Ford 2000 3 cly distributor problems

[clydetherider]

My Ford 2000 3 cly gas tractor won't start. Backfires sometimes, sometimes catches but won't maintain an idle.

Middle of a pasture fence project on a horse farm. Darn!

I replaced all sparkplugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor. Did not replace the points. Tried to adjust the timing by twisting the distributor core. No luck.

Can the distributor core be opened up without taking off the exhaust manifold?

Help?

 

[DJ54]

Mine did that a few years back. Finally traced it down to the large gasket between the fuel bowl, and throttle body. They are somewhat intricate, and a lot of small ports to seal. I believe mine had a small section torn around the main jet port. Luckily, it was still there, so sealed it with a dab of #2 Permatex until I could get a new gasket. Kinda' forgot about it, since it seemed to fix the problem, and still runs great.