Greetings folks
I just wanted to thank everyone again for the advice on getting the tractor running again as indeed she is now. Based on the advice provided, I created a checklist and methodically went down each in terms of perceived complexity. The very last task, which I was avoiding, was changing the points due to some inexplicable fear that it was beyond my capabilities. I changed them out and when I started the engine, it ran beautifly for a minute, then died again. For a few weeks, I kept at it trying to troubleshoot but at last, with a certain amount of resignation, I went to my neighbor (who is a mechanic) and asked him if he could assist in fixing this problem that turned out to be more than I could handle. He then said that he also wanted to bring in another mechanic friend from down the road (mind you, they don"t speak English and my Polish is pretty poor so this took quite a while to convey). So as I was walking them through the process of how the tractor operates, as they realy only have diesel tractors in Poland (mostly Ursus brand), I noticed that the gas in the sediment bowl was clearly too low, no doubt after I emptied the tank and added fresh gas. After adding some gas, I turned the tractor over and most amazingly, the tractor not only started running, but the best it has run in 5 years. So in fact, I had indeed fixed the problem but at the cost of looking a bit the fool in front of two mechanics who probably chalked up it up crazy Americans ;-) I wanted to confirm the tractor would run under load, so I ran it for over an hour bush-hogging our pasture and it pulled with no problems all over our hilly land, so it is clearly good to go and running smooth. So thanks again to everyone on the board, hugely appreciate the support!
Ramon


PS. Of course, as I was going hog wild bush-hogging, I appear to have damaged the seed plate drive oil seal but I will save that for a separate post.

I have an elderly (0th birthday next week), that has a couple of Farmall Cubs. he called me one day last summer and asked if i would help him get one started he was having trouble with. I threw a few tools along with points, condenser, etc. in the truck and drove to his place. I walked to the shed hwere it had been setting since he finished mowing the summer before and wondering if he had turned the gas off while waiting on me I asked "Do I need to turn the gas back on?" He got this funny look on his face and said "Uhh, yes". it started right up.

Don't feel bad, we've all been there......
Hand cranked an F20 for almost an hour one day,
run a lil..pop & die.....talk about frustrating...right after I had the mag rebuilt.....sat & thought about what could possibly be wrong......... added two gallons of gas & snap .......purred like a kitten.
Since then ....the yardstick fuel gauge is the FIRST thing I check.
Like my Dad used to say...
Some just HAVE to learn the hard way !!

Somewhere there is a video of a certain board member here trying to crank start a certain F-20 when someone in the crowd asks if the gas is on.

If I remember right, it only took one more crank to start it.