Farmall 200 distributor question

[8ntractorjdx]

Without your help I would have never come this far. thank you. I will reset it tomorrow. Is there any trick to timing without a light. I dont want to hurt the tractor any more than I already have. Once I get the tractor running I will take off the valve cover and adjust the valve clearance. I will also check the compression warm and with oil to see if it is the rings. Maybe 2 has a bent pushrod ; ) I doubt that anything is set too tight. i do not think the last owner did anything but add fuel and change the oil which he told me he got for free. When i greased the front spindle water came out the top. thank you again dj54.

 

[DJ54]

Without a light, what you did before is about as good as it gets. Just get it on the right mark, and you'll be good. The centrifugal spark advance will take care of the rest of it, if you're on the 22º mark.

If you have a pin type feeler gauge, it would be best to use that. More than likely the side that contacts the valve will be slightly worn like a horse shoe. A flat blade gauge will ride on the outside, and not in the middle where it needs to be. If you don't have that type, you can get by for now. It is better to have them set a tad loose, than tight. If they are too tight, it could cause them to not completely seat, and cause them to burn. More so on the exhaust.

 

[8ntractorjdx]

Well I set the tractor at the second mark and ran it. the good news is it has more power and does not stall when I raise the loader or raise the back blade or back up it seems to have more power the bad news is it is not running as smooth and there is still exhaust coming from the oil filler It sounds like a miss. or like it just is not right. I cannot figure out how to attach a 7 second video. I tried mp4 and vid files but they will not load. I think if you heard it you might know what is wrong.

 

[8ntractorjdx]

hope this works video of tractor not running well. While I had the distributor off I checked the springs and weights and they were quite rusty. I sprayed and drained them several times with deep creep and wd 40 and now I think you can actually hear the weights moving when the tractor is running. not sure how to proceed I ran the tractor for abut 5 minutes and pulled the plugs 1-3 look good just a little brown residue 4 looked black like it had carbon on it. Not sure why there is air coming from the breather tube is there some form of pcv on these old tractors that could be plugged?

 

[DJ54]

Nope, no PCV system on them, other than what you've got. Sounds like it's time to pull the valve cover. Start it up with it removed, and you should be able to see where it's coming from. Whether from around a valve guide, or back up through the oil return ports.

My hearing isn't the best, but sounded like a valve hissing. Could be you've got a stuck valve. weak or broken valve spring. Could even be a push rod has dropped out of one of the rocker arms. It might be a good idea to visually inspect each rocker arm, and push rod before starting it. If every thing looks OK, then start it at a low idle, and have a good look. I'd pay particular attention to #4 and #2 cylinders. #4, due to carbon on the plug, and #2, due to the lower compression.

You may need to try using the "Go Advanced" feature @ below right of this reply box. Not sure what all types can be downloaded that way, but some are listed.

 

[8ntractorjdx]

ok I pulled the hood and the valve cover and attemped to adjust the valve lash. since the last time I adjusted this I was still in high school I did not make big adjustments. I ran the engine for about 5 minutes so I used .016 instead of .014 on several of the I did not have to adjust at all. .016 was very close. On number 4 the final lifter was completely closed and the nut was loose. so that one I opened to .016 the motor seems to be running ok but it sounds like it cuts out for of a couple of seconds then catches up again. It also backfires once in a while?


Ben

 

[DJ54]

If that is still the old distributor, there may be enough slop in it, it may not be opening the points equally at each firing interval. Even if you checked each lobe static, doesn't mean that's what it is when running. A dwell meter on it when running would show you that.

I can't open your video, because it says to sign in to see it. You 'll probably have to set it to public, for it to open here.

 

[8ntractorjdx]

thank you again DJ 54 I think the video will work now. Ironically when I bought the tractor it idled and ran well and the engine sounded good until I put a load on it. Then it would almost die.The point gap was close to .030 and the points were badly burned. So i think the issue is still in the timing. or in where I put the distributor when I put it back in. I understand that I may have to buy a new distributor but would like to get the tractor running as well as it was before I make that purchase. thank you again for all of your help.

just want to make sure cyl 1 is closest to the radiator correct?

 

[DJ54]

Yes, cyl. #1 is nearest the radiator. I have a few more questions.

Are the points in it, the ones that were badly burned..?? If so, a new set could make a world of difference.

What did you set the points at..?? They should be .020. That would make a BIG difference, throwing the dwell off. Dwell will change the timing, but timing will not change the dwell. Might be an idea to invest in a new set. Get a decent set, like OEM's, or from NAPA, and don't go the cheap route. The rub blocks on the cheap set wear, or partially bend way sooner than a good set.

One other thing. Check the plug wires, that you didn't pull the end that connect to the plug, back into the boot. They should have a light snap to them when you put them on the plugs. Depends on how tight they are I guess. And copper core wires are the best to use on them. My one C's set has been on since '75, and the other ones since the late 80's.

And if that is the cap that came on it, look inside at the lugs, and look for a carbon buildup from ionization. If the lugs are aluminum, they will get a whitish/green deposit on them. If brass, it will be a dark colored. This buildup can be scraped off with you pen knife. I can tell when my Su C's get that buildup without even looking. They will get a blubber type miss to them, similar to what you're getting. I've been using the same cap,and scraping it for 25 years now. Still runs great.

Video plays fine now. Sounds like you're close, but just not getting good fire. Never thoughto ask if you checked the color of the spark. It should be a blueish/white color. If it's a faint yellowish orange, that is a sign of weak spark. And a weak spark will cause a poor fuel ignition.

 

[8ntractorjdx]

thank you for writing back. I did put in new points from napa and gapped them at .020 new condenser and rotor also. I just tried scraping the distributor cap. I reset the timing per your instructions the spark is yellow from the plug best I can tell but it is bright sunshine. I had trouble getting a spark and realized I was out of ajustment before I could get the points to open. so I moved the distributor 1 tooth. and noticed that the rotor has a lot of rotation. once I got is running i just played with turning the distributor. If I turn it clockwise I can get the engine to run much better. I was worried about doing damage having the timing in the wrong place so I went thru the process of finding the timing again with the number one plug. I am looking for a timing light. is it ok to move the distributor clockwise or can I break a rod of something under load? what causes a weak spark? thanks again for your help. If I can get the tractor to run at least decent and use it for a while while I absorb the cost of the brakes, alternator and bracket, air cleaner, tune up, gauges I will look at buying a distributor. or maybe I should bite the bullet and just buy the distributor and be done with it. is the rotational play normal for the rotor. I think that is the spring and the weights at work but I am not sure. thanks

Ben