REALLY weird engine problem!

Howard H. · Dec 22, 2009

A friend of mine bought a very nice looking 154 Cub a couple of weeks ago. The auctioneer claimed it "ran good" and several people at the sale told my friend they "had heard it run in the past few days...".

The sheet metal & tires are very good, no signs of abuse or even much use at all. The seat is cracked from the sun, but other than that, it appears to be an extremely lightly used tractor.

BUT, when they got it home & tried starting it, it would not even try to fire, even though the engine turns over fine...

After messing with it a while, they pulled the spark plugs & amazingly, every piston appears to be at top dead center & no piston is moving, even though the starter turns the pulleys at the rear and front of the engine just like normal!!

There is no clanking or any abnormal noise while cranking the engine...

Any ideas on how this can be???

He's going to pull the pan as soon as he can get a little time & get the belly mower out from under it...

Thanks for any advice,
Howard

hoof print · Dec 22, 2009

on a flat-head engine like that cub has, you would not be able to see the pistons through the spark plug holes. I suspect that what your friend is seeing is the deck of the block.

I would suggest checking for the basics: spark at the plugs, fuel, and air. Could be as simple as cleaning the points.

Ralph 1111 · Dec 22, 2009

CHECK firing order .strange things happen at auctions.
IARalph

MN Scott · Dec 22, 2009

If it has been sitting at an auction yard with people looking at it, I would bet some goober has unhooked something or switched something around so it would not start hoping for a deal.

Pat-CT · Dec 23, 2009

Are you saying that every piston is at TDC and they dont move? If so that must mean nothing is connected in the engine becuase the valves would hit.... so i dont think thats possible, double check that.

Put your finger over the spark plug hole and see if it gets forced off

ScottyHOMeY · Dec 23, 2009

That was my first thought. Coil wire or rotor button come to mind.

John M · Dec 23, 2009

Yea you cant see the pistons at TDC on that engine, so it has to be something basic. Min e did that after getting it home and turned out ot be the wires at the switch had come loose in just the right spot.

mkirsch · Dec 23, 2009

The C60 (Cub/LoBoy) engine is a FLAT HEAD, valve-in-block style engine.

I just looked at a C60 head and to verify, and you definitely cannot see the pistons through the spark plug holes.

Don't pull the pan yet!

Place your thumb over each spark plug hole and crank. I bet you'll get a whoosh of air. That means the pistons are going up and down, and the valves are opening and closing.

Check for spark like your Dad taught you on the old push mower. Take the plug out, put it back on the wire, and lay it against the block.

Dellbertt · Dec 23, 2009

MN Scott is right on.
My neighbor across the road had a premoving auction. He had a nice running H that he had been using to move things the morning of the sale.
When it came time to auction, it would not start, so it did not even make the reserve bid of $500. After the auction they found the rotor had been removed. I remember seeing a junk parts dealer and his buddy standing close beside the dist side of the tractor for a few minutes but I couldn't prove anything.
Check all of the basics like other posts have suggested.
Dell

Deano4863 · Dec 23, 2009

I had a similar auction experience in that I stood and watched a guy reverse all the plug wires on my H. In my younger days the fight would have been on. Older and wiser that I now am I corrected the problem and watched the expression on the guys face when the tractor fired right up and brought a good price.

James Williams · Dec 23, 2009

Ive seen people pull the coil wire and put a peice of electrical tape over the end of it and put it back on the coil or distributer,not alowing it to fire

jimmy

El Toro · Dec 23, 2009

Check the wires to make sure they in this firing order.
2-1
4-3

Someone may have pulled the rotor. Take a look under the cap. Hal

sflem849 · Dec 23, 2009

(quoted from post at 21:49:49 12/22/09) If it has been sitting at an auction yard with people looking at it, I would bet some goober has unhooked something or switched something around so it would not start hoping for a deal.

Just had to chime in that there are a lot of aholes out there. That is how I got my SMTA. My father in law had it on his sale and it was a decent running tractor. Somebody messed with a plug wire so when the fired it up before it sold it started missing like crazy. When the hammer dropped my FIL said no sale! So he kept it for another couple years and I bought it from him. Worked out great for me! Now I have the SMTA and H that his dad bought brand new.

sflem849 · Dec 23, 2009

(quoted from post at 06:22:09 12/23/09) ...Check for spark like your Dad taught you on the old push mower. Take the plug out, put it back on the wire, and lay it against the block.

My dad didn't teach me that. He handed me the wire and told me, "hold this." :lol:

john *.?-!.* cub owner · Dec 24, 2009

Actually you cna see the pistons when they come to top, but you have to use a penlight and look at an angle.

REALLY weird engine problem!

Howard H.

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hoof print

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Ralph 1111

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MN Scott

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Pat-CT

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ScottyHOMeY

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John M

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mkirsch

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Dellbertt

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Deano4863

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James Williams

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El Toro

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sflem849

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sflem849

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john .?-!. cub owner

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