QuestionQUESTION: My Massy Ferguson 35, with the last use,began to run on fewer cylinders and drag down as it needed more power to do disking, etc. Now when I try to crank it, it will crank, but only runs a minute or less before cutting off all the while only spitting and sputtering on one or two cylinders. I have had the carburetor rebuilt, put new plugs, new condenser, and a new coil. It is getting the gas to the carburetor, but continues to do the - same,
won't run. Do you have a suggestion that might help?
ANSWER: Hello,
It is getting gas to the carburetor, but how much flow? Remove the fuel line from the carburetor, or remove the glass bowl under the tank and see how fast the fuel runs out of the tank. It has to run full stream, a small dribble is not enough to keep it running under load. If it doesn't run full stream, there is a restriction where it comes out of the tank. If the engine runs better with the choke part way out, it is starving for fuel, or there could be a vacuum leak. Check all the intake manifold bolts to make sure they are all tight, and squirt a little carburetor cleaner or gas around the area where the manifold attaches to the head. If it runs better when you squirt in a certain area, you have found the vacuum leak. But do this only when the engine is still cold so you don't risk starting a fire. If there is black smoke while it is spitting and sputtering, then it's running too rich and the air cleaner or intake pipe could be plugging up. You mentioned a new condenser, so I assume you put in new points also and gapped them correctly, and checked the timing. If not, you should. Also, the distributor cap or plug and coil wires could be bad. And make sure it is getting full voltage from the ignition switch to the coil.
Good luck,
Arnie
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Referring to the Massy Ferguson I asked about which won't run, your point was well taken about the replacing the points. New ones were ordered, but received the incorrect part. Now I have the correct new point set to replace the old ones. Can you tell me, please what is the correct gap setting for the points? By the way, the serial # for my MF 35 is 245428, made in the USA. I do not know the year
AnswerHello,
The points should be gapped to .019 to .020 inch with the engine turned so they are resting on the highest part of a cam lobe. Make sure your feeler gauge is clean and dry with no oil or grease on it. Check if the distributor shaft and cam can be wiggled from side to side. A slight amount of movement is OK, but if there is alot of side play, the point gap will fluctuate too much and can affect the performance of the engine.
Arnie
