Farmall Super C starting problems

[farmallmitch]

Hi, I own a 1956 Farmall Super C. A few months ago i took the carburetor to a local tractor shop for a "rebuild" due to a gas leak. We had Them put two of the same working zenith carburetors together (Top half of one, and the bottom half of another). When we got it back, The chok is actually switched around.. originally when the choke rod was pulled out, the choke was on. But now the choke is off when the rod is pulled out, and on when the rod is pushed in. After we got the carb back on, the tractor would start but would have no power. When i took it out it almost stalled just going into gear, once in gear it wouldnt be able to make it up the little hill leading into my barn where i keep my tractors. Do to a lack of time i wasnt able to work on the tractor (Im sure some of you know how that is!) But recently i went to start the tractor to try and fix it but it wouldnt start. The tractor rolls over, the plugs are clean and have spark. did a compression check and cylinders are around 130-150 psi. When i start the tractor it spits out a bit of white smoke but it only will fire once or twice when the choke is on ( IF im Lucky) but still wont start. i took off the carb and it was wet with gass. So i tightened the bolts on the carb and the bolts attaching the carb to the manifold. and i believe i took care of that problem, but i am still having the same problem with starting the tractor. Ive adjusted the main jet based on factory settings and ive played around with it more too but still dont see much of a difference at all. But i have run out of options. Im not sure how to get this beast to start. im not sure if its the carb or what! any help will be greatly appreciated!
-Mitch

 

[old]

Take the air cleaner tube loose from the carb and try to start if. You also might try holding your hand over the air intake of the carb and try to start it. You should have a good suction when you do and gas on your hand when you do that and shut if may even fire up. If the plugs are wet then you have it flooded and it will not start that way till the plugs are cleaned and dried

 

[Jim Becker]

If the choke seems to be working backwards, either the arm on the choke shaft is mounted 180 degrees out of position or you have the choke and throttle linkages swapped with each other. Resolve that problem to take those variables out of the situation before trying to diagnose the starting problem.

 

[El Toro]

Think they may fouled up your carburetor at that tractor shop. I would get on their butts and tell them to start your tractor. Hal

 

[old]

I forgot to say you should also take that carb back to who you had rebuild it and have them make it right since they messed it up some in the first place which may or may not be part of your problem

 

[Janicholson]

I agree, a choke Plate mounted backwards on the shaft might not close correctly at all. Time for a reality check. Jim

 

[farmallmitch]

ok, so what i should try to do is take the choke plate out and switch it around? I would take it back to the shop but i got that work done months ago so im not sure if they would be any help unless i paid them that big fee they charge.. But i took off the air clean hose and tried starting it, it had plenty of suction. When i put my hand over the air intake of the carb it fired over a few times more than it usually does and spipts pretty good size clouds of white smoke. and when i let off on the starter gass came pouring out of the intake. but still no starting.

 

[old]

Ok try this. Pull the carb drain plug and make sure you have a good steady flow of gas for a couple minutes. Catch it to look for water/dirt in the gas. If you have a good flow there and no water then if the main jet sits low in the carb pull the adjustment needle out and see if you get a good flow out of the main jet. If you do not then the main maybe clogged so you might try spraying it out with carb cleaner spray and maybe poke a small wire into it to make sure it is clean and open.
Also make sure your spark is a nice Blue/white and will jump a 1/4 inch gap or more. weak spark can do odd things and if it does not jump a 1/4 inch gap or more it is to weak

 

[Janicholson]

Igniotion issues are likely to be the problem now. Firing order is 1342 from front to back. The distributor wires looking from the rear at the cap are:
2-1
4-3
in a clockwize rotation. point gap on the high point of the breaker cam is .020"
Jim

 

[mkirsch]

If it ran ok before the carburetor rebuild but won't run after, and nobody messed with the ignition system, it is NOT an ignition problem.

The carburetor is totally out of whack, that's for sure.

You need to take the carburetor off, take it apart, look for anything obvious, clean it, and put it back together to proper specifications.

More than once I've heard stories of people forgetting to put the venturi back into the carburetor when it was reassembled.

Did you get all the unused pieces back from the two-into-one carburetor project?

 

[mountain4don]

I had all of the same starting problems on my 56' Super C also. Had to crank it forever to get it to start, with clouds of black smoke coming out of the stack. But it seemed to run ok when I got it started. Ignition checked good. Adjusted the valves so they were good, but still no improvement. So I rebuilt the carb. Same problem. Always seemed to get plenty of gas to the carb when I opened the plug on the bottom of the carb. And when I turned off the gas valve under the tank, gas dripped out of the carb till the tank was empty. So I bought a new under tank filter/settling bowl/screen/valve assembly and installed it. After sitting for a month in cold weather until I got the new valve in, I turned the gas on, cranked the engine over and it fired off and ran on the first revolution. And now starts on the first revolution no matter how cold it is. Doesn't smoke on the startup. Carb doesn't leak after the engine is shut off or anything. So why did the old gas valve/filter cause this same problem you are having? Now my Super C starts on the first revolution no matter how cold it is.

 

[gab]

(Hi, I own a 1956 Farmall Super C) No you don't, 1954 was the end of the Super C production. Why did you need to go the two carbs. to make one route? Did it start and run good before the carb. work? Did it have a Zenith carb to start with?
I replaced a Carter with a new Zenith on my Super C and had to change the length of the governor rod a quite a bit.
Mine started yesterday morning at about 10 below 0. It likes about three quarter throttle, choke/crank and it's running.

 

[Hayrack]

Just a thought... how old is the gas in the tank? I just helped my neighbor with his snowblower this week that acted just like that. He filled it with gas in early October when he got it ready for winter, (but used gas from that lawnmower can he filled sometime in july or august. When he needed the snowblower this winter, it wouldn't start, but it ran perfect in October. I went over and we ended up draining the gas out of the tank and carb and putting in fresh gas. Bang... started and ran perfect. It seems to me like some of these newer gas blends we are getting now days will loose there bang very quickly and just wont vaporize enough in the cold....

 

[souNdguy]

1, sounds lean / fuel obstructed.

2, fix the choke. won';t take long to pull her apart and get linkage and flapper happy.

as long as they did not use gasket sealer ( should not ).. you can reuse the old gasket.

 

[GordoSD]

Sediment bowl assembly is what you bought/

 

[James Williams]

Mitch,It sounds like you have limited experience,before you shoot your self in the foot,go find someone that can help you personly,and not over the internet.Most of these guys are experts but they cant actually see or understand what your doing or what has been done

jimmy

 

[mountain4don]

Yes, the sediment bowl assembly is what I bought and replaced to solve my starting problems on my Super C. The old one was pretty corroded and the screen was starting to show some holes through it.