Got MF-35 home, Here are the problems

   / Got MF-35 home, Here are the problems #1  

Ragged Edges

New member
Joined
May 30, 2011
Messages
16
Location
Fultonville, NY
Tractor
John Deere 4500, Massey Ferguson 35 Deluxe (Work in Progress Project)
Finally got the 35 I aquired back home yesterday. Today I wanted to tinker with it a little and see if I could get it started. Heres what I did. Aired up all the tires, checked all the fluids, Oil was ok, need a little coolant. Drained and ccleaned sediment bowl. Gas tank was empty, looked inside didnt look like any rust was inside. Added about 4 oz of seafoam to tank then put about 1 gallon of fresh gas. Installed new battery which I finally got at tractor supply. pulled choke, turns over but wont start. had to repair a butt connector fron the starter to coil that was loose and snoked when using the starter. smelt gas and there was some gas leaking from around a hose that joins the air cleaner to the carb. also installed and gapped a new set of plugs.

Now the problems: (1) It is missing the throttle lever. I have no way of adjusting the throttle. Is there a way of adjusting it manually?? I know this is going to be difficult to get operational again with the linkages and such for the governor. (2) It appears there is no spark. took the center wire off of the distributor and held it to the side of the block, turned it over and nothing. Plugs wires also seem to be mismatched and dont feel they are sung when they are put on. (3) where coil wire goes into the top of the distributor looks to be a little coroded. I think at the very least new plug wires are in order. Is there other things I should be checking?? I just dont want to start replacing parts that might not need to be replaced. Any imput would be appreciated. This is my first ever attempt at anything like this. I dont consider myself any type of mechanic. I only have basic knowledge and some repair and service manuals. I ultimately would like to do a restoration on this tractor. It was given to me so that will take a little of the sting out of putting some money into it to get it going before I do anything else.
Any imput is always appreciated!!
Mike
 

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   / Got MF-35 home, Here are the problems #2  
G'day I would start by seeing if you have power to the coil then move onto the points if you use your test light to open the points with ign on it should light up. Points may need to be cleaned and regapped 12 thou from memory.
If you have fuel dripping out may want to turn the fuel off when you try to start again as it will flood.
Have a look on the net there are several companies that do tune up kits (pionts,plugs,cap,leads) for not alot of money and it may be the way to go so at least you know it is all good.
Good luck with it and let us know how you go



Jon
 
   / Got MF-35 home, Here are the problems #3  
My advice is to fix the throttle linkage before you do anything else, because if you do manage to get it started, you could easily have a runaway throttle.

Secondly, I would replace the distributor cap, rotor button, plug wires, spark plugs, and most importantly... the points and condenser. Remember, that the points have to be gapped to specs. It may or may not be bad, but I'd also consider replacing the coil. All of these parts are relatively low cost items, so replacing them ensures that the ignition system is working properly.

While I was at it, I would also ensure that all of the wiring (including the key switch) is ok, by using an ohm meter to check for proper connections, breaks, or shorts.
 
   / Got MF-35 home, Here are the problems #4  
Finally got the 35 I aquired back home yesterday. Today I wanted to tinker with it a little and see if I could get it started. Heres what I did. Aired up all the tires, checked all the fluids, Oil was ok, need a little coolant. Drained and ccleaned sediment bowl. Gas tank was empty, looked inside didnt look like any rust was inside. Added about 4 oz of seafoam to tank then put about 1 gallon of fresh gas. Installed new battery which I finally got at tractor supply. pulled choke, turns over but wont start. had to repair a butt connector fron the starter to coil that was loose and snoked when using the starter. smelt gas and there was some gas leaking from around a hose that joins the air cleaner to the carb. also installed and gapped a new set of plugs.

Now the problems: (1) It is missing the throttle lever. I have no way of adjusting the throttle. Is there a way of adjusting it manually?? I know this is going to be difficult to get operational again with the linkages and such for the governor. (2) It appears there is no spark. took the center wire off of the distributor and held it to the side of the block, turned it over and nothing. Plugs wires also seem to be mismatched and dont feel they are sung when they are put on. (3) where coil wire goes into the top of the distributor looks to be a little coroded. I think at the very least new plug wires are in order. Is there other things I should be checking?? I just dont want to start replacing parts that might not need to be replaced. Any imput would be appreciated. This is my first ever attempt at anything like this. I dont consider myself any type of mechanic. I only have basic knowledge and some repair and service manuals. I ultimately would like to do a restoration on this tractor. It was given to me so that will take a little of the sting out of putting some money into it to get it going before I do anything else.
Any imput is always appreciated!!
Mike

By all means get the parts for the throttle before you start doing anything else.

Rather than throwing parts at it and hoping you cure the problem (I call that approach the Method of Stumbleonious, you might stumble over the solution but not before you've maximized the expense of fixing the problem and you don't know what the problem really was) ),do some diagnostics. Since you're new at this you'll learn a lot about the primary ignition circuit where it appears your problem lies.

The basic of operation for a spark ignition engine can be sumarized as follows: For a spark ignition engine in reasonable mechanical condition (read good compression and good valve sealling) to operate properly, you have to have a good spark at the right time and the cylinder must be charged with the proper fuel air ratio mixture.
I would encourage you to get an owners manaual and the MF Shop Manual (not the IT manual) for your tractor. The owners manual will tell you how to operate the machine and the shop manual will provide systems decriptions and adjustment methods, etc. A parts manual is also handy to show you how the parts go together. You probably spend around $100 for all of these but they will more than pay for themselves the first time you fix something yourself. They will also allow you to know what jobs you can handle and what you might have to let a professional do.

You were smart to check for spark the way you did. Since you know you don't have a spark, I would start by looking at the points. Its possible they are corroded, oil, burnt, or improperly set. It's also possible that there is a broken wire, a loose connection, bad ground at the distributor,shorted coil, etc in the primary ignition circuit. If you have an analog VOM they can be handy in trouble shooting. I say an analog because most of the digital ones will be affected by RF radiation from the ignition system and become hard to read. You can get a reasonable analog meter for under $20. Annalyze the points as I indicated previously and if they look bad replace them. If they don't, check the gap and adjust as necessary. Now check the spark. You're looking for a FAT BLUISH-WHITE SPARK, the color of lightning. if you don't get that then pull a strip of brown paper from a paper bag throught the points a few times. Check the spark again. I f you don't get the requiite spark, rotate the engine till the points close and check the voltage with the key ON You should have battery voltage at every connections up to the battery side of the coil. The other side of the coil I the distributor side) should read near zero. If you now rotate the engine till the points open, you will find battery voltage on both sides of the coil. If, with the points open, the coil doesn't show battery voltage on both sides, the coil is bad. it will also show open circuit resistance(infinity) on a resistance check.
IF YOU HAVE A 12V battery system, that's non-OEM and the primary circuit may have a resistor in the the system because whoever did the change over to 12V knew that the primary current must be limited to about 4 amps max and he didn't wnt to spring for a 12v coil so he added the resistor. Use you VOM to check the coil resistance. If you have a 6V coil the resistance will be ~1.6 ohms. If you have a 12v coil, the resistance wil be ~3.2 ohms. IF you have a 3.2 ohm coil and a 12V system look for resistor and if you find one, remove it from the circuit. It will weaken your spark.
The firing order is 1-3-4-2 and the distributor rotates CCW. Once you have aspark you can check that also.

The reason there was dripping fuel was most likely from long periods of cranking with no start. Especially if you choked it hard. The other possibility is that the float valve in the carb is leaking or the float is "hung" or improperly set.

Since you have no spark, any fuel system problems are immaterial at this point. It ain't gonna' start without a spark!

In summary, get the throttle linkage hooked up and then troubleshoot the primary ignition system and locate the problem and get a FAT, BLUISH-WHITE SPARK, the color of lightning. Then we can proced to the fuel system.
 
   / Got MF-35 home, Here are the problems #5  
Best of luck. I'm not a tractor expert, but its an engine. You need to make sure you have compression. No compression, no start. If you have good compression, the engine will probably start once you get the fuel, spark, and air close to being correct. I'd work on spark after compression. Try to get it without just replacing parts. Even a weak spark will give you an idea what's up. Judicial use of ether will tell if it will fire and run. You can take the carb apart and at least clean it up, put a kit in it, and then try it without spending too much.

Sometimes pulling it to start it the first time works better than cranking the heck out of it.
 
   / Got MF-35 home, Here are the problems #6  
Start with a compression test. Get the starter working so it cranks the engine. Disconnect the coil. Pull the spark plugs out. Get out your compression tester and check the cylinders one at a time. You'll need at least 100 psi on each cylinder before trying to start it. Eliminate this potential problem before you tear into the ignition system.

Good luck.
 
   / Got MF-35 home, Here are the problems
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Thanks for all the advice! Im working on locating the throttle linkages but am not having much luck at this point. I also ordered the basic plug wires, rotor, etc.

To Jerry: I followed your method on checking for spark because I saw you post it for another forum member previously and I read the post!

Thanks again to all for your input, I will have many more issues to address as I get farther into this project!

Mike
 
   / Got MF-35 home, Here are the problems #8  
I agree with jerry dont change any parts until you prove them defective...
Follow the voltaqe through the dist. And get your throttle linkage..

Ther was a guy on ebay parting a out a mf 35 hamiltonbob was his user name.....
hamiltonbobscubs | eBay
 
 
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