Ford 8N Fuel Problem

[flapp]

My 8N began to run rough and died a couple weeks ago and I've been slowly reading forums. Points, condenser, coil and plugs are all new in the past 6 months. Have spark at plugs. I think it's a fuel problem as when I unscrew the plug on the bottom of the carburetor no fuel comes out. Fuel supply good to carburetor. Loosened gas tank cap to make sure it wasn't a venting problem. Haven't yet checked the screen in the carb inlet. Gas tank was just cleaned and sealed, so no more crud clogging the gas line, which was a common problem for me in the past. My question at this point is: with no fuel coming out of the bottom at all, is there anything to be done short of pulling the carb off and opening it up? Thanks for any ideas.

 

[kydick]

have you tried giving it a shot of starter fluid?

 

[jimmysisson]

Tap the side of the carb where the float chamber meets the main body of the carb with the end of a wood hammer handle or equivalent. Not hard, not soft. Sounds like your float needle valve may be stuck shut.
Jim

 

[Jerry/MT]

My 8N began to run rough and died a couple weeks ago and I've been slowly reading forums. Points, condenser, coil and plugs are all new in the past 6 months. Have spark at plugs. I think it's a fuel problem as when I unscrew the plug on the bottom of the carburetor no fuel comes out. Fuel supply good to carburetor. Loosened gas tank cap to make sure it wasn't a venting problem. Haven't yet checked the screen in the carb inlet. Gas tank was just cleaned and sealed, so no more crud clogging the gas line, which was a common problem for me in the past. My question at this point is: with no fuel coming out of the bottom at all, is there anything to be done short of pulling the carb off and opening it up? Thanks for any ideas.

Besides what Jimmy says, there is a screen in the fuel inlet elbow on the carb. Check that out because it could be clogged with crud. Next check the sediment bowl. Some of them have internal filters. Finally, the sediment bowl/shutoff valve has small tubes that have a screen on them. Some time the screen rots off and the tube(s) clog. If you still can't find the cause the carb will have to comeoff because the internal passage to the needle valve could be clogged OR the fuel bowl can be packed with sediment and not allowing the float to drop,

 

[flapp]

Thanks to all of you for replying. The sediment bowl is new. I opened it anyway when the tractor stalled and when I re-installed it, at first it wouldn't refill. I read later that might mean the float had shut off flow. Next I took off the gas line just before the carb, had great fuel flow. It does sound like the float might be stuck, so I'll try tapping the carb next and then see if that screen in the fuel inlet elbow is clogged. I'll also try a shot of starting fluid--I read somewhere that getting the engine to pop might dislodge a stuck float. I hope I don't have to take off the carburetor and rebuild it. I did this once back around 2003 as my Dad had become unable to use the tractor any more and it sat for several years before it came to me. I am not a great mechanic. It took me a month of studying tractor forums to get it taken apart and cleaned up and re-assembled, so you can see that the previous statement is true! I will let you know how things go.

 

[flapp]

No response to tapping with hammer handle, sorry to say. I took out the inlet elbow and there is a little crud in the screen, but does not look like enough to impede performance. I'll get a new one anyway, since I now have a gas tank without crud in it. Only a drop or so of gas came out of the drain, so I'm thinking I'll have to take off the carb and open it up. Maybe do that tomorrow, but I will check here first to see if there are other things to try. Is there a good way to get some carb cleaner to the suspected stuck float?

 

[jimmysisson]

Looks like a new carb on Amazon is around $100. There are many utube vids on how to rebuild one. Either way you should have your problem rectified.
Jim

 

[flapp]

I bought a kit this morning in town, so I guess I'll start taking pictures of what I do, while keeping Mae West's advice in mind. $100 isn't bad for a carb; they wanted $200 at TSC here.

 

[jimmysisson]

Let us know how it goes. Good luck

 

[flapp]

Well, the fuel problem seems fixed. I bought a carburetor online and installed it, and meanwhile I am disassembling my original and rebuilding it. But the tractor will not pop. Removed the bolt on the carb bottom, and fuel now flows through, which wasn't happening with the old carburetor.

I've already replaced the coil. Points, condenser and plugs were new last winter and it was running fine then. I took out a plug, grounded it to the engine block and turned over the engine and could see spark across the plug gap.

I'm wondering about the coil installation. When I replaced my old one, I marked which terminal went to the wire that goes to the bottom of the distributor and it was the negative (-), so I installed the new coil in the same way. When I wasn't getting the tractor to pop, I read forums online, finding two references saying the positive wire goes to the distributor, the negative hooks to the wire from the harness. I am getting some spark with it hooked up this way, but the engine won't start. Any thoughts appreciated. I'm sure most of you with 8Ns are aware of the "backward" battery hookup--the positive terminal goes to ground on 8Ns. Presumably this would dictate how the coil is hooked up?

I guess I have to start all over trouble-shooting this. If I have fuel and the points, timing, etc. has not been changed, it's an electrical problem. Or it's some supernatural thing. Any advice is welcome.