please help my 8-N live right

[brucew44guns]

I hope some kind soul can shed light. Have a 52 8N side e mount of course. A very nice, clean tractor, and everything is in great shape, I mow the roadsides in front of our Kansas farm with it. I put new plug wires, copper cored, Autolite plugs, points, condenser, rotor and cap, new coil, new key switch,had carb rebuilt not long ago, has a fairly new gas tank and it vents ok, new sediment bowl and gas does pour out bottom of carb, very clean and fresh gas. It starts in the blink of the eye, runs smooth, idles pretty good. It mows medium height grass on the level ground very well, but a bit of grade uphill, then heavier grass, with tractor working harder, she starts puking, bucking--very much noise symptoms of a rig running out of gas or getting some water. It bucks ahead then stalls, bucks ahead then stalls, like an itermittant short circuit in the ignition for example, but only when under extra stress of a work load It does not die, but often comes close to dying if the harder condition with tall grass persists a ways. The symptoms are not that much erratic or irregular, but rather rhythmic, and steady till the work load lightens. I have had this problem a long time, I thought the new distributor tune up had this fixed, but today she started acting up again. Could I have a bad governor? Hate to throw money at a new governor when mine is fine. Wish one of you miracle workers were here to do some miracle act--I'm getting ticked with what is likely a simple fix, but can't seem to eliminate or find it. Thank you all.

 

[arthur moody]

(quoted from post at 08:32:56 07/10/17) I hope some kind soul can shed light. Have a 52 8N side e mount of course. A very nice, clean tractor, and everything is in great shape, I mow the roadsides in front of our Kansas farm with it. I put new plug wires, copper cored, Autolite plugs, points, condenser, rotor and cap, new coil, new key switch,had carb rebuilt not long ago, has a fairly new gas tank and it vents ok, new sediment bowl and gas does pour out bottom of carb, very clean and fresh gas. It starts in the blink of the eye, runs smooth, idles pretty good. It mows medium height grass on the level ground very well, but a bit of grade uphill, then heavier grass, with tractor working harder, she starts puking, bucking--very much noise symptoms of a rig running out of gas or getting some water. It bucks ahead then stalls, bucks ahead then stalls, like an itermittant short circuit in the ignition for example, but only when under extra stress of a work load It does not die, but often comes close to dying if the harder condition with tall grass persists a ways. The symptoms are not that much erratic or irregular, but rather rhythmic, and steady till the work load lightens. I have had this problem a long time, I thought the new distributor tune up had this fixed, but today she started acting up again. Could I have a bad governor? Hate to throw money at a new governor when mine is fine. Wish one of you miracle workers were here to do some miracle act--I'm getting ticked with what is likely a simple fix, but can't seem to eliminate or find it. Thank you all.

:wink: you need to look at the bowl on the carb it has holes in the bottom that feeds the load. that are probably dirty. clean with some thing soft.

 

[Roger in Iowa]

Park tractor on a slight grade uphill and remove the plug from bottom of carb. Do you get a good steady stream and quantity. Float may be set too low as it sounds as if running out of fuel under load.

 

[Caryc]

(quoted from post at 09:17:56 07/10/17)

(quoted from post at 08:32:56 07/10/17) I hope some kind soul can shed light. Have a 52 8N side e mount of course. A very nice, clean tractor, and everything is in great shape, I mow the roadsides in front of our Kansas farm with it. I put new plug wires, copper cored, Autolite plugs, points, condenser, rotor and cap, new coil, new key switch,had carb rebuilt not long ago, has a fairly new gas tank and it vents ok, new sediment bowl and gas does pour out bottom of carb, very clean and fresh gas. It starts in the blink of the eye, runs smooth, idles pretty good. It mows medium height grass on the level ground very well, but a bit of grade uphill, then heavier grass, with tractor working harder, she starts puking, bucking--very much noise symptoms of a rig running out of gas or getting some water. It bucks ahead then stalls, bucks ahead then stalls, like an itermittant short circuit in the ignition for example, but only when under extra stress of a work load It does not die, but often comes close to dying if the harder condition with tall grass persists a ways. The symptoms are not that much erratic or irregular, but rather rhythmic, and steady till the work load lightens. I have had this problem a long time, I thought the new distributor tune up had this fixed, but today she started acting up again. Could I have a bad governor? Hate to throw money at a new governor when mine is fine. Wish one of you miracle workers were here to do some miracle act--I'm getting ticked with what is likely a simple fix, but can't seem to eliminate or find it. Thank you all.

:wink: you need to look at the bowl on the carb it has holes in the bottom that feeds the load. that are probably dirty. clean with some thing soft.

Sorry, but could you elaborate a bit? I don't get that at all.

 

[Bruce (VA)]

As soon as the tractor starts running rough, not 5 minutes later, you need to answer 2 questions before you do anything else:

With the bolt in the carb bowl removed and the gas on, will the fuel flow fill a pint jar in less than 2 minutes?

Next, get out your adjustable gap spark checker * , open the gap to 1/4", hook it up, turn the key on and crank the engine. Does the spark jump 1/4"? Post back with the answers.

And do not buy a new part for the tractor until you can answer this question: how do I know the part on the tractor is defective?

See tip # 14 to check the governor.


* Don't own an adjustable gap spark checker? Buy one! Not a test light! Until then, take an old plug, open the gap 1/4" ground it to the head & look for spark. It?s not the color of the spark that counts; it?s the distance it jumps.
75 Tips

 

[carlntexas]

Do you always keep plenty of gas in the tank? Mine will do this if I'm down to 2 or 3gl. when I get it on a steep slop. It could also be your float hanging up on bowl.

 

[Den N Ms]

Brucew44,You can check the carb float level while it is still on the tractor by getting a 1/8"NPT x1/4" barb fitting and a foot piece of 1/4" clear hose.Turn gas off remove the plug and install fitting and hose,hold hose higher than carb and turn on gas wait till carb fills up then lower the hose beside the carb till gas runs out the top.at that point that is the gas level in the carb.
Is your bush hog set right with the front side 1/2"-1" lower than the rear/back.If the back side of it is set lower than the front you are cutting the grass twice which over loads your tractor like trying to pull a 8' footer with a N.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 09:17:56 07/10/17)

(quoted from post at 08:32:56 07/10/17) I hope some kind soul can shed light. Have a 52 8N side e mount of course. A very nice, clean tractor, and everything is in great shape, I mow the roadsides in front of our Kansas farm with it. I put new plug wires, copper cored, Autolite plugs, points, condenser, rotor and cap, new coil, new key switch,had carb rebuilt not long ago, has a fairly new gas tank and it vents ok, new sediment bowl and gas does pour out bottom of carb, very clean and fresh gas. It starts in the blink of the eye, runs smooth, idles pretty good. It mows medium height grass on the level ground very well, but a bit of grade uphill, then heavier grass, with tractor working harder, she starts puking, bucking--very much noise symptoms of a rig running out of gas or getting some water. It bucks ahead then stalls, bucks ahead then stalls, like an itermittant short circuit in the ignition for example, but only when under extra stress of a work load It does not die, but often comes close to dying if the harder condition with tall grass persists a ways. The symptoms are not that much erratic or irregular, but rather rhythmic, and steady till the work load lightens. I have had this problem a long time, I thought the new distributor tune up had this fixed, but today she started acting up again. Could I have a bad governor? Hate to throw money at a new governor when mine is fine. Wish one of you miracle workers were here to do some miracle act--I'm getting ticked with what is likely a simple fix, but can't seem to eliminate or find it. Thank you all.

:wink: you need to look at the bowl on the carb it has holes in the bottom that feeds the load. that are probably dirty. clean with some thing soft.

Arthur, could you describe these holes a little so that I could find them on my Fords? Also please tell me what "feeding the load" is.

 

[brucew44guns]

I refuel every time I use it, always topped off after use.

 

[ratface]

I suspect something floating around in your gas tank that moves over the gas uptake hole whenever you slosh it around a bit that happens easily on a slope. Best way to check this is to rig a small lawn mower gas tank with pure clean gas and see if the problem goes away.

 

[Belgiumfoe46]

I own a 1946 2N which I am restoring. When I first got it I bought a brush hog mower and used in on my field. Some of the grass is thick and tall. Waist high. She bogged down many times because these tractors only have just so much Horsepower. Twenty five horse power isn't much to work with. You have to have one foot on the clutch and give her a break if she bogs down too heavy. It sounds like that is what is happening to yours. You have done a lot to get to the maximum horsepower it can deliver. If you want a tractor that will pull through the heavier stuff without bogging down you might have to either pull the engine and put a bigger one in, or just get a bigger tractor that has the HP to do the job. Sounds to me like she is doing all she can. Good luck

 

[Caryc]

(quoted from post at 13:57:16 07/11/17) I own a 1946 2N which I am restoring. When I first got it I bought a brush hog mower and used in on my field. Some of the grass is thick and tall. Waist high. She bogged down many times because these tractors only have just so much Horsepower. Twenty five horse power isn't much to work with. You have to have one foot on the clutch and give her a break if she bogs down too heavy. It sounds like that is what is happening to yours. You have done a lot to get to the maximum horsepower it can deliver. If you want a tractor that will pull through the heavier stuff without bogging down you might have to either pull the engine and put a bigger one in, or just get a bigger tractor that has the HP to do the job. Sounds to me like she is doing all she can. Good luck

One other option in the really tall heavy stuff is to only take a cut of half the mowers width.

 

[Ron Graves]

(quoted from post at 16:32:56 07/10/17) A very nice, clean tractor, and everything is in great shape, I mow the roadsides in front of our Kansas farm with it. .

That's the problem...It's in Kansas....

From a MIZZOU Tiger :twisted:

 

[brucew44guns]

I'm pretty sure it originated in Mo. though, and it may go back too!!

 

[brucew44guns]

The grass I'm speaking of is do-able with a right running 8-N. This tractor has mowed grass such as I speak of many times. It is not pulling down and snuffing out from lack of power., rather, it is just beginning to pull hard and begins to puke and buck as if it has water in the gas, which it does not have.

 

[HFJ]

what u describe can be caused by inadequate fuel flow or inadequate spark. have u performed the tests Bruce (VA) suggested?

 

[brucew44guns]

This tractor ran perfect for a couple work sessions after tuning it up in the distributor, but this week she started acting up again as bad as ever. About ready to give it away, such a simple machine that has a naggi9ng something or tuther I can't seem to discover and permanently fix. I've taken all your suggestions to keep in mind, including the adjustment of the float height which has not been done so far. This weekend if rain does not come I'll tinker some more. Thanks again.

 

[Jim WI]

(quoted from post at 23:58:25 07/13/17) This tractor ran perfect for a couple work sessions after tuning it up in the distributor, but this week she started acting up again as bad as ever.

This is definitely a clue. A few years back I had a set of points that would not hold gap for more than about five hours or so. Replacing the points fixed the problem. I'd say check the point gap and see if it is still set right. If nothing else you will have eliminated that from the list of suspects.

 

[brucew44guns]

I'll check the point gap today if I can get time this afternoon. What is the optimum gap setting? I can check my book though., had a friend put in the ones in now.

 

[Bruce (VA)]

(quoted from post at 06:40:30 07/14/17) I'll check the point gap today if I can get time this afternoon. What is the optimum gap setting? I can check my book though., had a friend put in the ones in now.

.015

Check the timing too. And do a continuity check before you put it back on the tractor.

 

[carlntexas]

(quoted from post at 09:05:29 07/14/17)

(quoted from post at 06:40:30 07/14/17) I'll check the point gap today if I can get time this afternoon. What is the optimum gap setting? I can check my book though., had a friend put in the ones in now.

.015

Check the timing too. And do a continuity check before you put it back on the tractor.

ruce I'm not a guru but I don't think he needs to take the dist. out of a side mount.

 

[HFJ]

i thought point gap on a side mount was .025" ?

 

[Bruce (VA)]

(quoted from post at 06:40:30 07/14/17) I'll check the point gap today if I can get time this afternoon. What is the optimum gap setting? I can check my book though., had a friend put in the ones in now.

Oooops!

My bad.

Thought you had a frontmount.

Point gap is .025 on a sidemount.

 

[Bruce (VA)]

Yep.

Missed that. Thought he had a frontmount.

 

[Bruce (VA)]

My bad!

Thought he had a frontmount.