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Ferguson TO20, 1950

D

dennyto20

New User
Have a Ferguson TO20. Will idle fairly smooth but will pop (backfire) while at a idle. Has little or no power to pull itself and backfires constantly when you try to drive it. Head has been replaced and did a complete tune up.
Would appreciate any suggestions as to what to try next.
Have put too much money in it to let it rust down.
 
I would look at your spark. Have you checked/adjusted/replaced your points lately?
How are your spark plug wires? Have you run it in the dark to see if they are leaking off anywhere?
I would look at your distributer advance too. Put a timing light on it and verify it is working correctly.
 
The wires,distributor cap,points and plugs are new. I know something could be bad even if it is new, Could the distributor cause this backfire? How can I check to see if distributor is the culprit?
I appreciate your comments.
 
Definitely check the ignition system, especially the points, shaft bushings, cap, rotor, advance.

Backfire out the exhaust is most always ignition related. Backfire through the carb can be retarded ign timing, lean mixture, or valve problems.

If the ignition and fuel check out, take a look at the valves. Start it up with the valve cover off, make sure all the valves are opening, check for broken springs, bent push rods, badly worn rocker bushings, check the valve lash. Even though the head was just worked, these problems could still be an issue.
 

Have you double checked that rotor points to wire to #1 when #1 piston is nearing top on compression stroke?
 
Common distributor problems with those were worn shaft bushings that allow the shaft to move side to side, causing the point gap to change. Also the centrifugal advance would rust in place, preventing the timing from advancing as RPM increase.

Be weary of new points and condenser, the quality is not what it used to be. If serious about working this tractor, an electronic conversion kit is a good investment. Electronic kits are also more forgiving of worn bushings.
 
Are the sparkplug wires correct? I know on the Fords 2 wires can be crossed and will run like that, easy check. joe
 
I want to thank everyone that offered information regarding the problem with my TO20. I have a lot of things to try to get her up and running.
I will send a post saying what the fix was once I find the fix.
 
Very good suggestions below. I will add that lean mixture causes random backfire also. Could be caused by air leaks between carb and head,cracked manifold,warped manifold to head surface. Lean also caused by restricted fuel flow either to carb or through carb/passages/orifices/jets depending on type carb. Does it change when choke is applied? I believe there is a little filter/screen in the little elboe where fuel line goes into carb. Hope you find it.
 
If you used cheap points in the tune-up, that could be your problem. I have a To20 and the symptoms you describe are exactly what I experienced the last time I changed points. I replaced them with BlueStreak points and everything was back to normal running. Just a thought............
 
I found my problem that was causing the backfire and no power with my TO20.
The firing order is 1342. I started with cylinder 1 and went clockwise. On mine you have to go counter clock wise.
After we found the problem and did the fix it's running great.
I want to thank everybody that offered a suggestion as to what to look for to fix the problem.
 
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