2 old farmalls revitalized for $17.00

Went to cut hay with the mower conditioner (Hesston 1120) and the Farmall M late in the evening last week. Hay was tough from rain earlier in the day plus the evening dew was setting on around dark so all in all a real cutting challenge for any sickle based machine...

Anyway, The Farmall M got to running so poorly that I could not stand the sound of it on my ears (multiple random misses). It literally hurt my ears to hear the engine run. Not to mention the power was reduced. I was fearing stuck valves and bent pushrods.

So I unhooked the Farmall M and hooked the Farmall h to the moco and finished cutting by around 10:00 pm. Hay being tuff from dew and moisture put a good load on the ole h but she gotter done.

Next day after work stopped by Advance and picked up 4 Autolite 3116 installed in place of the brand new Champion D16's that the previous owner had installed in the M. Wow engine ran so smooth it was amazing and I used the tractor to rake once and bale with. (I was relieved no stuck valves)

Since the Autolite 3116's worked so well in the M, I decided to pick up 4 more and install in the ole h for good measure. The ole h had well used Champion D21's in it. Tractor runs a hint better with the new plugs and I seemed to eliminate an occasional slight flutter that the h used to have. Bush hogged with the tractor afterwards and did notice a seat of the pants power increase.

The like new Champion D16's are going in the scrap bucket (too cold of a plug). I will keep the old well used D21's for emergency spares which I hope I never need. The 2 ole farmalls will get Auotlite 3116's as long as I own em.

Moral of the story: for $17 ($2.09 per plug) I got two tractors that run better. One way way better.

New Champion D-21s would have probably had the same effect.

This is quite common when someone uses champions these days. I hear they were good plugs way back when, but not anymore.

I think the manuals used to recommend Champion D16's when they were made. They are not a hot enough plug with todays gas to run anything. I have D21's in my H,M and 300U and never have a problem.

Autolites are good. I like to use C87 a/c Delco;s

Don't try running D21'S in an IH six cylinder gasser with today's fuel tho. Much to hot of a plug, engine will preignite and stumble and stall. The higher speed engines need a colder plug like the D16 or they wont run well under load.

It has been about 40 years since the recommended plug was a D15Y instead of the D16. The heat range is one step colder but the extended tip more than makes up the difference. With the leaded gasoline being phased out the recommended plug for most duty became the D18Y with the D15Y still recommended for heavy loaded engines or the D21 if used with light load use only.

You are 100% correct!

I have never been impressed with Champion
spark plugs, have not had good luck with them.
Have had some make engines run poorly within
8 or so hours of being brand new plugs. When
we buy something that has Champion plugs in
it, we pull them and replace with AC plugs.

Hanging on to those old plugs reminded me of my Dad who
never threw away a set of plugs or points and condenser
in his life, I still find them stashed around the shop,
some in the replacement boxes so you can't tell if they
are new or used. Glad they're running better!!!

that is true. those tractors came from factory with champion and used d 16's. so did massey and case use the same plug. these tractors had to work long hrs. ea. day to earn their keep. you could not even run a hot plug in them. but with today's stop and starting and not getting to operating temp. one must compromise for the situation. brands of plugs have little to do with the proper outcome. I experimented with plug brands and still ask for champion. just like beer, some buy their brand just for the label.

I swore off Champions years ago, but it seems that's all I can find for my tractor. I had a '64 Mercury Marauder 330 HP 390 back in the day and with Champions I had to change them at 3000 miles. After a couple of times doing that, switched to Autolites and even though I changed at 10K, it was still running good and plugs looked good.

Off Brand, but accurate story.

I grew up running JD Model A's. Dad always ran Champion D16's, until this incident. We had a big storm rolling in, supposed to drop many inches of snow overnight, and blow and drift...the usual for late winter in the high desert. Well, we stopped at the parts house and picked up a brand new set of Champs for the tractor to use in the morning. Tractor was running fine, but dad always put a new set in at the 1st big snow of the year.

In the morning, we screwed the new plugs in and cranked it up. Dad started pushing snow out of the driveways, we cleared everyone in the neighborhood usually. About an hour after he started I hear dad coming home, and the tractor sounds like crap. He pulls in, shuts it down swearing. 2 poppers don't like running on 1 cylinder! lol. We put the old plugs back in, finished clearing driveways then went to town and bought a set of Autolite's. Since then, neither of us will buy Champs, I buy Autolites, dad buys NGK's. My only complaint with the NGK's is they take a bigger socket, and I like my 7/8" spark plug socket! lol.

RC