Cannot find timing marks on flywheel of Farmall A

According to the owner's manual, "continue cranking slowly until the D.C. No. 1 mark on the flywheel is in line with the pointer..." I CAN find the pointer on the clutch housing cover, but I CANNOT find a D C/ 1-4 mark as shown in Illustration 30, page 48 of the owners manual.
I CAN find an ARROW on the flywheel.
Can someone tell me how the markings should look? Is my arrow the same as the D C 1-4 marking shown in the illustration?
Thanks, Tom.

Tom: I've had 6 of these tractors since 1958, never found a timing mark yet, mind you I've never looked very hard. It's quicker to screw out no. 1 plug, stick your thumb in it while you crank. When you feel pressure, get a light and watch the piston. You'll be done in less time than it takes to remove the inspection pan.

That mark can be the very devil to find, as the flywheel tends to get covered in oil, crud, grime and rust, obscuring a mark that wasn't stamped very deeply in the first place. I never heard of there being an arrow.

Hugh's method will work just fine for timing. If you want to find the mark in any event or just to confirm that you've done what he described correctly, try this.

Pull it around to TDC as Hugh described. For timing you definitely want it to be on the compression stroke. For the sake of finding the mark, it can be on either. If it's even there, take the cover (usually oval, sometimes round) off the hole on the underside of the torque tube. Also remove the half moon cover on the front of the torque tube, the one with the timing mark on it. All for the sake of getting more light in there and having two places to look.

The mark you are looking for is a line that runs fore and aft on the flywheel, from the ring gear forward. Working through the bottom hole, clean up a little with a brush and a dry cleaner (like brake cleaner -- nopthing that would be a lubricant or leave a residue) on either side of the bottom of the flywheel at that point and it will eventually become visible, bit by bit. You can also try giving a look at the front edge of the flywheel from where you removed the cover there. Pursue anything that looks vaguely like a notch in the edge of the flywheel within a few degrees of bottom.

Once found, mark it with a dab of paint.

Scotty: You forgot, repaint every 5 years thereafter. I was told years ago, precisely as you described to Tom, very hard to find that timing mark, once the tractor is 5 years old. But your right, my system would be great for locating the mark.

Bear in mind all my tractors have been distributor, and I suspect my system works best on distributor ign. I've always been able to set a distirbutor close enough for tractor to start, and I've always had a good ear for setting advance by sound. I've even had folks ask me to fine tune their C-113 or C-123 by ear, after it had been done by timing light.

LOL! Yep, maintainin' the paint on that mark is more important than keepin' paint on the tractor!

One thing we left out of settin it up to TDC by hand was the wire or screwdriver. I can't remember for sure, but it was you or gene bender that put me onto that -- using a piece of solid wire or a screwdriver to rest on top of the piston so that the part that sticks out moves like the dial on a gauge makes it a lot easier to detect the small movement at the top of the piston's range.

On my BN (with a mag) I keep her timed to the mark on the flywheel. On the SuperC, though I set it up originally to the mark, I did just what you describe, and touched it up by ear while running and made some stop-and-go adjustments after running her under a load. When I checked it with a light afterward it was advanced a little BTDC, enough that I don't quite dare to start her with a crank. I don't have any PTO or belt-driven equipment that I could actually time her under a load while sitting still. A friend runs a small tractor show and a fellow brings a hay press most years. I'd like to get belted up to that one year and play with the timing and see where I wind up.

Different ways to do it. But if you take all the plugs out(for ease of turning) and put a screw driver or rod into the number one hole. Then watch the screw driver move up until it just starts to go down. Then move back ever so slightly to high point, you will have the piston at a 99% TDC.

Jerry

Jerry: One step you missed, TDC yes, but he needs TDC compression. Don't forget the thumb in No.1 plug hole.