Busted 8N

[Bartman1959]

I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

 

[Tractorable]

I got the parts in the mail and I took Friday off to work on it. I'll report back after removing the manifold, checking the valve actuation, and replacing the manifold gaskets.

 

[2458n]

I know you are just teasing us about not pulling one sparkplug wire off at a time. Keep throwing money at it- someone will like it.

 

[Oldpath05]

I got the parts in the mail and I took Friday off to work on it. I'll report back after removing the manifold, checking the valve actuation, and replacing the manifold gaskets.

Does that mean your checking the valves to see if there moving the right amount, which is what I was going to suggest before doing anything more.

 

[Oldpath05]

I know you are just teasing us about not pulling one sparkplug wire off at a time. Keep throwing money at it- someone will like it.

Theres no way in jackrabbit country would I be yanking plug wires off while engine is running, any engine, just dont like that surprise tingling feeling, but I love watching other people playing with plug wires............

 

[jaxs]

Theres no way in jackrabbit country would I be yanking plug wires off while engine is running, any engine, just dont like that surprise tingling feeling, but I love watching other people playing with plug wires............

It's good to learn alternate ways of doing things. Would you like to tell us how you normally find which cylinder is dropping out when an engine is missing? In exchange,I will cut you in on secrets to avoid being shocked.

 

[rScotty]

To see what happens when a plug is not firing, you can simply short the plug cap to the engine block using a screwdriver with a plastic handle.

If you want to swap wires when it is running, stop by any automotive store or Walmart and pick up a set o spark plug wire pliers. Around ten bucks for a typical pair of pliers. With those you can pull the hot wire off of the spark plug and transfer it to another plug - and all without that "twitchy feeling".
luck,
rScotty

 

[jaxs]

To see what happens when a plug is not firing, you can simply short the plug cap to the engine block using a screwdriver with a plastic handle.

If you want to swap wires when it is running, stop by any automotive store or Walmart and pick up a set o spark plug wire pliers. Around ten bucks for a typical pair of pliers. With those you can pull the hot wire off of the spark plug and transfer it to another plug - and all without that "twitchy feeling".
luck,
rScotty

Those work pretty well Scotty but 100% plastic/fiberglass versions are available that are even more fool proof. I'm looking foward to hearing how it's done in jackrabbit country.:bunny:

 

[pmsmechanic]

To see what happens when a plug is not firing, you can simply short the plug cap to the engine block using a screwdriver with a plastic handle.

If you want to swap wires when it is running, stop by any automotive store or Walmart and pick up a set o spark plug wire pliers. Around ten bucks for a typical pair of pliers. With those you can pull the hot wire off of the spark plug and transfer it to another plug - and all without that "twitchy feeling".
luck,
rScotty

These engines are flat heads with just enough room between the top of the spark plug and the gas tank to get the wire off. Those pliars will look nice sitting on the shelf.

 

[ruffdog]

Running on 2 cylinders? Spritz some water on the exhaust manifold near the head and see which ones are hot and cold.

 

[jaxs]

These engines are flat heads with just enough room between the top of the spark plug and the gas tank to get the wire off. Those pliars will look nice sitting on the shelf.

These engines also have sidesaddle distributors that alow those pliars to look nice performing their job if shade tree know's what he's doing. A box of shiny tools will never substitute for experienced hands or an open mind that is willing to listen and learn.

 

[pmsmechanic]

These engines also have sidesaddle distributors that alow those pliars to look nice performing their job if shade tree know's what he's doing. A box of shiny tools will never substitute for experienced hands or an open mind that is willing to listen and learn.

Well my reason for not pulling wires at the distributor is because the spark has nowhere to go so it sparks around inside the cap. Next thing you know there are carbon tracks inside the cap. Been there done that!

 

[JRobyn]

Spritzing water works, but why not get fancy and invest gobs of money in a cool tool to do it like this?

Non-Contact Pocket Thermometer

 

[jaxs]

Why stop there,invest even bigger gobs of money in a thermal imaging camera so pictures can be posted on the net along with "why's my tractor running poorly"?

 

[Tractorable]

Been pretty busy, but yesterday pulled off the manifold and inspected checked to see if all the valves and lifters were working. All looked good.

Tomorrow will install new manifold gaskets and then take it from the top all over again, re-inspect timing and spark plug wiring.

A lot of soot in the manifold. Looks like she was running rich.

 

[jaxs]

Looking at all the soot escaping at exhaust ports,the intake might have also been leaking and gasket may cure your troubles. While you have it apart,lay a straight edge on head and manifold then use feelers to record variances.

 

[Tractorable]

My neighbor and I may have found the problem with the 8N. Put the manifold and carb with new gaskets back on the tractor yesterday and it still barely ran, if at all, just popping and sputtering.

Remember from the beginning the carb was rebuilt? Well, we found gas pooling into the intake pipe, so even though it was rebuilt, it's still having issues. The float was set spec but gas is still getting by the float valve.

We're going to try to fix the original Marvel Schebler carb, but I ordered a new carb to get it running and to have a second spare carb on hand in the parts bin.

We also verified the timing and plug wire routing and everything looks dead on.

I get the new carb on Wednesday and will let you guys know if that fixes it.

 

[ruffdog]

I have run a 8n with NO carb using a fuel spritzer and my hand covering the intake tract. If everything else is ok, it doesn't take much to run these. Have you checked the mechanical ignition advance mechanism?

 

[Oldpath05]

It's good to learn alternate ways of doing things. Would you like to tell us how you normally find which cylinder is dropping out when an engine is missing? In exchange,I will cut you in on secrets to avoid being shocked.

I just pull the plug see what it looks like, lay the plug on the block with plug wire on and that will tell part one of why the plug looks the way it does.

 

[jaxs]

I just pull the plug see what it looks like, lay the plug on the block with plug wire on and that will tell part one of why the plug looks the way it does.

That answer's my question. You guys in jackrabbit country obivously have lots of time on you hands. Those of us in armadillo country are always in a hurry so we just yank the wires one at a time knowing full well when sparks hit the dead end and ricochet around,we will have to replace distributor cap every 20 years due to carbon tracking. If you ever decide to come over to the dark side,pliers discussed above are the key to not being shocked. BTW,I've always wanted to pit one of our armadillos against one of yall's jackrabbits in a drag race.