Adding a Proof Meter to an 8N

[jmeyert4a]

Good morning All. I wanted to install a proof meter on my 8N with a front mounted distributor. The
tractor had a governor that has the attachment for the cable, so I THOUGHT that, other than making a
mounting bracket, that this would be a simple install.

I went to YT's parts list, and, since they only offer one model, I placed the order for the gage and
cable.

It came yesterday, but when I hooked it up, it seems to show about DOUBLE the RPMs that I would
expect.

I just called YT's Customer Service, but was told there is ONLY ONE meter available. He suggested
that I post here and ask for HELP!

CAN you install a ProofMeter on an 8N with a front mount distributor?

 

[Bruce(OR)]

I will only comment on the meter being made in the land of almost ?
Then I would be going down to my local speedometer shop and getting it checked to see if 1,000 RPM is 1,000 RPM.
Then returning it might be another option should it fail to meet standards.

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 12:28:21 11/03/21) I will only comment on the meter being made in the land of almost ?
Then I would be going down to my local speedometer shop and getting it checked to see if 1,000 RPM is 1,000 RPM.
Then returning it might be another option should it fail to meet standards.

peaking of 1000 is 1000, the 8N tach cable speed will be 1.294 times faster than engine speed, or 1.294 X 1000= 1294 tach input for 1000 rpm reading on tach (proof meter).

 

[R Geiger]

(quoted from post at 10:14:17 11/03/21) Good morning All. I wanted to install a proof meter on my 8N with a front mounted distributor. The
tractor had a governor that has the attachment for the cable, so I THOUGHT that, other than making a
mounting bracket, that this would be a simple install.

I went to YT's parts list, and, since they only offer one model, I placed the order for the gage and
cable.

It came yesterday, but when I hooked it up, it seems to show about DOUBLE the RPMs that I would
expect.

I just called YT's Customer Service, but was told there is ONLY ONE meter available. He suggested
that I post here and ask for HELP!

CAN you install a ProofMeter on an 8N with a front mount distributor?

You could get a hand held tachometer and compare results! I have proof meters on two 8ns that I purchased from this site. both work just fine.

This post was edited by R Geiger on 11/03/2021 at 10:22 am.

 

[KCM]

Yes, you can install a Proofmeter on an 8N with a front mount distributor, and Yes you thought right. Side or front makes not difference as governor runs the same speed The meters for the 8N and Jubilee look nearly identical but are not the same ratio, so you could have gotten a Jubilee one by mistake. But pretty sure the ratio is not so different it would show double. What speed does it show it idle? Should be 500 or 600 RPM. Should be somewhere between 2000 and 2400 wide open.

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 15:47:02 11/03/21) Yes, you can install a Proofmeter on an 8N with a front mount distributor, and Yes you thought right. Side or front makes not difference as governor runs the same speed The meters for the 8N and Jubilee look nearly identical but are not the same ratio, so you could have gotten a Jubilee one by mistake. But pretty sure the ratio is not so different it would show double. What speed does it show it idle? Should be 500 or 600 RPM. Should be somewhere between 2000 and 2400 wide open.

aa meter on 8N would read 56% too high.

 

[Jim in Western MI]

If you're going for looks, this might not help; but if you want functionality, do some math and take some fingernail polish and paint some new lines/numbers on your meter. Maybe you can even get the housing apart and do it on the dial, but if you just want to track your rpms, you can paint ref marks on the glass. Or borrow an electronic tach and use that to scribe some new marks. EasyPeasy

 

[Den N Ms]

(quoted from post at 13:06:35 11/03/21)

(quoted from post at 15:47:02 11/03/21) Yes, you can install a Proofmeter on an 8N with a front mount distributor, and Yes you thought right. Side or front makes not difference as governor runs the same speed The meters for the 8N and Jubilee look nearly identical but are not the same ratio, so you could have gotten a Jubilee one by mistake. But pretty sure the ratio is not so different it would show double. What speed does it show it idle? Should be 500 or 600 RPM. Should be somewhere between 2000 and 2400 wide open.

aa meter on 8N would read 56% too high.

X2 JMOR.I think that is what he got is a NAA tach.

 

[jmeyert4a]

(quoted from post at 12:47:02 11/03/21) Yes, you can install a Proofmeter on an 8N with a front mount distributor, and Yes you thought right. Side or front makes not difference as governor runs the same speed The meters for the 8N and Jubilee look nearly identical but are not the same ratio, so you could have gotten a Jubilee one by mistake. But pretty sure the ratio is not so different it would show double. What speed does it show it idle? Should be 500 or 600 RPM. Should be somewhere between 2000 and 2400 wide open.

Thanks... According to the gage that I have, my tractor now idles at a bit over 900 RPM, and full throttle pegs the needle down and around by the letters HU in "hundreds" at the bottom of the dial. (At about 5:30 on a clock)

I'm going to say that while not "DOUBLE" like I first thought, it is still too far off just to be a simple calibration issue.

Should I send it back?

 

[jmeyert4a]

Incidentally, my purpose for installing this is because I use both a brush hog and a finish mower around our 5 1/4 acres, and I want a fairly accurate idea of where I should be running to get the right PTO speed.

(I'm new at this, and I HAD been running everything pretty much full-throttle, until last week when one of my neighbors came by and gave me some advice to the contrary.)

I'll ALWAYS welcome good advice!

 

[Ultradog MN]

Can't say what you should do about the tach you bought.
Can say that that in all my years of running smaller Ford tractors I have Never had a working tach. I set the engine to 3/4 throttle - or a wee bit above - and am good to go.
If you wanted to be more precise you could beg or borrow a hand held mechanical or electronic tach and measure your pto speed then make a mark on the dash to where you set your throttle handle to get 540.
540 is not a magic number. It is more of a rough guide.

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley RIP]

I can think of 100 other more important things to do to my N than add a GD Proofmeter. Leave it as is. If you want a PM buy 50-52 8N or later model. Like Dog says, I've never had a Proofmeter on my N's -all front mounts.


Tim Daley(MI)

 

[Bruce (VA)]

I want a fairly accurate idea of where I should be running to get the right PTO speed.

Save yourself the trouble.

See tip # 69.
75 Tips

 

[Tony in SD]

IMHO Its a simple tractor from a simple time. KISS Put a mark on the throttle. That is what Grandpa did for me when I was pre-school and he taught me to drive the 8N or Little Ford as we called it. Guess we called it that because we also has a Major, but I digress.

 

[jmeyert4a]

(quoted from post at 02:29:21 11/04/21) Can't say what you should do about the tach you bought.
Can say that that in all my years of running smaller Ford tractors I have Never had a working tach. I set the engine to 3/4 throttle - or a wee bit above - and am good to go.
If you wanted to be more precise you could beg or borrow a hand held mechanical or electronic tach and measure your pto speed then make a mark on the dash to where you set your throttle handle to get 540.
540 is not a magic number. It is more of a rough guide.

Good morning, and again, thank you. I'm guessing that you are right. 3/4 throttle is about what my neighbor recommended too. I guess that on my part it was a matter of curiosity, just to help me, (a first time tractor operator), get a good sense of what I'm working with. Never having had one, I have nothing to compare to, no baseline.

A few weeks back I bought a 5' brush hog and went out to tackle my field. At best (full throttle in first gear), I could only cut about 1/3 of a swath. A neighbor sees what I'm doing and a short time later shows up with his old diesel tractor and a 6' cutter and lend a hand. He cuts right thru the seven or eight foot rag weed and heavy grass, taking a full cut each pass.

My little tractor was coughing and sputtering and we tinkered with the (Chinese) carburetor a bit and determined that it was running too lean. (Got it to run some better by dropping a thick washer behind the choke knob.)

Well, thanks to you all on this forum, I was able to find an original MS carburetor for a reasonable price, cleaned and re-built it, and popped it on, and all of my coughing and sputtering has gone away.

I went out and re-cut the field, but can't really compare, since I'm not trying to cut thru tall heavy stuff this time. But I WAS still running at full throttle, and was told that I should not be. (I also found that mowing in second gear worked better than in first, and that was a surprise to me.)

Anyway, all of this led up to my wanting a fairly accurate proof meter, just to help me establish a baseline.

Again, thanks to all who have offered suggestions and advice.

 

[KCM]

Sounds like roughly 56% off to me. Must be a Jubilee/NAA tach, so wrong part.

 

[Tom/Idaho]

To answer your question, yes you can. I changed up the distributor on my 48, simply because I wanted to have that feature.
Tom/Idaho

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 18:58:09 11/04/21) To answer your question, yes you can. I changed up the distributor on my 48, simply because I wanted to have that feature.
Tom/Idaho

hy and what about the distributor did you change?

 

[hunkydory]

(quoted from post at 16:11:26 11/04/21)

(quoted from post at 18:58:09 11/04/21) To answer your question, yes you can. I changed up the distributor on my 48, simply because I wanted to have that feature.
Tom/Idaho

hy and what about the distributor did you change?

What he said.

It's a neat feature, but IMHO worthless. Who has time to look down there to see the engine RPM? Just listen for it. Plus a functioning governor makes it moot.

 

[jmeyert4a]

Yep, thank you, but in the first place I don't want to save myself the trouble, I actually DO want a fairly accurate idea of where I should be running to get the right PTO speed.

Secondly, your advice (Tip # 69) presumes that everything is running as it should be. Without a tach of some kind, I have no way of knowing that, do I?

This tractor has issues and I'm working to sort them out. On the Tips' list, I haven't worked my way through # 14 yet. ;- )

Also, under governors in the Operators Manual, they offer this bit of advice: The correct engine governed speed... blah, blah, ...which can be determined by observing the PROOF METER ring...

 

[jmeyert4a]

Thanks... Sounds like what I REALLY needed was just some form of tach to get things in order and see where I'm at.

Any recommendations along THAT line?

 

[Royse]

Thanks... Sounds like what I REALLY needed was just some form of tach to get things in order and see where I'm at.

Any recommendations along THAT line?

Yes. Don't get one of the electronic ones with a wire that bends around
your spark plug wire to pick up the RPMs. They do not like the EMI that wire core wires emit.
I am in agreement that you probably got a NAA tach instead of an 8N tach. BTDT
But I'm also in agreement that close is good enough. Don't run it wide open. About 3/4.

 

[Btzj02]

It came yesterday, but when I hooked it up, it seems to show about DOUBLE the RPMs that I would
expect.

I just called YT's Customer Service, but was told there is ONLY ONE meter available.

I had same problem while replacing my proof meter, and I did communicate the issue to YT. The proof meters bought on this sight are mechanically the same for both the NAA and the 8N. The only difference between the two is the face plate and the magnetic coupling inside the proof meter. Attached is a picture of the spinning magnet. I pushed the magnet down, (picture down) the shaft a smidge, reducing the magnetic coupling, to tune it for the 8N. It took trial and error to get the reading correct because I was using the tractor PTO shaft (540rpm) as my reference for engine speed. If you like to tinker I have more pictures that may help.

 

[Grinderhead]

On the face of the 8n proof meter it will read Hours at 1580 rpm, if it is an Naa meter it will read Hours at 1515rpm. YT has been known to send out the wrong meter.


This post was edited by Grinderhead on 11/05/2021 at 08:29 am.

 

[8NChris]

I like your idea and your right. Some equipment will last longer and use less fuel in the long term. Makes a big difference when you look at annual or even weekly operation cost. Here is my 48's adaptation. I used my tuning electric tachometer for back to back readings. Myself I would trade tachometers for the right one or save the one you have and buy a latter tractor for it 🙂.

A couple of under construction photos.

 

[8NChris]

(quoted from post at 06:43:43 11/05/21) It came yesterday, but when I hooked it up, it seems to show about DOUBLE the RPMs that I would
expect.

I just called YT's Customer Service, but was told there is ONLY ONE meter available.

I had same problem while replacing my proof meter, and I did communicate the issue to YT. The proof meters bought on this sight are mechanically the same for both the NAA and the 8N. The only difference between the two is the face plate and the magnetic coupling inside the proof meter. Attached is a picture of the spinning magnet. I pushed the magnet down, (picture down) the shaft a smidge, reducing the magnetic coupling, to tune it for the 8N. It took trial and error to get the reading correct because I was using the tractor PTO shaft (540rpm) as my reference for engine speed. If you like to tinker I have more pictures that may help.

hank's for posting.

 

[jmeyert4a]

(quoted from post at 09:14:17 11/03/21) Good morning All. I wanted to install a proof meter on my 8N with a front mounted distributor. The
tractor had a governor that has the attachment for the cable, so I THOUGHT that, other than making a
mounting bracket, that this would be a simple install.

I went to YT's parts list, and, since they only offer one model, I placed the order for the gage and
cable.

It came yesterday, but when I hooked it up, it seems to show about DOUBLE the RPMs that I would
expect.

I just called YT's Customer Service, but was told there is ONLY ONE meter available. He suggested
that I post here and ask for HELP!

CAN you install a ProofMeter on an 8N with a front mount distributor?

OK... Good morning again. Thanks to those who offered good advice.

Since I'm quite sure that the old tractor wasn't turning fast enough to peg the needle, and since there really wasn't a convenient place to mount the unit on my early 8N without doing a fair bit of fabricating, I boxed it up and returned it.

(Thank You, YESTERDAYS TRACTORS, for your excellent Customer Service.)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

HOWEVER...

How DOES one adjust the throttle/governor run speeds without knowing how fast it is turning?

As always, your thoughts/suggestions are welcomed!

Jim

 

[Lynn Patrick]

Not an answer to your questions, but make sure your mower - brush hog or finish mower style - is a little closer to the ground in front than in the back. It doesn't take near as much power if you are only mowing once on each pass!

 

[jmeyert4a]

Yep! Thank you!