8N bogs down

[AHamilton]

Good day All.

Newbie here, also not a mechanic!

Back story: Was gifted a 1948 8n that had been used and then left standing in a field for thirty years!
I have replaced the battery, distributer, coil and leads. New plugs and new wiring.
I have also replaced the carb, sediment bowl and governor. Fresh fuel-good flow to the carb.

Tractor starts and idles well. I can rev it up but it sounds rough.

My problem is that when I put it into 1st or reverse, it bogs down and wants to stall when I release the clutch. A bit less so when I use 2nd.
I cannot drive up an incline of any sort!

Any advise on what to try next would be gladly welcomed.

Many thanks in advance

A

 

[Jimmydog]

Rule out intake leak.

 

[Jimmydog]

Oh yeah, I forgot, welcome to the site!

 

[AHamilton]

Thanks, Jimmydog!
I have already removed and resurfaced the exhaust manifold and carb flange. New gaskets throughout. Reinstalled with muffler cement to ensure an airtight fit. (there was some pitting on the block)
But definitely worth re-checking.
Thanks

 

[Jimmydog]

Okay so maybe timing? How's the valve lash? Is it sputtering with back fires and misses? that going up hill business might be a clue.....maybe something in the tank floating around. Just spit balling, I'm sure somebody more knowledgeable will be along shortly with the correct answer.
Good luck.

 

[old]

Good day All.

Newbie here, also not a mechanic!

Back story: Was gifted a 1948 8n that had been used and then left standing in a field for thirty years!
I have replaced the battery, distributer, coil and leads. New plugs and new wiring.
I have also replaced the carb, sediment bowl and governor. Fresh fuel-good flow to the carb.

Tractor starts and idles well. I can rev it up but it sounds rough.

My problem is that when I put it into 1st or reverse, it bogs down and wants to stall when I release the clutch. A bit less so when I use 2nd.
I cannot drive up an incline of any sort!

Any advise on what to try next would be gladly welcomed.

Many thanks in advance

A

Do you have the firing order CORRECT easy to get wires crossed and that would cause that problem. Or maybe the carb need to be set and if choking it help then it could be running lean if it hurts then it could be to rich

 

[Jimmydog]

Oh hey, what about compression? You check that? My little grey Fergy sat for twenty years and the rings were stuck in the pistons grooves. Soaked them in ATF for about six months over winter and then it finally started to run. Rough at first but ran. After running for a couple hours stop and starting it perked right up and runs fine. May just need some heat cool cycles. More spittle.

 

[AHamilton]

Good call!
I will make sure everything is wired up correctly.
Have tried fidgeting with the carb with not much luck. tried the old carb and getting the same results
Firing order may be the ticket!
Thanks

 

[Duner Wi]

Bad condenser will cause problems like you have. Real infrequently but it does happen.

 

[DanielW]

You say you replaced the carb. That would be my primary concern. There are oodles of aftermarket carbs available for N's, and very (very, very) few are any good. Especially the Amazon type ones that are less than $100. There are loads of threads on the N sub-forum below about the problems with these aftermarket carbs. Often they're ported wrong, very often they're missing some of the idle circuit passages, and almoat always the main needle is machined at a ridiculously blunt angle that's impossible to set to meter properly. They cause the tractors to run terribly.

As a general rule, you're far better off to rebuild the original carb. It will be far better quality and better and metering the fuel. And those single barrel M/S carbs are ridiculously simple and easy to rebuild. Great starter carbs for someone new to rebuilding them.

 

[rrlund]

Are the points adjusted right so they're opening far enough?

 

[AHamilton]

Thank you everyone for the advise so far.
I did the points a while back and set them as accurately as I possibly could - that's not to say they are correct!
I tried using the old carb and got the same results. I didn't rebuild the carb, just gave it a really good clean. I will order a rebuild kit and give it another go.
I am concerned that I will never get this thing running and am throwing money after bad?? Thoughts?
Electronic ignition looks appealing, but expensive!
Does this sound like a governor problem to anyone? Hoping to rule one thing out!!

 

[old]

Thank you everyone for the advise so far.
I did the points a while back and set them as accurately as I possibly could - that's not to say they are correct!
I tried using the old carb and got the same results. I didn't rebuild the carb, just gave it a really good clean. I will order a rebuild kit and give it another go.
I am concerned that I will never get this thing running and am throwing money after bad?? Thoughts?
Electronic ignition looks appealing, but expensive!
Does this sound like a governor problem to anyone? Hoping to rule one thing out!!

One needs to learn how to trouble shoot then parts or you can make things worse. Points need to be set at 0.15 since it is a front mount distributor. In case you didn't know but the cylinders are 1,2m3m4 starting by the radiator and working back

 

[Old Ford Mechanic]

Firing order 1243 front to rear

 

[soaked]

Gov wont cause rough running.
Is your front mount 8n converted to 12 volts?
Before installing the new dist, did you time it per the manual?

Will spark jump a 1/4"gap?