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Farmall Cub won't Start

O

Ortis

New User
I have seen several threads on this topic, but so far none have solved my problem. I parked my 1960s, square sheet metal Cub a year ago, and it was running well. In January, it would not start. I tried ether - not even a pop. So I figured it was ignition. I pulled a plug and the spark seemed fine, but I changed the points, rotor, coil, plugs, and even the wires. No help. I rebuilt the carb - no help. I checked timing - it's perfect. I even laid the plugs on the head and cranked with my finger over each plug hole in-turn. In eash case, a nice spark jumped at the correct plug about the time my finger was blown off. Compression? About 75 pounds - same as when I checked it 5 years ago. I though that maybe the exhaust or intake paths were blocked (stink bug epidemic). I have the exhaust pipe disconnected, and removed the manifold. Perfectly clear. I pulled the cylinder head - everythings look like it should. I will check valve clearance since I have it apart, but since compression is good, I am not expecting to find anything.

What am I missing?
 
Not that this will help. But i'm dealing with the same problem on my
92 toyota. The thing that bothers me the most is that it won't even
pop with starting fluid either. good luck
 
if it sat for a while, try and squirt a couple pumps of engine oil in each cylinder, crank the engine over a few times, then replace the plugs and try and start it. if the rings are not sealing enough the oil will get the compression up a little to get the motor to start.
 
9 times out of 10 these kinds of problems are carb related.

I'd start with gas. If the tank wasn't drained, drain it now (save the gas - even if it's not fresh you can mix it later with gas that is and it should be fine). Put nice fresh gas in. Make sure to drain the carb and let the good stuff in.

Was the carb drained when you stored it?

If not, it very likely got gummed up inside.

Rebuilding the carb isn't going to do much if it's plugged up. You need to either boil it all out, or go through every little port you can find with a thin wire.

I like to squirt a little starting fluid in when trying to start. If it fires up at all, you know the ignition is at least in the right ballpark, and it confirms that you should be focusing more on the carb.
 
Were the plugs wet when you pulled them out? Maybe its flooding immediately and adding starting fluid would only make that condition worse.
 
i have had an engine that would not hit, even on ether and i know that it was a good running motor. i believed that there was water in the fuel. changed gas, put in fresh and it started.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I discounted bad fuel since it wouldn't pop even with ether. When I get it back together, I'll give it fresh gas and try. Anyone have an easy way to rig a temporary gas tank so I don't have to put the whole tank/hood assembly on? I'll come up with something, but I bet someone has a better idea.
 
I am no expert but am also a motorcycle nut. Have a 46 A on tree farm in NY and a 57 cub in my yard in Md. One thing the m/c guys found out from the boat guys is we're being sold junk they claim is gas. I've been told if you take a vile of gas and set it for 10 hrs you can see it breaking down already. Any bike I will have sitting more than a week I try and run out of fuel in carbs so all I'll need to do when I go to use it is change the fuel in tank. Modern mx bike are said to use fresh fuel ( with in days) or may have engine problems. My cub and vintage bikes all get the fuel shut off and run dry. for your fuel tank I would disconnect at carb and run tank out into spare can.(you can use it to start you burn barrel, just be careful. It may not burn in a cub but it will with a match or bic)Always ,always always use fresh gas oh did I mention ALWAYS!
If you can find none ethenol gas it's better and they say it's best to use a lead additive. I use startron starbright( not a lead addition) additive on all my engines. it will kill the bacteria in the ethenol.
Sorry this is so long I'd like to her what others are doing.
bill
 
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