IH 240 Utility

[shawneeleelee]

I just bought a 1960 IH 240 Utility, back hoe/loader. When I went and looked at it, it ran fine. The only thing wrong with it was the hydraulic pump is leaking severely, looks like a seal, and it lacked a lot of TLC. The guy had been using it at a job site when the seal went out and that is where it is still setting. I went to get it a few days later and it would not start. He at some point had taken the hood off of it due to the fact it was hard to get to the engine with the frame for the loader in the way, etc. It had gotten wet. The distributor cap had cracked. I replaced it, along with the rotor button and plug wires. The points looked good. Still would not run but was getting fire to plugs. The oil-bath was full of water because the vent cap was missing so I removed it and took the carburetor off, cleaned and blew it out. It started, ran a little while, then quit and would not restart. I went back this evening and tried to start it and it would not hit. I replaced the plugs and it took right off. Ran maybe 5-10 minutes, quit, and would not restart. Still getting fire to the plugs outside of the cylinders. This made my fifth trip (55 miles one way) and I still don’t have it home. If I don’t get it home soon, my wife is going to start thinking I got a girl friend somewhere using this as an excuse.

I pulled the coil and brought it home with me. I have been told I can get it tested. NAPA has a new one for $46 but won’t take it back if that is not the problem.

Is there a way I can test the coil myself?

In reviewing some of the forum archives on the 240, I found one that mentioned the coil being wired backwards, thus causing the plugs to fire backwards. Though it ran fine when I went to look at it, could this be the problem? It looks like it was wired backwards but I thought this might be due to it being a positive ground 6V system. The “battery” lead went to the distributor and the “distributor” lead went to the switch.

Another thing I noticed odd was the old plugs, and the new ones for as long as it ran this evening, carboned over with black soot????

I would appreciate any help or suggestions.

Thx, Denver

 

[SteveM]

I am a novice at these older gas tractors, but I am not surprised you said those plugs were fouled- that is obviously why it quits after a few moments. I would think the coil is fine, you need to focus on the carb jetting that is causing the engine to run super rich, fouling the plugs.

The only coil problem that might cause the condition would be if the coil output was weak, and the spark is not hot enough to fully ignite the fuel, leading to fouling.

But hopefully an expert will jump in here with some great advice.

 

[RobertN]

If you already bought it, I would get it on the trailer the second it fired up. If not, get a come-along or winch and get that puppy on a trailer. Dink with it at home, where you probably have tools, light, ect.

You have spark. Making an assumption the timing and all is ok, since it ran for a bot, I would check the fuel system.

1. drain the gas and get fresh stuff in it. Maybe it got water in the fuel.
2. Check the fuel filter. It may be clogging.
3. Check the fuel cap vent. If clogged, you would not get fuel to the carb after a bit.
4. Blow out the fuel line. It may be clogged, or heavily restricted.
5. Look in the fuel tank for obvious residue which may clog a line.

The plugs sound like it is running really rich. Is the choke working, or maybe stuck, or flopping shut after a while?

Past that, you are getting in to opening up the carb...

 

[jinman]

I agree with RobertN. It's almost certainly the fuel system. Only one thing to add to his great tips and that is to get a can of starting fluid. When the tractor stops, spray a little starting fluid into the intake (air filter area) and see if the tractor tries to start. If so, your problem is certainly something to do with fuel. Can you drain the carburetor fuel bowl? Sometimes you have to do this because the float chamber can have water or debris in it. Good luck.

 

[Soundguy]

If you are getting fire at the plugs.. I'm gonna gues sit isn't the coil. Sounds like a fuel delivery problem.. as everything you've said indicates that you get it to fire after messing with the carb / fuel related stuff.

I agree with the others.. if you had it running 15 minutes.. it should have been headed toward the trailer as soom as the engine oil pressure came up.

If you are on a time problem.. get creative... run it up on the trailer using the starter / in gear and bypass the starter interlock. My guess is that many of us here have loaded an otherwise non-running tractor on a trailer using the starter.

May have to use a jack / come-along / chain to secure the loader/backhoe in place till ya get it loaded if it wont run.

Never undervalue the usefullness of a quick shot of either, or a can of fresh gas ( as his may have water in it. ). Get tricky with it. If it was 6v converted to 12v with a dropping resistor... bypass the resistor for temporarilly hotter sparkies.... lotsa tricks like that. In the end, a good winch on the trailer may be needed... again.. I'm sure many of us have bought tractors / equipment that was winch loaded at purchase.. so don't get discouraged.

Play with the choke as well.

good luck

Sounduy