Old M still won't tun

Back on June 12,this year I posted a message telling of all the problems in trying to get my Old Farmall M to run.It was posted under my name of Another Bob. This time they won't accept that name(?) In any event I received a lot ot suggestions, most of them we tried. No luck. Still acts like it is going to run, then in a minute or so, stops. I have a good man working on it, he used to heve a tractor dealership.After a number of attemps he said,"It should run,I can't understand why it seems to start,but won't stay going." Any suggestions, or ideas welcomed. Has anyone had one like this and found the trouble to be with the manifold? That is about the only part I haven't replaced.

I don't remember your post specifically as there are hundreds like yours. But, your symptoms indicate a classic fuel flow problem. Could be crud in the tank that plugs the outlet, sediment bowl or carb. There is a screen in the fitting that the gas line screws into -- check that. Run a wire inside of the tank through the outlet. If all the preceding is clean, disassemble the carb, soak it in carb cleaner overnight, blow out passages with compressed air (each inlet in the carb has an outlet somewhere, make sure the air is going through) put a quality kit in and reassemble. I think your tractor dealership person is used to working on tractors in good condition, not ones that have sitting around little used for 30-50 years.

In addition to CNKS comments, I'll ad that putting raw propane in the carb intake (take the tip off of a torch) can richen it enough to have it run. If it does nothing better, suspect ignition timing off 15 to 20 degrees. Points at .020"
JimN

(quoted from post at 17:37:37 08/21/08) Back on June 12,this year I posted a message telling of all the problems in trying to get my Old Farmall M to run.It was posted under my name of Another Bob. This time they won't accept that name(?) In any event I received a lot ot suggestions, most of them we tried. No luck. Still acts like it is going to run, then in a minute or so, stops. I have a good man working on it, he used to heve a tractor dealership.After a number of attemps he said,"It should run,I can't understand why it seems to start,but won't stay going." Any suggestions, or ideas welcomed. Has anyone had one like this and found the trouble to be with the manifold? That is about the only part I haven't replaced.

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ould be a number of things. Could be the ignition timing. Could be a fuel issue. Could be that the preset on the valvetrain is much tighter than it should be. I'd check those three things. If it's getting fuel, timing is right, and has compression it's gotta run. You're missing one of these three components.

bob, i ran into a problem with one of my m's this spring. had a devil of a time getting it started, everything seemed ok, just wouldnt go. fouled out plugs, backfired, or just wouldnt pop. went thru the carb, tune up, 3 sets of plugs, new battery, rebuilt the starter, you name it. turns out the tune up kit, points and condenser i had in the tool box (one i got at farm and fleet as an emergency) condenser was bad. replaced the points and condenser with a set from the dealer, she finally started. dont know if you have a mag or distributor, but , with a clean set of spark plugs, give er a shot of ether right dwn the carb and crank er over. if it starts, look at the fuel system. if it doesnt, look to the ignition system.

Wire to the distributor on the right side of the starter switch?

Start at the beginning.

Does the old engine even have any compression?

Allan

You need to do the "process of elimination". Check to see if there's good hot fire to the sparkplugs by pulling off one of the plug wires during cranking. You need to have the ignition switch on and if its a mag you need the kill switch in the run position. Since you say the engine runs a little, does it only run during cranking and quits when you let off the starter button? Are you using a ballast resistor?

Check for a full flow of out of the carburetor bowl should have a pipe plug. If there's just a trickle there's blockage between the carb. and gas tank. If there's an inline filter remove it.

Hold your hand over the throat of the carb and see if there's good suction on your hand while someone makes an attempt to start the engine. Poor suction on your hand is an indication of poor intake manifold vacuum. Could be the manifold gasket, loose nuts or bolts that need to be tightened. Worn rings, valves not adjusted with enough clearance or not seating properly in the cylinder head. Do a compression check on all the cylinders and see what the readings are.
The engine should start when holding your hand over the throat of the carb.

Pour a few ounces of fresh gas into one of the sparkplug holes, replace plug and see if it the engine starts. If it does its not getting gas for some reason. Dirt in tank, gas line or carburetor. Hal

I'll just add something to what Hal said. Check for an obstruction in the air intake system---anything from the air cleaner cup being full of dirt to a hose that is collapsing & blocking the intake.
What brought this to mind was our A had ice in the air cleaner cup one winter---effectively blocked the air intake. Of course, that wouldn't be the problem now.
The JD shop had an air cleaner cup from a 3010 sitting up on the shelf, which was completely full of dirt. Came off of a tractor that they had to overhaul the engine because of the dirt restriction. They put on a different cup--just to be able to show people the benefits of checking the air cleaner regularly.

Yes on the manifold being a possible culprit. Had a H come in, would barely run. Had good cyl pressure, even went as far as rebuild the head. Had a hairline crack on rhe backside, and when it was cold it would run, soon as it warmed up a little, the crack expanded and it would quit. it wanted to run, but just wouldnt. swapped the mainfold out ran just fine. It had vacuum, but as soon as it got to firing up, the vacuum pressure dropped and it would spit n sputter, plugs were dry, gas did not seem to run out from flooding,, Chad