To keep and repair or run away?

[suprnova]

I bought a '54 Ford 800 series with a 5' mower for $3,000 right before deployment mostly for mowing and brush hogging my 39ac. Everything ran just fine when I went and checked it out, of course when I brought it home and started using it, things went south. After putting proper hydraulic fluid in, I took it out to mow. It mowed fine for about 5 minutes, then started to sputter and die. I figured I just hit a super thick patch which was probably a little wet from the previous rains, so I went back at it. It got to the point where I could only mow 1' strips (2-3' tall grass, mostly dry) with full throttle. We replaced the gas, plugs, wires, battery, coil and condenser with nothing other than maybe a minute improvement. My uncles 32hp Kubota pulled the mower through the thickest pasture with no problema whatsoever.

So do y'all think I should spend the extra moolah doing an entire overhaul including carb rebuild, gasket, piston, sleeve and ring kit, new valves and a pump rebuild kit for about $1,000 total, or should I give it a krylon overhaul and part with it?

Thanks for the input.

 

[Oaktree]

Have you done a compression check? If that looks OK, then most likely you don't need the complete engine rebuild. I'd start with the carb/fuel system (you did check/replace the fuel filter?).

 

[Danno1]

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Did you check the air filter?



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[crazyal]

Sounds like a fuel problem to me. It's possible that the ethanol in the gas is causing you issues. Some of the older gaskets and hoses don't like ethanol. Plus ethanol has a side effect of cleaning out the carb but that usually puts the stuff it removes into the passageways in the carb that cause all sorts of issues.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Governor...

 

[suprnova]

Have you done a compression check? If that looks OK, then most likely you don't need the complete engine rebuild. I'd start with the carb/fuel system (you did check/replace the fuel filter?).

I bought the tractor, worked on it for more than I used it the week I had in Tx, then took off on deployment so I haven't had the chance to do a check. It has crossed my mind, however I can get an entire rebuild kit for $330, I figured it would be a good investment since I'm pretty sure most all the gaskets are original, nearing 60 years old.

.

Did you check the air filter?

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I pulled it apart to check it out, and quickly realized it was an oil bath type filter. I didn't mess with it after that, I guess I could have drained it and cleaned it out, replacing the old oil with new oil. An air problem doesn't seem to fit the symptoms I'm having though, unless there is something about the oil bath style system I don't know, which is very possible.

Sounds like a fuel problem to me. It's possible that the ethanol in the gas is causing you issues. Some of the older gaskets and hoses don't like ethanol. Plus ethanol has a side effect of cleaning out the carb but that usually puts the stuff it removes into the passageways in the carb that cause all sorts of issues.

I thought about that, which is when I drained the old fuel that was in it. The thing is though, it ran fine before I laid down my cashola. No change in the fuel quality or ethanol content from where I purchased to where it was being operated. I cleaned out the sediment bowl, which was already fairly clean. We didn't have the time available to do a rebuild on the carb, plus the minimalist carb rebuild kit TSC carried was $75!

Governor...

Any further information? I'm not being a smart-***, just sincerely asking for some more insight on how this could cause bogging and stuttering when mowing.



I'm not expecting too much from this tractor am I? From my research before, and after purchasing, they put up ~35 drawbar hp, which at 7hp/ft should be enough to pull a 5' mower through decent grass. Right?

 

[Egon]

Clean the air filter. not that hard to do. Change the fuel filter and check lines for crud. Do some adjustments on the carb. Jets to see if that makes a difference. Check timing? If possible. Then breakdown and do the compression check.

You might also use some snoop on the gasket flanges to check for leaks. A mixture of dish soap and water works well too.

Note: not a mechanic

 

[Gale Hawkins]

We carried a point file in the tool box on our 800 for when this happened.

Put the coil wire to one of the plug wires to see if it will hit on any cylinder that you touch it to while trying to start the engine.

 

[Loadstar]

Heck no I wouldn't get rid of it. If your careful you don't need a carb kit to just clean it. Not doubting you but with it's age I'm sure most of the tractor has been gone through before. I have a 640 and was not bogging much yesterday mowing mid hood height grass on grade with 6ft mower in first. That is a cheap very capable tractor. My tractor is on it's second rebuild which was performed by my father and grandfather before I was born. Prior to that it was completely worn out. There is some outstanding help here to talk you through everything you can mechanically do to that tractor. Parts are pretty cheap and plentiful for them. Only reason I would think about semi retiring mine is it's ridiculous hours and the jobs I need it for are getting tougher and bigger.

 

[Soundguy]

an 800 series should be able to drag a 5' mower to it's death.

I suggest you do some diagnostics.. right now you are all over the board with no info.

if you want to evaluate the engine.. do a PROPER dry, then wet compression test, and doub;e check oil pressure.

remember. points and plugs gap at .025 and the air cleaner needs servicing and oil fill.

you may have nothing more of an issue than needing a 25$ carb kit and some carb cleaner.

you won't know till you do a few checks. at time of stall.. check spark. if spark is blue and snappy.. go for fuel...

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