Ford 8n giving me some grief!

[nodders]

I recently inherited a Ford 8N which had been running but quit about 1 1/2 years ago. A neighbor (before I got it) figured it was the carb and took it apart and promptly abandoned the project! I ended up buying an after market replacement carb which I installed. I also replace the water separator assembly because it was totally bunged up. Put in a new battery and new spark plugs (set the gap), changed the oil and hand cranked it a bit. Fresh gas replaced the old gas. Should be good to go. turned on the key, gave it a bit of choke, hit the starter and it turned beautifully but would not fire.

So I am thinking electrical at this point. Condensor or distributor? But I have two fuel leak problems - gas drip from the the new water separator bowl no matter how tight I tighten the bowl and I get fuel dripping for a while from the bottom of the carb - appears to be coming from the small circle at the bottom (a weep valve of some sort?)

thoughts on what to tackle next and how to stop the leaking woulod be appreciated!

Dave

new Ford 8N owner!

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

First repair leaks then check for fire at plugs some of these might need to choke by hand. put hand over intake on carb some mechanical chokes don't close tight enough report back progress.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

I have an easy, but inelegant solution for your fuel bowl leak. Just remove the whole assembly and replace the fuel bowl with an inline filter. It's kind of ugly, having that filter and tube hanging out there, but it is cheap and dead-on reliable. You can save the fuel bowl assembly in case you ever sell your tractor to somebody who prefers to keep it stock.

For your non-starting issue, Rocky is right on track asking you to check for spark. On our 8n, the distributor seems to burn the points a couple times a year. Luckily, a piece of sandpaper is usually enough to get you running again.

Happens often enough that I keep an old spark plug in the tool box. Take the wire off of the easiest plug, put it on your old spark plug, holding the base against something metal (No plastic on an 8n anyway), and see if there's a spark. If not, then work backwards from there.

 

[Stimw]

Separator bowl should have a cork/neoprene gasket.
An updraft carb almost needs to be flooded to start. The weep hole is to let the flooding gas drain.
Remove a spark plug and see if it is wet (gas) then check for spark.
A stock 8N is positive ground battery connection.

 

[deerseeker001]

Welcome from Wisconsin

 

[oldpilgrim]

it's very common for the dist points to corrode when sitting for a long while. Use a bit of real fine sandpaper or a point file on them and see what happens. If that solves the problem, you should still replace them if you plan on using it.

 

[Wolfy]

For sure it is your points. That sounds exactly like what my dad's IH forklift likes to do. I rough up the points with fine sandpaper, then check the gap. Finally, run a business card through them to clean them up nice.

 

[windy acers]

MY 9 N WAS THE SAME WAY F.O.R.D. = FIX OR REPAIR DAILY. MABE YOU COULD DO A SEARCH FOR A WAY TO GO TO ELECTRONIC IGNITCHION.

 

[oldpilgrim]

Point ignition is very reliable and cheap to repair when needed. It was in use for nearly 100 years.

His problem is the long idle period of the tractor. Letting anything sit idle for long periods is not good.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Do not let the points and condenser system worry you at all.

Have somebody with experience show you how to replace and adjust the points. Once you've seen it done, you can do it yourself in about 20 minutes.

The thing to remember on your 8n is that it is a whole different mindset than a new Kubota, where you turn the key and go. Your tractor was built back when it was expected that a farmer would spend a half an hour each morning topping off fluids, airing up tires, and cleaning off the front of the radiator.

Once you get into that mindset, you will enjoy your tractor and get a lot of use out of it.