Farmall m won't start

[Indiana George]

I was using my M the other day and it died on me ,now it turns over but it won't start.I have
spark and gas to the carb .What should I look at to get it going.Could the points be bad?

 

[FBH44]

My H did that, I replaced the distributor cap and rotor; fixed!

 

[Fritz Maurer]

You have gas to the carb, but is gas getting out of the carb? Is the choke accidentally closed? Nothing wrong with the points if you have spark.

 

[redforlife]

Did it run, for say a minute and a half or so, and then die? If so, my first guess would be float needle valve stuck closed. My H does this. Tap on outside of carb, and it will fall down, fill bowl up again. My H only does this after a start up and left sitting. When driving, it usually don't do this.
If not, possibly a restricted fuel flow someplace. Bug in the line somewhere or something.
If not, how did you check your spark? At a plug so you know for sure? Or juice to the coil, so your just guessing you have soark.

 

[Janicholson]

Put gasoline in a pump oil can. take out the plugs. Squirt one full squirt in each cylinder. Put the plugs back in. If it starts for a few seconds it is fuel delivery from the carb to the engine. If no start, do a compression test (Youtube it) if no or erratic compression, the cam drive may have broken. If ok uniform compression between 80 and 125psi, and still no start, spark issues still exist. Jim

 

[used red MN]

To go to the next step we need to know if you have a battery ignition or a mag? Was the spark was checked at the end of the plug wire. Some people think spark is when they take the cap off and pry the points apart and they see an arc between the contacts. Yes that tells you there is power to the ignition and several other things, but it does not tell you if spark is making it through the rotor and cap through the wire to the plug. Next you say you have gas to the carb, is that by checking the flow out of the carb drain? If your sediment bowl below the tank does not have the proper screen in the top a fuzz ball or crud can make it way down the fuel line and plug the small screen in the fitting on the carb where the fuel line attaches. A good test is to pull the air intake pipe off the carb and hold your hand over the carb air inlet and crank the engine..make sure it is in neutral.. The engine should have a good vacuum and when you pull your hand away it should have gas on it.

 

[Indiana George]

I have battery ignition ,spark was checked at the end of the plu wire ,and checked the gas by the drain.

 

[Indiana George]

I'll check for compression tomorrow and let you know what I have

 

[jimtrs]

(quoted from post at 11:12:32 11/08/21)Nothing wrong with the points if you have spark.

(quoted from post at 19:36:43 11/08/21) I have battery ignition ,spark was checked at the end of the plu wire

Compromised points can still allow a spark, albeit a poor quality one, and it being harder to create a good spark under compression, there may not be enough to start your tractor.

To have a good quality spark to start your tractor, see if the spark can jump a 3/16 or 1/4 inch gap outside the cylinder. If it does, you then know that under compression you will have a good quality spark. Use either an adjustable spark tester, or a spark plug with the electrode opened as much as possible, straight down, or broken off all together.

 

[used red MN]

When it died was it just as if you had turned off the switch? If so take cap off and turn the engine so the rotor points about a half inch before it aligns with the number one plug wire terminal. Connect a test light to the post coming out of the distributor and turn on the ignition switch, test light should not light. Hopefully your hand cranking unit works and you have a crank. Crank engine forward until the light comes on. Now see how close the front pulley pointer is to the second mark of the two that are close together. If you have to turn it past the marks a ways the timing has slipped. Something in the front gear case or a drive pin in the distributor shaft. Does the tractor have a live hydraulic pump?

 

[used red MN]

In addition to what jimtrs is saying is the tractor still on 6
volt or converted to 12? If 6 how fast is it cranking?