Apparently have a carburator problem?

[botemout]

Greetings,

So I'm out on Thursday, using my 1957 Ford 860 to lift 500-600lb small bales over the fence to the cows. I'd let it warm up for about 10 mins (had to restart several times but it wasn't too bad to start), but as I'm backing out I stall it. Strangely, even though (at least partially) warmed up, I can't restart.

I check gas and I appear to be empty which is very strange since I'd put in 5 gallons not too long ago (no way could I have used it all). Then I look at the carb and see gas dripping out of the bottom. No pouring, but a very steady (1/sec) drip.

So, I'm about to go out and see:
1) whether it's still dripping and whether I have any gas left and
2) whether it'll start.

A friend suggested that my float stuck. Sound right? Any advice? Probably a carb rebuild? Not the best time of year for this to be happening but I can put a bunch of hay into the paddock so that the tractor could be down for a while.

Thanks for any insight.

JR

 

[kenstrac]

Try tapping on the carb with some wood ,sounds like the float needle is stuck open another problem with the new gas the neoprene needles seem to break down you might want to get the carb rebuilt and have them install a brass needle.If possible shut the fuel off when you are done using it.

 

[botemout]

Try tapping on the carb with some wood ,sounds like the float needle is stuck open another problem with the new gas the neoprene needles seem to break down you might want to get the carb rebuilt and have them install a brass needle.If possible shut the fuel off when you are done using it.

I didn't even have to do that. Just went outside and it started right up. I looked below the carb and, though it was hard to tell with the snow, I don't think it leaked out of the carb for very long (the fuel tank appeared to have lots of gas).

I'm going to head back out and put out a couple weeks worth of food and then bring the tractor into the barn.

So, when I was younger I'd rebuilt a couple of auto carbs. I'd imagine that this one would be even easier than they were. I'll see if I can can find some good tutorials on carbs for old fords, but let me know, please, if there are some good sites to check out.

Thanks for the advice, kenstrac!

 

[Diamondpilot]

Those carbs are so simple. Just get a kit and rebuild it.

Chris

 

[botemout]

Those carbs are so simple. Just get a kit and rebuild it.

Chris

I'm thinking about it. I keep thinking, "ah, it'll make it through the winter ..." but I'm going to be in real trouble if we get, say, 4 ft of snow and I can't get hay to the cows.

Thanks, Chris,

JR

 

[kenstrac]

I'm sure Soundguy will chime in he is the resident Ford expert and will be able to answer all you questions.

 

[Cami]

I don't know about your tractor, but have a couple general thoughts:

Is that an updraft carb on your engine? If you overfuel an engine with an updraft, you won't flood it. You'll end up with the excess gasoline collecting in the carb; some have drain plugs to deal with this.

I see, botemout, that you're in upstate New York. Could carb icing be a problem with your local weather? If things are really nasty and cold then the dewpoint tends to be low, but if you end up with cold weather and a high dew point then icing can be an issue. If icing conditions exist, then letting the engine idle will make things worse and would account for stalling during warm-up.

 

[tree farmer]

I agree with the icing issue. With the high humidity here on the coast, carbs will ice up even at 40 degrees as intake air is compressed and drawn through the intake. Similar to wind chill. My old gas 3414 IH is very prone to this. Things get interesting when the carb gets enough ice build up on it to freeze the governor linkage wide open. Check for frost or ice near the intake next time it does this. Shut the engine off and wait a minute or two and it will be fine.....Dan.

 

[irvingj]

Yeah, what Tree Farmer said- run it; when it dies, quickly look at the carb, with a flashlight if necessary.

Look for frost on/around the intake/carb area. If you see it, you're probably icing up in the carb throat, which chokes off the air supply. Engines run, richer and richer, till they stall. Let them sit for a few minutes, things thaw out, and they'll start & run fine-- till the ice begins to build up again in the carb throat....

Went through that a number of times when I installed headers on my '72 Blazer. Took a while for this dumb mechanic to figure it out, but I cured it with an old oil can (remember the METAL ones??) over a pair of header pipes and ducted into the air cleaner's thermostatically-controlled valve. (I didn't think, living in CA at the time, that carb icing would be an issue... but, at 5AM, driving in the fog, at 40+ degrees F, YEP, it was.)