Ford 850 won't run

[jmcgill89]

Today, I attempted to do the first round of maintenance on my newly purchased 1955 Ford 800 tractor. It's not a garage queen, and has been outside for a while, as evidenced by the milky sludge in the air cleaner.

I got that cleaned out, and was promptly dismayed that it just wouldn't run right. On a cold start, it starts right up, no choke even needed. After getting warmed up, anytime I put any kind of load on it, whether it was the PTO/Bush Hog, or just putting it in first gear, it would immediately start to surge badly and then stall out. After the third time, the battery (six volt) was dead, and I had no hope of getting it started again. Before the battery was dead, if it sat for about 10 minutes, it would start right up, no surging, but as soon as I put a load on it, nothing.

It's got new plugs, new condenser, and new points. Seemingly has the original starter, generator, and coil.

The carburetor looks to have not been off in years, and my first thought is that there's something clogged up in the carb.

Any ideas where I should look first?

Thanks,

Joe

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

New fuel filter then once running and warm hold at fast idle and run 1/2 can of carb cleaner thru it ,if still not right use a dwell meter to set points should be some around 28-32 degrees . You did not mention if it smokes at all and if so what color is the smoke ? also check oil level and color ? does the radiator fluid have any color or oil in it ? Old gas tractors are very easy to fix could be just sticky valves and just needs to run . Change it over to 12 volt and you will have less problems

 

[jmcgill89]

How would I run the carb cleaner through it? Just in the tank? I put some seafoam in there, but it didn't seem to help.

No smoke at all, unless it's flooded and then I get a tiny puff of white when it first kicks over. Antifreeze looks good, no oil in it. Oil looks perfect.

I did end up bending the copper fuel line a bit when I changed out the leaky shut off valve..could it be too close to the manifold and boiling the gas before it gets to the carb?

 

[Soundguy]

copper fuel line? danger will robinson.. copper vibrates and work hardens. pretty soon you have a open fuel line dumping onthe manifold. no more tractor problems.

sounds like classic fuel starvation.

put it under load and tug on choke a bit. does it even out a lil.? go thru the fuel system including float valve and all jets

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

Use a can of spray carb cleaner with the air cleaner off move throttle by hand to keep it running while spraying cleaner into carb , it will smoke like crazy for a minute or two but will clear right up . place a piece of sheet metal between the fuel line and manifold a bent can is better than nothing if its that close ,is the fuel line leaking ? it would have to be less than an inch away to worry about it boiling the fuel which I doubt . post a couple of pictures they truly are worth a thousand words .

 

[jmcgill89]

The fuel line may not be copper but its a malleable metal. It's not touching the manifold but it runs through that tight space.

I'll give the choke idea and the can of cleaner idea a shot. Thanks guys.

I wish I had pics but its 2 hours away on my property.

 

[Soundguy]

that is the oem location of the line if it is run under the intake side of themanifold. should be fine there..

 

[jmcgill89]

Where is the fuel filter that was mentioned? Is it the one in the carburetor?

 

[Dollar Bill]

You should have a screen in the sediment bulb - Not sure but there also may be one in the tank.

 

[Dale Pendell]

Sounds like you need to get inside the carb and clean it or replace some worn parts. Rebuild kits are available for $40 or so and it's fairly easy to work on. I would first be sure you're getting a good steady flow of gas to the carb, then go from there...