9N lack of power

I have a really great 9N with front end loader, I have a rake, blade and brush hog. It had been a great workhorse and fun to operate. In June I lost power while dragging a road to get rid of ruts and had to shut it down while I was away. So here in October I had the carburetor rebuilt, new plugs, points and plugs, changed the oil and filter. It now idles better but dies when I lower the blade after a short distance. I can drive around the block, but when I put down the blade under even light pressure it just dies, no guts. It is old, but the cylinder pressure is around 90 so that is pretty good. Just very poor response when I give in more throttle, like the carburetor is flooded, spark plugs very black...hum, any suggestion or recommendations to solve my problem....thanks, I need a helping hand........

One common thing that happens when some one tunes up a front mount distributor system like the 9N is getting the firing order wrong and that means 2 cylinders not firing so lack of power. So are all 4 plugs black?? Are they black and sooty or black and oily?? When was the last time you serviced the air cleaner and dumped the mud and water out of it

In addition to what Old said, did you adjust the carb per the manual?

I did a basic carb clean with no success so I took it into a local tractor shop. They put in a new carb kit points, plugs and condenser , hopefully they did it by the book, but who knows. Would you recommend I check the manual? very poor response when I give it more throttle .... Thanks

I will check the plugs tomorrow, and let you know. The one I took out was very black and sooty. The problem started before I took it in to the shop and hopefully the mechanic got it firing order right, the plug wires look good. I did service the air filter, changed the oil and all looks good......

Another overlooked thing on these is the ballast resistor. My experience shows they will usually idle, possibly speed up if done slowly, but have no power, or require choke under power.

One item that gets overlooked is the air filter. Make sure the piping to the carb is clean/open and that the oil in the cup isn't overfull. That'll make it run rich. Make sure the inlet screen up top is clear too. Hope this helps.

Might try a test run with the air cleaner tube disconnected. There is a wire mesh up inside the canister that periodically needs cleaning, also could be a bird, mouse or mud dauber nest inside.

While the tube is off, if you suspect the carb is flooding, look for dripping fuel when the engine is off. A few drops after it is shut down is normal, but it shouldn't continue to drip sitting with the fuel valve open. Also check that the choke is fully opening.

Do you know if it has the correct heat range plugs? If they are black, they may be too cold. If they are correct they should burn off clean once it is running right, but a new set will help in the meantime. Are the points set properly and the centrifugal advance working? Look the distributor over for side play in the shaft. Any play will change the point setting and cause erratic performance.

Is the thermostat installed and working?

Once you are satisfied everything is good, do the carb adjustment.

With the engine up to operating temperature, the idle speed around 450-500 RPM, adjust the idle mixture. This is the small screw up on the top by the bolt flange. Turning it out leans the mix, in richens it. Back it out until the engine stumbles, then slowly in to best idle, then ever so slightly in about 1/16 turn.

Next adjust the main mix, the larger screw on top of the bowl cover. Turn it in to gently seat, then back out 1 turn. To adjust, you want to lean it until it stumbles on sudden acceleration. Turn the screw 1/4 turn in, open the throttle a fast as possible. If the engine hesitates, start backing the screw out 1/4 turn at a time, repeating the test until it will take full, sudden throttle without hesitation. A single puff of black smoke is the target.

If the carb doesn't respond to adjustment, there could be a problem inside, like float level wrong, clogged passages, etc. The carb is simple, field serviceable. Don't be afraid of it. Lots of info online for servicing it.

One more thing to check, the governor response.

With the engine off, throttle lever in the fast position, the throttle plate should be wide open.

With the engine running at idle, quickly move the lever to full speed and watch the throttle. It should go wide open then return to governed speed.

We had an 87 GMC truck that acted similar, turned out to be a cracked distributor cap. I was told later that a quick temporary fik is to spray the inside of the cap with WD40, wipe out the excess. It displaces the water in the crack that you can't see.

Interesting, I had to go on line and watch a video to understand how the ballast resistor works. I see I can check it, it should be 8 to 9v going to the coil......stay tuned.....

Thanks Phil, I will take off the air filter and pipe and make sure everything is clean and open. We do have a problem here in NM with wasp/mud jackets....they build mud nest everywhere.......

Interesting, thanks Steve, also had to look this up online to understand how it works. This could be the problem and will do your test. Before I had the problem I would start the motor on the first notch on the throttle then with each advance of a notch the rpm's would go up, now I go maybe 5 notches before rpm's go up, does this have something to do with the governor?

Thanks again, took awhile to write it all down. Will test run with air filter off. I just got the tractor back from a tractor mechanic who did a tune up, new plugs, points, condenser, carb rebuild, oil and filter. He said he spent a lot of time on the carb adjustment and got it running pretty good. It was when I put the tractor under a load it just pooped out and quit.....so he did not fix the problem. I will check the plugs and see what I got.......some other advise and recommendation I will check. I get very poor response with the throttle.......not sure why........

Thanks Russ, I will check the cap, I just had the distributor worked on and hopefully the mechanic would have noticed, but easy to check. I was hoping it would be a easy fix, but hope to track down the problem..
Thanks again.....

Take a look at these
Bruces Tips

Great tips, the tip on the governor seems to fit. I can get the engine to idle but as i increase the throttle I got no response for maybe 4 to 5 notches on the throttle. I will go do the test. The arm on the governor also seems to have a lot of play in it....thanks

I want to thank everyone for their recommendations. I have done all the test: pulled the plugs, front two were pretty clean, back two were black and fuzzy. Adjusted the carb best I could by using techniques given to me, but engine not running must past mid rpm's, could not find a ballast resistor or coil, checked air filter and all is good, no change when running the engine with air filter disconnected, could not tell if the governor is working properly, however when I had throttle at full open with the engine off the governor arm was full open, could not get engine to full speed, could get the rpm's up by throttling up very slowly, saw no problem with the rotor or distributor cover or body. Will check governor based on Bruce's Tip....Open for more suggestions.......thanks

Yes, if something is different, it may not be getting full throttle or proper response.

Have you checked the spark quality at the plugs?

Should be able to pull each wire, one at a time running, get a 1/4" blue hot spark to ground.

If you couldn't find the coil, it must be a front mount distributor. The coil is inside the upper cap.

To service it, remove 2 bolts and the whole distributor comes off. It will only go back on one way, so you can't get it out of time.

Ballast resistor is in the dash tower. If still 6V, should be 4v at the coil when running.

On all 9-2- and early 8N Ford the coil is actually a part of distributor as it is a square box that sets on top of the distributor housing and is fastened on with a wire bail that flips up and snaps into notches on top of the coil. And the resistor is a funny looking thing fastened on the front side of dash about 3" from ameter. And I have my resistor bypassed because I found out it was what was making my 2N, same as a9N only made during the war, die on me. And I have found that it starts better and runs better without it and it does not burn the points as some say it will.

I think that Old has a good idea. We used to change the spark plug wires on the Jeeps in the late 50's and then watch the guy try to get it to move. It would start quite well, idle fairly decently, but as soon as he tried to move, it would die. Those old Ford N's with the front mount distributor would probably do the same thing if the two back wires were changed at the distributor.

(quoted from post at 13:33:26 10/04/18) Those old Ford N's with the front mount distributor would probably do the same thing if the two back wires were changed at the distributor.

Click to expand...

Easy to switch wires at the 3 - 4 plugs to check this theory, if the wire are long enough.

Ok will check the spark, got new plugs, the distributor has been serviced this week....so should be good....Thanks for you suggestions

Interesting, While I have been searching for a Governor replacement part, I have come across a lot of other dialogs by 9N owners with the same issues, but have not really head of a great fix.

Does anyone have a source for a 9N governor model #9NA?

Thanks I will check to see if the wires are right, I got the firing order to the cylinders . Is the firing order indicated on the distributor cap? Do you know if it is common for the plug wires to go bad. I guess when I test the spark I will find out. Any other wire test you know?

I want to thank everyone for all your suggestions. I was out of town for awhile, but wanted to let you all know the results of my efforts to get the 9N running again. After testing and checking everything numerous times, I sought the help of a talent that knows tractors, after rechecking everything again, must have had the carb off 10 times, the mechanic got new plugs and spark plug wires, got the gap right on and that was it. The tractor never has run so good and strong. The oil pressure is up over 20 and all is good....