Help me start my tractor

farmerjohn

Well-known Member
I have a FARMALL Super C that was restored 15 years ago, then was used lightly in parades and small jobs, then through circumstances got parked in the barn about 10 years ago and has not run since. I want to get it running again. Installed a new 6 V battery, checked the oil, gas tank was bone dry so I put some gas in. Turns over fine but no attempts to fire. What is my next step? I know some basic mechanics but not much about carburetors and engines. How do I troubleshoot?
 
Sorry for the double post. I posted below last night and this morning the 'puter wanted to refresh and posted it again.
 
Since it turns over the next thing I would check would be spark. Next would be compression and then fuel getting into the firing chamber. A quick compression check is to put your hand over the breather tube. If it will pull/suck your hand you will have enough compression to start or at least fire. When I have spark and compression and still no fire I mist starting fluid into the breather tube or directly into the manifold if the carburetor has been removed.

A lot of times after an engine with breaker points set for years the points will oxidize and not spark. If the points have not burned most of the time you can use a piece of card board to rub the points and get them to spark.

When I don't have spark at the plugs I first check to see if my test light finds power at the stud on the distributor. If I have power at that point I then open and close the points with a screwdriver to see if I can see spark when the points open. If I have spatk there and I still do not have spark at the plugs that will start the tractor I pull the coil wire from the distributor cap and hold it close to the block and open and close the points to check for spark from the coil. If you have spark at the points and none from the coil you have a bad coil. If you do your back to the cap and rotor. A barnyard check for spark problems from the 1950"s Still works as I just had to replace a coil on my Farmall C. First one from ebay that would not throw a spark and one from AutoZone that did work last evening.
 
Do some simple trouble shooting
#1 check that you have a good blue/white spark that will jump a 1/4 inch gap or more. I'll almost bet you do not have a good spark if any spark and the points need to be cleaned. If you have spark go to
#2 pull the carb drain plug and make sure you have a good steady flow of gas that will fill a pint jar in less then 3 minutes
 

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