Stupid, stupid carb question

Today I was showing my wife how to shut down my super A. I still haven"t replaced the resistor in the wire from the switch, so I push in the kill switch and put the choke on full to choke it off.

Yeah, I know...

Anyway, I didn"t choke it all the way off. When I opened the choke back up, it would speed up, nearly die, spped up, nearly die. You get the picture. She was driving it back up the driveway after pulling out my stuck bucket truck at lunch when it died.
Good girl that she is, she remembered to push in the kill switch to save the battery.
This evening, I pulled the carb. Had plenty of fuel going into it. I"m thinking stuck float valve. Opened it up, cleaned the valve, blew out the seat. No gas in the floats.
Put it back together, and it flooded immediately. When it cranked, it ran for a couple of seconds and died. I pulled it off again and listened for the float to move when I tipped it back and forth. Float was stuck?
Bent the floats just "that much" closer together. Put her together and could hear the float move when I tipped it. Started it up and had to choke it. If I keep the choke on about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way, it will run. Open, it dies.
In my mind, if I have to cut the air for it to run, that means there"s not enough fuel going in. I got frustrated and thought I"d ask somone who knew.

Some of you know. Please help!!

Your float level may not be set high enough. Hal

First of all, in my opinion, any question regarding carbs on these old tractors is not stupid!! I have had the same experience with my Super 55 Oliver. It has a Marvel-Schebler carb on it and we had it apart 5 times before we could get it to run without the choke on. Turns out there was just one little hole we hadn"t found that was solidly plugged. After we cleared it out, our problem was solved.

As for my IH tractors, I have a W4 with a new needle and seat, a fresh cleaning and a good float (that seems to be properly adjusted), but it floods instantly when I turn the gas on. It runs fine once it starts, but I have to start it with the gas off... very annoying.

I"ll be looking forward to the replies you get here because I"ve been able to solve the choke problem, just not the flooding one.

There usually is a screen just under where the fuel line enters the carb. It is the fitting itself that the line connects to.
Did you check that to see if it was clear?

w croom: First off there are no stupid carb questions when it comes to old tractors. Any man who tells you he's never had a carb that didn't work right on the first assembly, is a liar. He may have got some of them right the first time, however we've all had that one carb that was a 5-6 time assembly.

Hal's got it right, follow his direction.

Having to run with the choke partially closed indicates either not enough gas or too much air. Hal and the others have probably got you on the right track if it's a fuel issue -- most commonly it's the float or the flow.

As for air, check for a tight fit at the gasket between the carb and neck of the manifold, and check your manifold for cracks and to make sure it is snugged up properly to the head. It could also be a badly worn shaft or bushing on your throttle plate, but I dont think a leak of that sort would require as much choke as you describe.

One way to check for air/vacuum leaks is to get the motor running and spray some sort of fuel (carb/choke cleaner works, so does propane from an unlit torch -- don't forget to shut the propane off when you're done!) around the joints that might be leaking. Any change in the motor as you do that will indicate a leak. If it's running pretty smoothly as you do this, it will usually bog down from being too rich with the added fuel. If it's running ragged and lean, the speed will usually pick up and the motor will smooth out.

HTH

Thanks for the replies. I'll jump back on the Red Beast when I get home tonight.

This time I'll be better armed, thanks to you guys.

Seems to me that part of the fun of woring with an old tractor is working ON an old tractor. They give us plenty of opportunity for that. Mine likes to break down 400 yards from the toolbox. It's amazing how much you can do with a screwdriver, adjustable wrench, and a pocket knife. A buddy of mine suggested I mount a toolbox on it with a wide array of tools. I told him that would take the sport out of it.

Thanks again!

Allrighty then! Came home tonight feeling good. This tractor is gonna run like the wind blows.

I checked the screen on the fuel inlet. Fine.
I checked for leaks on the manifold. None.
I pulled the carb off and blew through every passage. Clear.
Ran like crap.
Pulled the carb back off and raised the float level a little( bent it up). No change.
It runs like a top with the choke open ( closed, for you pessimists) 1/2 way. Runs great, but it ain't supposed to.
I still don't get how it ran fine yesterday until I choked it and this ordeal began. Did I upset the Choke Gods? Have I tempted the tractor and been found wanting?
I do love that little red tractor, but this situation is making me think.

Anybody got another idea?

This might never end.

I went out this morning to start again. Set the choke halfway and it fired right up, but sputtered. I had to open the choke all the way for it to run smooth. My first thought was that one of you guys had come by my place during the night and fixed the problem for me. Then I realized that the carb elves had probably done it while I slept.
I drug my muddy driveway for around 45 minutes when it started to run bad. Set the choke down half way and it smoothed out. Dang carb elves!
I pulled the carb and hung the top part from the manifold. Made sure I had good, steady flow from the gas line. Same with the screen filter in the carb. I hooked everything up to the top section of the carb and had a very weak flow from the float valve.
I took the filter back out and removed the valve seat. Washed the passage out with some gas from a bottle. A flake of rust just big enough to cover the inlet of the valve seat came out.
I mumbled things about the tractor not knowing who it was messing with as I reassembled the carb. A new tractor didn't need to be messing with me!
Apparently, it did know who it was messing with, as it would only run with the choke half closed. I didn't check to see if the flow was better out of the float valve before I put it all back together. Guess I'll start there tomorrow.

In my worthless opinion, you need to establish a baseline from which to work. You should do that by: A) Cleaning gas tank, sediment bowl and fuel line, and B) By rebuilding your carb properly with a high quality rebuild kit, and then setting at factory specs.
Only then can you begin to eliminate possible problems from your list of suspects and have any idea what is going on with your fuel supply. Currently, you are making stabs in the dark - not a very likely way to solve your problem. mike

Have you checked the inlet in the fuel tank? take the fuel line off the carb and blow threw it back into the tank. Mine had what looked like 2 or 3 bugs stuck in it. course having an almost empty tank will help to see if anything comes out of the inlet.

Yeah, Mike, you're right about that. Patirnce is a virtue, I just never had much of it.
I stand there looking at the tractor. I look at my long, muddy driveway. I need the one to fix the other.
In my mind, there's got to be a quick fix. I spent all day yesterday looking for one. OK, I quit about three to work on a knife, but you get the picture.
I'll start today by draining everything. I'll see if the local parts store can get me a rebuild kit on Monday.
You gotta love old equipment!

Problem solve! Inside the drain plug on the carb bowl, there is a brass something. Screwed it out and put a needle through it. A little piece of something came out.

The Mighty Mighty Super A roars again!

(quoted from post at 15:55:38 08/18/08) Problem solve! Inside the drain plug on the carb bowl, there is a brass something. Screwed it out and put a needle through it. A little piece of something came out.

The Mighty Mighty Super A roars again!

Click to expand...

Sounds like you unclogged your main jet. Good move. mike