Quote Originally Posted by rScotty View Post
Congratulations. It's a talent to be able to recognize the right one. But if you can do it, it works more often than not.

Sounds like minor problems are all it has. As for the low speed idle, I helped out a friend with the same engine once - and I'd rate myself good with carburetors. At least I do enjoy looking at different carbs and seeing how different designers solved the same air and fuel flow problems. In my friend's tractor it didn't turn out to be the carb at all. It was the electric fuel pump located on the lower right side of the engine. A new replacement unit was tried and was also weak - even though it tested within specs for flow under no pressure. As a diagnostic tool we tried an inexpensive universal electric fuel pump from the auto shop and it ran beautifully.....
good luck, rScotty
I can't say that my talent was the main reason for finding a good tractor, because extensive research and advice from others (mostly from TBN) is what provided me the information I needed so I would know what to look for.

This morning, I moved the tractor into my garage so I could look it over and perform some basic tests to see what I was dealing with and to see if I could determine what was causing the idle issues.

As it turns out, the miss and idle problems were mainly caused by the ignition system. The plugs were gapped at .020 so I set them to .030 (until the manual arrives) and I cleaned the distributor cap and rotor button, both of which were somewhat corroded. The points looked ok but I won't know if they are set correctly until the service manual arrives. The plug wires are shot and will need replaced soon.

The lowest I was able to get it to idle was around 600 RPM, which is much improved, but the throttle response is a bit sluggish, which leads me to believe the governor either needs adjusted or replaced. The valves will also need to be adjusted and it's still running a bit rich.

I also did a wet/dry compression test on all 4 cylinders to get a better idea of the internal condition of the engine. Surprisingly, all 4 cylinders tested close to the same which means it was either well cared for or was rebuilt at some point in the past. Given the hours (2700 or so) showing on the working tach, I tend to believe that it's all original as it appears to be, including the hours.

Anyway, the compression readings are as follows. Number 1 is at the front of the tractor and number 4 is closer to the rear. Accuracy = +/- 3 PSI.

Dry Compression:
1. 155
2. 155
3. 155
4. 155

Wet Compression (2 squirts of oil):
1. 160
2. 165
3. 165
4. 160

I also took several pictures, in addition to the ones my wife took as it arrived and was being unloaded, which I will upload soon.