new tractor and it is losing power

[Mikechri]

I purchased a 1954 Farmall Super H, in really great condition. I bouht it in Iowa and had it transported to Utah ( alot higher in elevation) It runs great but I drove it down the street and on my return trip back to my house it started to lose power and chug a bit. I had to bring the throttle up quite a ways to even get it home. I pulled the spark plugs and they are dark and gassy. I assumed it was running rich and Im not sure what to do. I bought new plugs (autolite 3116) and replaced them with a new cap and rotor, Im kind of afraid to take it far from home if it starts to chug again. I guess my question is... will the elevation make that big of a difference? and if so what do I need to lean it out? Thanks

 

[55 50 Ron]

Define a bit more your phrase chug a bit. A thorough carburetor cleaning would be a good place to start. How much additional elevation are you from where it was in Iowa?

 

[Hemmjo]

Was it really down the street as in down a hill, then UP the hill on the way back?

Was it making any smoke when is was chugging indicating is was running rich?

Does it start easy?

Does it have a road gear and you were running at low RPM?

 

[Janicholson]

There are two fuel adjustments that need attention due to elevation change. The Idle adjustments are near the top of the carburetor. One is near the tube that comes from the governor, about 1/2 inch to the right of the 2 screw flange that holds the tube to the carb. This is the Idle Speed screw and adjusts RPM at idle only, CW is faster and CCW. The second screw is located farther up on the attachment flange that mounts the carb to the manifold. This screw is the mixture screw it controls Idle richness by leaning the mix when screwed outward CCW, and richening when turned inward CW.
The second adjustment is high speed load mixture. This single screw is located at the front bottom of the carb pointing with the slotted head toward the radiator. This load screw is adjusted to tailor the fuel mix when the tractor is working.
Adjustment:
With the tractor running at 2/3 throttle the load screw needs to be turned inwards until the engine begins to change sound, as though too little fuel, then screwed outward 1/4 turn. Now get the tractor warmed up so adjustments are more accurate. When warm,(running for 15 minutes not looking at the temp gauge) adjust this load screw so that if the throttle lever is moved from Idle to full throttle very quickly, that there is no stumble or hesitation. A small amount of darker smoke can be seen at the muffler output as this happens but that should clear up when the engine is at full speed. When working hard plowing or discing, the exhaust should be almost clean of dark grey smoke.
This provides a reasonable mixture for work loads, and there should be no hesitation or stumble from idle to Full throttle.

The idle mixture should be adjusted as follows: with the high speed adjustment done, the idle speed screw should be adjusted for a very slow speed, pretty much as slow as it will stay running. Then the mixture screw should be turned in, or out, to make it run as fast as it can without adjusting the idle speed screw. Then readjust the speed screw for a slow idle again and repeat this until it idles smoothly and slow.

Now make sure the load screw adjustment has not changed its effectiveness.
These adjustments assume several things, one is good sparkplugs, another is good fuel, a third is the point gap and timing are correct. Manuals (operator and repair) are available here on YT store, they are really critical. I am a super H owner for all but three hears of my life from birth to 1953. Jim

 

[rustred]

as with anything i buy, it gets a major tune up, which includes the valve setting and a compression check. and i am not saying i replace with
all new parts, but it is all checked out.if plugs look ok they get cleaned and regapped, if points are not badly pitted they get gapped,..
then a timing check and set. carburator settings are always done after your electrical is in order. sounds like its flooding, which means a
carb cleaning and fuel flow check starting right from the tank. for now check your carb setting. turn in the main jet counting the turns to
seat the needle, then turn it out 2- 2 1/2 turns for now, do the same with the mixture screw and turn it out 3/4 turn. the idle should be set
at 400 rpm. properly tuned you will hardly hear it running and it should run on one cylinder at a time by removing 3 plug wires for each
cylinder at 1/2 throttle.

 

[the tractor vet]

Yes it will . Back when they were new tractors that were sent to places with higher elevations had higher compression pistons . Now dopn't hold me to the elevationbut i am aware of the pistons for above 5000 and 8000 feet . Now as to tuning yours for elevation for me it would be a little trial and error as i live in the under 2000 feet and mostly in the 15-1800 ft. el. In my youth and love for Speed and fast E T's i tuned for the tracks and weather to get the most i could . so for your S/H i would have to start with the dist and see how the centrifugal advance is working and fine tune that , check compression run the valves to make sure they are opening to get the biggest GULP or air fuel on the intake and play a little with timing and see what fuel ya have out our way , Next up is the cap rotor and wires making sure ya have old fashioned copper core ing wires . Then it would be nice to put it on a dyno and run it while fine tuning the carb and timing . So yes your tractor came from a lower alt. and higher alt will make a difference . I rebuilt one of my friends S/MTA with the above 8000 ft. pistons and a 450 gas head and here at lower alt. ya can not believe how much more pony power it makes and how well it runs . . My S/MTA has M &W flat tops in it and it sure does not run like Vernon's

 

[37 chief]

Just a thought. Iwas using my tractor one time. It started running bad, like you described. I changed the carburetor, and magneto. Same problem. I was
working in high mustard weeds. the tiny seeds went through my air cleaner pre cleaner, and plugged the main body of the air cleaner. I cleaned the oil
cup, but the steel wool part of the main body was so plugged I had to replaced the complete oil bath air cleaner. My tractor was starving for air. Stan

 

[Geo-TH,In]

There is one fuel adjust screw on my 1950 Farmall
C. It is backwards from what you think. If you
turn the fuel adjustment screw CW, inward, it
makes the fuel mix rich which turns spark plugs
black. Adjust the screw CCW and it leans down the
fuel mix.

Next time it is losing power apply a little
choke. If it runs a ruffer, definitely too much
fuel.
Please post a pic of your carb.

Clean the oil bath filter.

 

[Mikechri]

This post was edited by Mikechri on 07/27/2023 at 12:54 pm.

 

[Mikechri]

we came up in elevation from about 1000ft to 4200 ft above sea level.

 

[Mikechri]

I replaced the spark plugs that were in it, I replaced them with Autolite 3116 the Champions that were in it were black and gassy smelling so I know its too rich.

 

[Mikechri]

I think the carb could use a good going thru, we are 3000 ft higher than Iowa]

 

[GMCSierra1500]

Unleaded gas makes all spark plugs look black regards of carb mixture. My guess is you are tunning rich.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Check make sure have flow from gas tank. Its had a long trailer ride and bouncing down the highway can loosen rust in tank. My super c needed a screen changed in fuel tank it would run great about half an hour. Then sputter. The plug being carboned up might be a hair rich like they suggest and if this is the case should smoke a little when running. Easy way to check is to open screw in bottom of carb and see if it flows well for a good long time. If it slows down after a minute theres a problem it should have consistent flow.

 

[mjsnodgrass]

i would think that if the tractor ran well in iowa, it's probably gonna be a little rich up high where the air is thinner. you can probably adjust the carb
for that. before you attempt anything i'd look at the points, cap, coil etc and make sure the electrial is in good shape. all the bouncing during delivery
could have damaged the carb floats to where they are allowing extra fuel to the carb. at the least i'd check the float level. good luck