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Firing without a carb?

L

levsmith

Member
Hi all, I picked up a project tractor a while back and will be starting to work on it here soon. It's an old Ford 3400 with a FEL and backhoe. I got the tractor in pieces, the head had been rebuild right before the previous owner had a heart attack so now I have a big puzzle. Anyways, on to my question. The previous owner said he took the carb in to be rebuilt and was told it couldn't be, so the carb is now in pieces and I'm sure they aren't all there. Since I have never heard this run I am a little hesitant to start buying replacement parts until I know it will at least try to fire. Is it possible to get it to at least try to fire without a carb? Since it seems the carbs for these are a little pricey, I would prefer to at least hear it fire or spit, something, before I spent the money on the carb. Thanks for your expertise!
 
you probably could with ether ,. but you wont prove REALLY anything , as long as motor willcrank over . get the carb fixt rite ,..a rotten carb is like having a baler that wont tie ,.mite need just a little help from the masters hand
 
Spritz a bit of gas into the intake manifold while cranking......be careful, be very
careful.....Ben
 
I have a little oil squirt can from tsc
with gas in it. Use it a lot.
Especially for ORV's, but I have used
it on a few tractors. Pull the plugs
and put a squirt or 2 in each cylinder.
You could put more but with no carb it
will be running full throttle, just
like if the carb were wide open.
 
Friend of mine drove his snowmobile without a carb by squirting an oil can with gas in it into the intake ports.....worked great until he got a bit too close to the port, and the piston sheared off the end of the oil can's spout. Ben
 
Awesome, that's what I hoped to hear! Never thought about it running wide open, makes sense though and I'm glad you mentioned it! Thanks everyone
 
You never know who he took it to either.
They may have been a shady guy. Before
chucking it, try a reputable rebuilder. If
they is junk, then probably is.
 
You can do it, but it is going go crazy until it runs out of fuel with no throttle. It will be wide open and no governor to hold it back. Be careful.

Greg
 
Like the other said it will work. Have a piece of tin handy to slide over the carb hole to throttle the air intake down a bit. Have a fire extinguisher handy.
 
Heck yeah! Can of cheap carb cleaner. Crank the engine, and aim the spritz end at the intake manifold. It'll run like crazy since there's no throttle plate!

Smarter thing to do is to put the carb back on with a throttle hooked to the governor. Crank the engine and spritz into the carb inlet. It'll run even better as the carb cleaner(fuel inj cleaner) is atomized past the venturi, and the governor controls the RPM.

I've run engines for a few minutes on a can of carb cleaner with modulated spritz of carb cleaner.
 
I had an old 216 Chevy last summer that the carburetor was really gunked up. Without the carburetor installed I dropped a little gas into the intake manifold and cranked it. After it fired I put some gas into a pop can and had good control dribbling gas into the intake. It didn't backfire. If it backfires you could get burned.
 
the engine speed will be determined by how much fuel you spray into the manifold you can get an engine to just run above idle by spraying the mixture according the more you spray the faster it well run
 
What are the chances none of the intake valves are stuck open? Spraying gas into an open manifold on an engine that hasn't run for years sounds like a recipe for a backfire and subsequent engine fire.
 
I never thought of that. That sounds like a really good idea as you can regulate it some and even turn it off.
 
Propane is better of the ideas, because you don't leave liquid anywhere to burn after it stops or won't run or backfires and you can control speed with propane valve. I drove this old Tracker all over my place, using the propane tank valve as my throttle. amazing how well this works! Have run my IH combine this way, too.
 
Do not do that with any product containing chlorine. it makes radically strong nerve gas (Phosgene) deadly. Jim
 
I use a quart oil bottle with a 1/4 inch tube sticking out of the cap, it allows me to dribble a consistent amount. If the engine backfires
there is little fire danger as the container is sealed. I always use mixed chainsaw gas so the top of the engine is being lubricated, and
most engines that you are trying to start are all dried up.
 
Hi, I know the propane idea works good. I had a
Case 530 construction king loader backhoe. It had
the 188D motor. I was digging a water line for a
new house from house to street and when I got
close to the street connection the motor started to
rev right up.I pulled the shut off knob but didn't
stop the motor, then I smelled Nat gas. I had pulled
the line out of the dresser sleeve. I just drove it out
of the way from the natural gas and drove a
wooden plug in the dresser sleeve to stop the gas.Ed
Will Oliver BC
 
I used a propane weed burner with the head off to start an old MG that had set for 20+ years. I controlled the propane while my assistant turned the key. I could control the speed of the engine by controlling the flow of propane. It backfired once so I just stopped the propane. It works great. I have used this on other projects too.
Tim in OR
 
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