Ford 4110 wont run

[theruffneck]

I bought this tractor and 6ft bush hog from a guy a couple weeks ago. ive had it out mowing twice and it ran fine. started on the first crank, and did great. its a 78 gas. he told me the gas in it was 2 yrs old. so i got some stabilizer, and put a little bit in the tank. and i added about 3-4 gallons of fresh gas. that was prior to my second mow. the following day i went out to do some more mowing, and she fired up then died. and wouldnt fire again. i got some ether, sprayed it in the carb, shed fire right up. i pulled the top plug on the outside of the carb, and while cranking itll pour gas out the side. but it wont stay bad gas or something else? i found a new carb for i think $60. i was considering getting it and slapping it on. im just not 100% sure what it is. bad gas?

This post was edited by theruffneck on 03/20/2023 at 03:55 pm.

 

[Sean in PA]

If it's a 4110, then it isn't a 1978 tractor, and vice versa. The 4110 was made from 1965-1975.

I'm not sure I understand this part of your post:

i pulled the top plug on the outside of the carb, and while cranking itll pour gas out the side. but it wont stay bad gas or something else?

Dos that mean that it won't stay running, or the fuel pouring out the side won't continue pouring out, or won't stay somewhere?

If it stays running when you start it on ether, then your symptoms sound more like a weak spark or low compression than a fuel delivery or fuel quality issue. If it runs fine once started on ether, then the fuel delivery and quality is fine.

If it doesn't continue running after starting on ether, then it could be fuel delivery, a weak spark or a low compression issue.

As to the fuel coming out of the carb, it is an updraft system, so it sucks gas up into the intake manifold when the starter is cranking and when the the engine isn't starting that excess fuel has to go somewhere.

If you're going to throw money at a replacement carb, I would go for something in the $200.00 to $350.00 range. With a $60.00 carb, as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

But I would do some more diagnostics before throwing money at any parts.

 

[theruffneck]

(quoted from post at 16:43:56 03/20/23) If it's a 4110, then it isn't a 1978 tractor, and vice versa. The 4110 was made from 1965-1975.

I'm not sure I understand this part of your post:

i pulled the top plug on the outside of the carb, and while cranking itll pour gas out the side. but it wont stay bad gas or something else?

Dos that mean that it won't stay running, or the fuel pouring out the side won't continue pouring out, or won't stay somewhere?

If it stays running when you start it on ether, then your symptoms sound more like a weak spark or low compression than a fuel delivery or fuel quality issue. If it runs fine once started on ether, then the fuel delivery and quality is fine.

If it doesn't continue running after starting on ether, then it could be fuel delivery, a weak spark or a low compression issue.

As to the fuel coming out of the carb, it is an updraft system, so it sucks gas up into the intake manifold when the starter is cranking and when the the engine isn't starting that excess fuel has to go somewhere.

If you're going to throw money at a replacement carb, I would go for something in the $200.00 to $350.00 range. With a $60.00 carb, as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

But I would do some more diagnostics before throwing money at any parts.

my mistake on the year, the previous owner said thats what year it was.
it wont stay running after i use the ether. it will get it running for just a little bit, but it will die, even with the choke all the way out. as far as the gas pouring out, i was simply checking to see if it was getting gas to the carb. so i pulled a few of the plugs on it to see if it was. i havent played with it too awful much. today was the first day since it started this last week that ive been able enough to try anything with it. tomorrow ill get my spark tester out and see what it looks like. since it ran well to begin with, and he mentioned the gas being old i figured that should be my starting place. thanks for the response.

 

[Sean in PA]

Old gas does not warrant replacing the carb. Drain the tank and replace the fuel with good new gasoline, or, if you have something available to use, rig up a temporary gas tank to try running it off of.

 

[pomester]

These tractors have (should have) a fuel pump. That pump has a screen associated with it. There also should be a glass settling bowl near the carburetor. And also a screen inside the fuel tank associated with the valve. Several places to potentially gunk up.

It originally had a Holley carburetor, which can become problematic with age and wear, but the issues usually involve the 'power system' and the tractor will usually idle just fine.

If it were me, I would drain and clean the fuel system. Drain the tank, remove the valve, clean the screen, inspect/clean the tank. Drain the carburetor. Remove and clean the settling bowl (expect to replace the gasket). The fuel pump is a PITA - sometimes they are removed and the machine will run as long as there is plenty of gas in the tank - and it is possible for the pump to fail, removing the generator helps with access. I'll post some pictures. Blow the lines out. Put everything back and see if it will run. I wouldn't disassemble or replace the carburetor until every thing else is ruled out.

If it will run on ether, it means it's not getting fuel.

 

[Steve in IL]

We had the same symptoms with our 1973 4000. Not
certain if your fuel delivery system is the same, but ours
was a plugged little metal filter that is mounted right in
the center of the fuel settling bowl glass. Quick test is to
remove bowl, and spin off that filter then reassemble
without it. Ours started right up, and ran great.

 

[showcrop]

You can clean your tank at the same time as you drain it if you siphon it with a vinyl tube. Use at least three-eighths or it will keep plugging with all the debris that is in there.

 

[Ultradog MN]

If you are very patient you can remove all those star shaped wafers off the center post post, clean them and reassemble it.
Btdt

 

[Steve in IL]

Or If you are not patient, you could just remove it, and leave it on the workbench (which is why I have it to take a picture of!). Intended to just replace it with a generic inline fuel filter.

 

[steveo3000]

(quoted from post at 23:32:26 03/20/23) These tractors have (should have) a fuel pump. That pump has a screen associated with it. There also should be a glass settling bowl near the carburetor. And also a screen inside the fuel tank associated with the valve. Several places to potentially gunk up.

It originally had a Holley carburetor, which can become problematic with age and wear, but the issues usually involve the 'power system' and the tractor will usually idle just fine.

If it were me, I would drain and clean the fuel system. Drain the tank, remove the valve, clean the screen, inspect/clean the tank. Drain the carburetor. Remove and clean the settling bowl (expect to replace the gasket). The fuel pump is a PITA - sometimes they are removed and the machine will run as long as there is plenty of gas in the tank - and it is possible for the pump to fail, removing the generator helps with access. I'll post some pictures. Blow the lines out. Put everything back and see if it will run. I wouldn't disassemble or replace the carburetor until every thing else is ruled out.

If it will run on ether, it means it's not getting fuel.

I just replaced my fuel lift pump and indeed it s a pain. I did remove my generator, and it still took a crows foot with some luck to get the mounting screws off. Also took off my power steering reservoir. Came out the top for me. I have loader arms in the way too fwiw