Montgomery Ward 15 HP Gil 3314 Tractor

[johnd12491]

This message is a reply to an archived post by El Toro on September 22, 2009 at 04:04:06.
The original subject was "Re: Montgomery Ward 15 Variable Speed".

I have a Montgomery Wards 33144 with the B&S 325434 15 HP engine. Mice got into the flywheel area and I need to get in there to clean it out. How does the starter belt pulley come off? I have taken the 4 screen screws and the 2 bolts to the flywheel off but it still wont come off. The pulley is loose but the coupler wont come off the crankshaft. Is the coupler threaded on?? The parts list shows a crankshaft extension. How does this come off?
Thanks
John

 

[El Toro]

I had the same thing happen to my Wards tractor a few years ago. I don't keep any cleaning rags out in the open in my mini barn. I wouldn't pull that apart around the flywheel. Pull the cylinder head and you can reach in there with a piece of wire and snake out the mice nest. Then use compressed air to blow out the remaining nest. Hal

 

[johnd12491]

Thanks for the reply.
I did take off the head first and clean out the junk but still no spark, I think there is gunk on the flywheel and magneto.
John

 

[El Toro]

See if you can see the magnet on the flywheel when the head is off. It may be covered in rust.
You need someone with small hands to rub that magnet until shiny. One other thing is to pull the cover off the points and rub them with some 320 wet or dry. Then see if have fire to your plug. Hal

 

[joe csuti]

Did you remove center bolt(85) that holds pulley to extension?-extension(810) appear's to be a socket end that installs on flywheel nut & center bolt holds it on,the ext may be tapered or keyed to match pulley bore,hard to tell looking at parts drawing

 

[johnd12491]

There is no center bolt on the coupler center shaft, the coupler appears to be welded to the center shaft.
I agree the drawings don't clearly show how the crank extension is held on. I have the engine out and used a puller on the coupler shaft but no luck yet.
Thanks
John

 

[El Toro]

You should've cleaned the points and tried that before pulling the engine. The mouse nest I removed from my tractor never affected the starting. I cranked over my engine with the head off and a lot more of the nest and a few mice skeltons flew out of that flywheel area. Hal

 

[t1]

Mice like to chew on the coil wires of the coils on briggs engines when they make there nests. its possible they chewed the wire off, you might be able to shine a light down and see, follwoing the sparkplug wire to the coil. mice use there nests as bathrooms as well, best to clean out as much as you can, because there urine will make everything rust and corrode, and cuase you more headaches later.

 

[johnd12491]

I finally got the coupler off the end of the crank, it is just a tight slip on fit, no nuts or threads. Now the pulley wheel, screen and shroud come off.
Inside the shroud everything is covered with sticky mouse stuff and the insulated wires were chewed bare. Cleaned everything up but still no spark.
I will report when I find out what's wrong with the spark.
John

 

[El Toro]

Take a good look at that magnet for rust and touch it with a flatblade screwdriver for magnetism. That's where your armature makes it hot spark when that magnet passes by the armature. Your points may need to be cleaned.
Hal

 

[El Toro]

Its probably a good thing that you pulled the shroud to clean up that mess. Hal

 

[rustyj14]

Set the gap between the legs of the coil and the magnetic areaa of the flywheel, using a post card, or a shipping tag, or business card. They give the correct gap. Trying to set the gap with a feeler guage is an impossible job! Loosen the coil/magneto bolts, insert card between coil legs and magnets on flywheel, pull coil back away from FW, tighten bolts snugly. Then rotate flywheel until the coil legs are placed equally across from the magnetic area of the flywheel. Loosen bolts, allow magnets to draw coil legs in against tag spacer, tighten bolts snugly, rotate flywheel and spacer will turn out. Coil gap will be correctly set! Works every time. BTDT
You must clean all dirt out of the fly area, i use compressed air. And, be sure the coil ground wire is good, no bare spots, no bare spot grounding where it exits the engine shrouding.
I use those smelly clothes dryer sheets in storage time, placed around the engine.