Ferguson to30 timing advance removal and disassembly

[somanytractors]

Ants got in my distributor and filled it with damp dirt so now everything is rusted.
I need to remove the timing advance or disassemble it so I can clean out the dirt and rust.

I've already pulled the plate with the points on it.
Can I remove the 2 little nuts and disassemble the advance still in the distributor or will the bolts fall out into the distributor?
If I need to pull it first, how is the advance attached to the distributor shaft.

Is there any special things to pay attention to in disassembling or removing this?

Thanks for any help
John

 

[David88]

uhm if u are a beginner then u must must refer to a good owner's manual or service manual, whichever contains better version of disassemble and assembly,, have u tried getting good manuals from frnds..?
u can also find on reliable - store, youtube, bitman, chilton etc??

 

[Roadworthy]

If I was going that far into the distributor I'd remove it from the engine. At that point it wouldn't matter as much if parts fell. If it is that bad it's possible the springs on the advance are broken down from rust. Many parts are available for that tractor. Do a bit of surfing - especially eBay. As David suggested, get a manual. You will need to go through the timing process if you remove the distributor.

 

[somanytractors]

Thanks for the help guys.
I got this one back up already. I just oiled it real good and cleaned it up best I could without taking the advance apart.
It moves ok by hand. The springs don't pull it all the way back when its not running but running it should come back.
Before this cleanup but after the ants, I cleaned the points and it ran about 15 minutes and quit. Then cleaning the points didn't help. Once I took the points out it was obvious that it wouldn't run because the lobes had worn the fiber down till the metal on the points was touching the shaft.
It runs just fine now and I cleaned the rust off the lobes so it doesn't wear the points down.
I have several manuals but none of them cover the to30 timing advance.

 

[David88]

well this is going pretty technical now, u can email reliable-store they can revert back if they do cover the timing adv since they do cover this technicality. that's 1 reason i trust them.
i'm quite sure because i had been doing the same, oiling/ cleaning it down and thinking it's running fine,, i agree cleaning the rust is really good but not for long because mine always used to come back very frequently and oil helped only little.. i've contacted a lot of forums online, a lot of mechanics too-online payments u know, and they all suggested this same unless I paid more to get the technicalities!! fraud!! where did u get your from?? and have u tried other forums? i'm not sure if i can name them and not get blocked here :laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[somanytractors]

I get a lot of manuals from NTC Manual Library
For the to30 they have 3. the owners manual is useless, the shop manual is ok if you just need specs. The repair manual covers disassembling the distributor on page 114 (around 114) but doesn't go as far as the advance. I've got some paper manuals too. Not sure where I got them, probably ebay or amazon. none of them cover disassembling the advance. Maybe it shouldn't be disassembled. If I keep having trouble with it I'll probably pull the points and switch to electronic but most likely it will be fine. I've never had any real problems with this tractor till the ants got in it. It always fires right up.
A lot of these old manuals can be found online for free. Most of the people selling them are selling the same manuals. just making them easier to find by putting them on ebay. They can do that because ferguson, ford, and most of the others didn't copyright the tractor manuals back then making them public domain.

Thanks
John