessive black smoke from the exhaust when the tractor looses power?

That said, if float level is the issue flooding would occur on any inclines, uphill, downhill or side slope.

Dean

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley]

A FORD 8N will pull a 6' Finish Mower easily. The issues you are having has nothing to do with the type of mower unless you are trying to use it as a brushhog. Radiator overheating is caused by overfilling, underfilling, a bad thermostat, plugged radiator, or a bad water pump. The root cause most likely is in your tractor. The 'float level' mentioned is in reference to the carburetor float -when was the carb last rebuilt? Get out your manuals and read on how to rebuild or contact Royse or myself for a rebuild option. Once carb is right, it is sometimes needed to adjust when reinstalled. The carb has to run smooth under a load. the governor could come into play but I'd concentrate on the cooling and fuel systems first. Normal mowing gear should be done 2nd gear. Going any faster especially in heavy cover can cause bogging down. My email is open...

FORD 8N & WOODS 660 MOWER w/STABILIZER BARS:

Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)

 

[kyford8n]

Carb has been rebuilt. Float is set at 1/4”. No issues with flooding while driving up or down. Idles good too. At full throttle without a load I am only seeing 1800 RPMs on proof meter. Is that high enough? With slight adjustable to carb I still can’t get it about 1800.

I drove it in 4th gear for about 2 miles to pick up the mower and another 2 miles back with mower attached and it did great. Issues only show up when I attempted to mow. I was in second gear when mowing.

I am still new to tractors and have learned a lot from this sight and thank everyone for their help.

 

[L.Fure]

Are the blades on the mower sharp? It takes more power to cut with dull blades.

 

[R Geiger]

(quoted from post at 08:23:59 04/14/18) Carb has been rebuilt. Float is set at 1/4”. No issues with flooding while driving up or down. Idles good too. At full throttle without a load I am only seeing 1800 RPMs on proof meter. Is that high enough? With slight adjustable to carb I still can’t get it about 1800.

I drove it in 4th gear for about 2 miles to pick up the mower and another 2 miles back with mower attached and it did great. Issues only show up when I attempted to mow. I was in second gear when mowing.

I am still new to tractors and have learned a lot from this sight and thank everyone for their help.

You should be able to get 2200 RPM with full throttle. You adjust the Governor for that, It talks about it in the FO-4 service manual. That said you should be running at the 540 PTO speed marked on your proof meter, which I believe is around 1500 engine rpms. If it was mine I would short each spark plug and listen for any change in engine sound, if you can short out a plug and can not detect any change in sound, then that cylinder is not firing as it should.
good luck

 

[kyford8n]

I pulled the spark plug wires off one at a time and there was a change is the engine sound on each cylinder.

 

[Dean]

OEM Rated engine speed for an 8N is 2,000 RPM, IIRC, but most survivors have been turned up to around 2,100 RPM, intentionally, or unintentionally.

Rated engine speed for PTO work is 1,800 RPM. At this engine speed, PTO HP is less than 20 HP. This is, of course, the primary reason for the Sherman combination transmission.

Dean

 

[Dean]

Bingo, LF.

I keep the blades lawnmower sharp on all 4 of my rough cut (bush hog type) rotary cutters.

Yes, it takes time and I go through blades more quickly, but mowers cut better, require less HP and tractors use less fuel if so done.

Similar principles apply to finish mowers.

Dean

 

[R Geiger]

Rated RPM is 2000 governor speed range is 800 to 2200.