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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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Super A running on only 3 cylinders.

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Brian in Toront

12-09-2004 07:17:46




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Morning all, Started up the Super A yesterday and discovered she"s only running on 3 cylinders. The wires, cap and rotor are only 2 or 3 years old, and barely used, so I figured they just might need a cleaning. When I pulled the cap off, I notice that 2 cap points looked like new, and the other two had a burnt look to them (incidently, it was the longest wires which were burnt the most ? Any coincidence ?). Anywho, I gave the points some sanding, and the same to the rotor, I even pulled the wires out of the cap and gave them a quick sand. I figured that because the rest of the cylinders were firing, the points must be ok so I left them alone. Started it up and still the same. I then pulled the plugs, most looked the same, however cylinder #3 was just black with carbon. So I"m doing a little head scratching here...anyone have any ideas they wouldn"t mind sharing ? One other note is that it "seems" to run fine under no load, but become evident when you put any load on at all.

As always, Thanks in advance for any advice.

Brian,
Toronto, Ont. Canada

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Brian in Toronto, Ontario

12-09-2004 15:03:58




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 Re: Super A running on only 3 cylinders. in reply to Brian in Toronto, Ontario, 12-09-2004 07:17:46  
A big thanks to everyone who replied. Tomorrow I"m going to check that spark plug ! As a matter of fact the problem occured right after I did have it warming up / idling ( approx 20 min. ) so a fouled plug just may be the problem.

I"m always amazed at the experience on this forum, thanks again for all your help, I hope this solves the problem.


Brian
Toronto, Canada.



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Novel Idea Guy

12-09-2004 13:38:43




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 Re: Super A running on only 3 cylinders. in reply to Brian in Toronto, Ontario, 12-09-2004 07:17:46  
It sounds like a fouled spark plug in that #3 cylinder to me. Comes from leaving the tractor sitting around idling too long with this blasted unleaded gasoline. It used to happen all the time in our gas-burners. Since we traded one off for a diesel, and swapped engines in another, the only gassers left are an M and a 400. Neither of them do a whole lot of work any more, and they've both been fixed up so they start well, so they don't sit around idling that much. Haven't fouled a plug in a long long time.

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Haas

12-09-2004 13:36:03




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 Re: Super A running on only 3 cylinders. in reply to Brian in Toronto, Ontario, 12-09-2004 07:17:46  
If you have a hand crank, you can check for compression by putting tractor in neutral (leave the ignition off) and insert crank and turn engine two full turns. If all is OK, you should feel about equal resistance (compression) on each half turn. If not, then you probably have a stuck or burned valve. If it checks out, then I'd change out the plugs.



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BillWV

12-09-2004 09:56:22




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 Re: Super A running on only 3 cylinders. in reply to Brian in Toronto, Ontario, 12-09-2004 07:17:46  
When my A did this after sitting for a few weeks, it was a stuck valve. Took off the valve cover and worked the valve up and down until if freed up.

You can isolate the cylinder by pulling off the spark plug wires one at a time while running. When you pull one and it doesn't have any effect, that is the dead cylinder. Just be careful, that fan is mighty close to the #1 cylinder.

Good luck,
Bill

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Tom Olson

12-09-2004 07:39:23




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 Re: Super A running on only 3 cylinders. in reply to Brian in Toronto, Ontario, 12-09-2004 07:17:46  
Hi Brian,

The fact that only one cylinder is affected narrows the problem. Try the simple things first. It wouldn't be the first time that I ran across just a bad spark plug. Could be shorting internally, and this will often happen under load as you describe.

Tom



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captaink

12-09-2004 07:28:47




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 Re: Super A running on only 3 cylinders. in reply to Brian in Toronto, Ontario, 12-09-2004 07:17:46  
Are the spark plug wires solid wire or carbon? How old are they? I would suggest taking a compression check on the engine. All cylinders should be within plus or minus 10%. If they are, I would replace the cap, rotor, spark plugs, and spark plug wires. I suggest solid wire spark plug wires. If not, you probably have a leaking valve and will need to pull the head to correct the problem.

If you have a bad spark plug wire, that resistance can lead to arcing in the cap causing a carbon trail to another cap terminal. Then the spark follows that trail to the wrong cylinder, causing the miss.

Good Luck

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