Ford 3600 Tractor Repair in East Central Minnesota?

[LESchwartz]

I'm having issues with my Ford 3600, and am out of time trying to figure it out and get it running. My previous tractor repair guy was "Forest Lake Tractor", but he's now retired and moved away.

Does anyone have any recommendations for tractor repair in east central Minnesota, north of the Twin Cities?

Thanks in Advance,

Larry

 

[Sportsman762]

Rod at Forest Lake Tractor is a great mechanic and I hope he is enjoying his retirement up north. He had a heck of a nice tractor collection. Two dealers that I have dealt with that are good mechanics are:
Jensen Tractor in Askov.

Jensen Tractor Sales Askov, MN Tractor Parts

Jensen Tractor specializes in New LS Tractors and New Vermeer Forage Equipment. We have a large salvage yard. Call us today to check out what we have.

www.jensentractorsales.com

Gerlach's in Cottage Grove.

https://www.gerlachservice.com/

There is a Gerlach's outdoor in Hastings that is a different dealer that only works on lawn and garden.

There use to be a few others in Washington county but in the past 15 years most retired or passed away. Hope this helps @LESchwartz

 

[LESchwartz]

I saw a Craigslist ad for "Mechanized Resources LLC" in Buffalo, MN. But they're quite a ways away. Hoping for a recommendation for someone closer . . .

Larry

 

[Sportsman762]

Where in MN are you? It would help with this discussion.

I saw a Craigslist ad for "Mechanized Resources LLC" in Buffalo, MN. But they're quite a ways away.

I was assuming you were in northern Washington county or southern Chisago County based off of your experience going to Forest Lake Tractor.

 

[LESchwartz]

Where in MN are you? It would help with this discussion.

I was assuming you were in northern Washington county or southern Chisago County based off of your experience going to Forest Lake Tractor.

I'm in NE Anoka County, but I would be willing to go anywhere in east central Minnesota, north of the Twin Cities . . .

Larry

 

[Sportsman762]

I would recommend Jensen then. They are an hour away, but good mechanics are hard to find. Most of the ones I know of in the area are retired. Baribeau Implement might be able to work on it. However their rates will be high, and I am not sure if their tech's are familiar with carbs.

 

[LESchwartz]

A member from another forum dropped by today to take a look at my tractor -- There were so many issues as to be comical:

1) Plugs were severely fouled. Once cleaned the tractor started right up (didn't run the greatest, but started). As to why the plugs were so fouled, see #2.

2) Gas was running out of the air intake -- Not good! It looked like there we some crud in the needle valve -- not sure how it got in there, since the carb had been remanufactured by a reputable shop. Maybe I let some dirt get in the carb when reinstalling it -- dunno. This wasn't the only issue from the stuck needle valve, see #3.

3) The oil was overfull by a couple quarts and smelled like gas. Changed it out. Also did a compression test -- compression was about 165 PSI across the board. So I don't think I did any permanent damage.

4) There seemed to be an intermittent misfire on all the cylinders. When throttling up, we could see the plug wires lifting off the head. Our conclusion was that maybe the plugs were leaking somehow. We changed out both the plugs and wires with new ones I purchased earlier in the week. Now the wire stay connected. Note that the previous Autolite plugs were only installed for a couple hours at most.

I spent two hours mowing. Things seem running as strong as they ever have on this tractor. Hurray!

Thanks to all the members who helped me with my tractor,

Larry

 

[LESchwartz]

Another weekend of fun . . . NOT!

Fueled up on Sunday and spent a couple hours mowing. Then ran out of gas. Grabbed a fiver and put it in. Tried starting, no go. Remembered the plugs: Sure enough, two of the boots were off. Purchased some new plugs (again), NGKs this time. After putting them in, I found I could start the tractor, but it would only run on full choke.

On Monday morning, I pulled the carb. Just for grins, I opened the fuel valve -- NOTHING! Grabbed some rubber hose & carb cleaner and attached the hose to the higher end on the fuel line, then filled it with carb cleaner and blew out with compressed air. HOLY CRAP, did the crud come out the fuel line! Repeated several times until it came out clean. Also, cleaned the sediment bowl. Then I hooked up the carb.

Started right up, idled fine, and had great power when I opened the throttle. I spent the next four hours mowing without a hitch. When I shut down for the day, I checked the plug wires -- still in place, just like when first installed. HURAY AGAIN!

Conclusion: Autolite plugs are trash, NGK seem to hold up much better. I forgot that fuel can gel up in the fuel line. What surprised me is that this can happen even when I religiously use Sta-Bil every fall. Hopefully I won't have any more drama.

Larry

 

[Torvy]

My cousin used to teach 4th grade in Forest Lake (in Blaine, now). One of my best friends from HS lives in Buffalo.

Unfortunately, neither probably has much info on mechanics.

 

[AntiqueIron]

Another weekend of fun . . . NOT!

Fueled up on Sunday and spent a couple hours mowing. Then ran out of gas. Grabbed a fiver and put it in. Tried starting, no go. Remembered the plugs: Sure enough, two of the boots were off. Purchased some new plugs (again), NGKs this time. After putting them in, I found I could start the tractor, but it would only run on full choke.

On Monday morning, I pulled the carb. Just for grins, I opened the fuel valve -- NOTHING! Grabbed some rubber hose & carb cleaner and attached the hose to the higher end on the fuel line, then filled it with carb cleaner and blew out with compressed air. HOLY CRAP, did the crud come out the fuel line! Repeated several times until it came out clean. Also, cleaned the sediment bowl. Then I hooked up the carb.

Started right up, idled fine, and had great power when I opened the throttle. I spent the next four hours mowing without a hitch. When I shut down for the day, I checked the plug wires -- still in place, just like when first installed. HURAY AGAIN!

Conclusion: Autolite plugs are trash, NGK seem to hold up much better. I forgot that fuel can gel up in the fuel line. What surprised me is that this can happen even when I religiously use Sta-Bil every fall. Hopefully I won't have any more drama.

Larry

Are you running ethanol free fuel? Ethanol will ruin carburetors. If you need to use ethanol fuel, close your shut off valve before storage, run the tractor until it stalls out. Open the bowl drain before starting if she's sat more than say 3 weeks- condensation.

Do you have a sediment bowl and/or fuel filter on the shutoff? All kinds of shmutz in fuel.

Hope that helps- and you've got a nice looking tractor.

 

[LESchwartz]

Do you have a sediment bowl and/or fuel filter on the shutoff? All kinds of shmutz in fuel.

Both. The shutoff in these is supposed to have a screen -- part of the reason I thought to check the fuel flow in the first place. The fuel, tank, and sediment bowl seemed clean, but the line was clogged nonetheless. The fuel line takes a strangely circuitous route from the tank to the carb: Down and up, across to the other side of the engine, then back again under the water pump, and finally up over the carb through the sediment bowl and then into the carb. I'm pretty sure I had gelled gasoline collected where the line runs under the water pump.

Larry

 

[LESchwartz]

Are you running ethanol free fuel? Ethanol will ruin carburetors. If you need to use ethanol fuel, close your shut off valve before storage, run the tractor until it stalls out.

We normally run both. We typically use oxy (way cheaper) during mowing season and non-oxy (like $1.50 per gallon more) plus Sta-Bil at the end of the season. In any case, we religiously follow your storage procedure after every usage. Of course, it's always possible someone forgot to follow the procedure at some point.

Larry

 

[LESchwartz]

I'm pretty sure I had gelled gasoline collected where the line runs under the water pump.

I was reminded that there is a fuel pump up on the left side of the engine behind the generator. (Which explains the circuitous route from the tank to the carb.) I expect that that's where the gelled gasoline might have been. Silly me, I thought it was gravity fed like the old N-series. Doh!!

Larry