how to start f 20

khouse6

Member
just bought f 20. know nothing about the levers, et.c . how do you go about starting one? it is serial no 1350 making it a 32 or 33. lever to the mag. is what i need help with. what does it do?
 
One lever is throttle. the other is spark control. IIRC,down is Off/Kill. up a bit is start/retard. Full up is full advnce.You really need an owners manual before you F@#% something up.Yourself,or the tractor.
 
Think your mag signals are backwards. The arm on the rear of the mag is up for off, slightly down for retard, all the way down for advance.

1) Transmission on neutral
2) Mag lever down 10-20% from full up.
3) Turn on the gas at the tank (make sure there is gas)
4) Throttle - - all the way forward is slow. Pull out 2-4 notches from dead slow.
5) Push in the crank while at around 6:00. Slowly pull up till it engages, then moderately snap it up to about 10:00, which should be past compression.
6) Pull the choke out for about 2 crank pulls, then push in to turn off.
7) Keep giving the crank a quarter turn as described above. Never try to wind it up like a toy.
8) Tractor starts, push mag handle all the way down to advance the spark.

Go play.

To stop the engine, lift the magneto lever all the way up.

This assumes all is well with the tractor. HIGHLY advise finding some old timer that is used to crank start tractors to help you out. Done wrong, you can get hurt really bad.

Best of luck !
 
Definitely need to find someone close with experience or read through the operators' manual
on any crank start tractors. When I get one I go through the timing myself before I attempt
starting even without a manual, its just good practice. If not that, crank defensively as if
it will kick anyway, just to be safe. Going through the timing and fuel system these tractors
had top shelf components and should never give a minute of trouble set properly, there is
nothing sadder than owning one of these great old machines and not being confident enough to
start and run them, many farmers in the day were not mechanically inclined enough to work on
them, that's where the history of "kicking" stories came from, some also just didn't take the
time to maintain them.
Congrats on your F-20, they are a great tractor.
 
I always admired the big F-30, in fact I saw one at an auction at fort Scott Harvest fiesta some years ago. It was being auctioned off, recently painted and refurbished. Big old handsome thing. I was going to bid, until somebody asked if it ran, and the man said sure I'll start it. BIG man. He put the hand-crank on, rolled up sleeves, and began to CRANK that old girl. And crank, and CRANK! I was really impressed, but it finally started, and I realized I ain't that much man. Just walked off, didn't even bid.
 
Pull all the plug wires off (make sure you know where they go back!) As noted, set the levers. Slowly pull the crank upward letting the compression bleed off (slow). when the
mag snaps, you will have a 1 in 2 chance of having TDC on #1 or #4. Because you went slooooow, and stopped when it snapped, it will show you where it is in relation to TDC. If it
is at TDC or a bit (half a mark) after, it is safe to put the wires on and start it. (the reason to pull the plug wires on an unknown tractor is to avoid suprizes from a failed
kill switch. Jim
 
Best way for you to start it is to have someone pull it, I always pull choke out with mag off, give it 4 turns, then turn mag half way down, with throttle 2 notches from slow. It will fire first crank after that. Being not familiar with one, pulling it is the best way, and you can play with mag lever and throttle as your going. And make sure you prime oil tray through tubes in top of valve cover first.
 
Good Job, Pete! I would add the following:
(1)Manually rotate the "Points Cover" up about 20 degrees. Push it all the way down after starting.
(2) DO NOT wrap your thumb around the crank. This will avoid a broken thumb if the tractor "Kicks" back. I can still hear my Dad's advice about my thumb very time I crank his F-20.
 
(quoted from post at 19:52:00 08/30/18) Pull all the plug wires off (make sure you know where they go back!) As noted, set the levers. Slowly pull the crank upward letting the compression bleed off (slow). when the
mag snaps, you will have a 1 in 2 chance of having TDC on #1 or #4. Because you went slooooow, and stopped when it snapped, it will show you where it is in relation to TDC. If it
is at TDC or a bit (half a mark) after, it is safe to put the wires on and start it. (the reason to pull the plug wires on an unknown tractor is to avoid suprizes from a failed
kill switch. Jim

thanks
 

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