MF 65 spits and sputters after operating for an hour.

[carpediem4570]

Hello All:

Just finished reading all 55 pages of this section looking for my problem but, no luck.

I have a MF 65 gas engine that is the love of my life. It does everything I need it to.

Lately I have been having a problem with the engine coughing and sputtering.

Start and run the tractor for use around the acreage. After about an hour of constant use, the engine starts to spurt and sputter; like its not getting enough fuel. I play with the choke, pulling it in and out a couple of times and it fires up to normal again. After a minute or two it starts to spurt and sputter.

At this point I have to park it and let it cool.

Checked the gas filter and it has gas in it. Gas is always new and clean.

Anybody know how to fix this problem?

Thanks in advance for your help.

carpediem4570

 

[isaac338]

Is your fuel tank venting properly?

 

[davedj1]

points?
coil?
just a few things that come to mind.
as said above, gas cap venting?
timing? running hot?

 

[boggen]

adding to others...you most likely have generic radiator in front for the engine, the a oil coolder (smaller radiator) for the hydrualic oil for FEL, 3pt hitch, and then a transmission oil cooler (radiator) possibly up in front, or behind the engine just in front of the fire wall, to some place near transmission underneath. make sure these are cleaned and air can move through them. some times you might need to remove something / partially dismantal stuff to get to hydrualic oil cooler and/or transmission oil cooler. due to were they are tucked into spaces.

TractorData.com Massey Ferguson 65 tractor information

with age of tractor 1957 to 1965... do you need to grease/oil the charger, and/or starter? is battery overheating / boiling over / wet on top of the battery.

when was the last time you flushed the radiator and cleaned out the grime that may be in it?

have you recently messed with the calibrator on it? not a mechanic, just remember to much gas or not enough gas along with air amount (forget which) can cause engine to run hotter.

have you added any sort of chemical treatments to the fuel? example gumout or like to try and clean cabrator and like stuff? might be an issue

if tractor been setting in garage over winter. and not been ran. does carb need to be cleaned?

any signs of oil leakage around engine itself? or any other leaks? coolant leaks?

 

[KYErik]

My first guess is starving for fuel because of some sort of restriction in the system. Shine a flashlight into the fuel tank and be sure there is not a chunk of rubber or rust floating around in there and occasionally covering the fuel exit hole at the bottom of the tank. Also- if there is a plug on the bottom of the carb, turn off the tractor and remove it for a few seconds when the tractor starts to sputter. If fuel just drips out of the carb, you will now that something is slowing the flow of fuel through the system.

When it acts up, does it idle OK and then only act up under high loads? If you shut it down for 2-3 minutes, will it run OK for a minute afterward? These are also symptoms of fuel starvation- you son't use much fuel iding and shutting it down gives the bowl in the carb time to refill with gas.

Another possibility is a little water in the gas- adding a little heet or other water removing fuel treatment would be a cheap way to solve that problem.

 

[carpediem4570]

Hello and thank you for all your suggestions.

I will start with the fuel starving and work my way through the list. I appreciate all your suggestions.

Not being a mechanic, I prefer to play the ostrich game and bury my head in the sand to avoid doing maintenance. This spring it will get a complete claening.

Thank you.

Carpediem 4570

P.S. Will let you know what the problem is when I find it.

 

[wrangler6831]

If it has a clear glass sediment bulb on it like both of mine do, drain the gas out and in screw the sediment bulb from the tank. Up inside the tank that sediment bulb/fuel shutoff has a really fine screen on top of it that clogs up from dirt and debris in the tank. Clean that screen or replace the whole sediment bulb/shutoff with a new one. Mine do the same thing every few years. Good luck

 

[WilliamTO-35]

The reply from wrangler above reminds me of a fuel starvation problem I had many years ago with my automobile. I had installed a new inline fuel filter , and headed out to the turnpike. But, every few miles my engine would sputter and die. If I waited a few minutes, the engine would start, and again run for a few miles. It turned out that the fuel filter I had installed had too fine a filter element in it. I switched to the type of filter I had used previously, and the problem never happened again.

 

[carpediem4570]

My MF65 has an after market in line fuel filter. I will start there by replacing it.

Thanks,

Carpediem

 

[tmajor]

One of the things, which I would look at is :Where is the fuel line positioned, in relationship to the exhaust manifold? On my NAA, the gas line was fairly close, and behind the exhaust manifold. It ran fine for 50 years, until they changed to ethanol fuel .... ethanol boils at a lower temperature than regular gas, as a result, when the tractor got hot, it was "vapor locking" ... it wouldn't even run right with the choke out. I wrapped the fuel line with fiberglass stove seal rope and have had no further problems. ??