A few H carburetor rebuild questions....

Mornin' All.

I know that most of this has been discussed in some way, shape or form, and I did some searching to try and get answers, but I couldnt really find what I needed. I know a bunch of you guys know lots more about this than me, so I hope you can help.

As part of my previously mentioned H saga (I have two), one is out for the count until I can pull a sleeve and piston. The other fired right up, but ran like crap, and just got worse as it sat. So, I pulled the carb off of the stuck H, and put it on the running one, and it runs like a top (sorta, but thats for another post....)

Im in the process of rebuilding the other carb. It had all sorts of crud in it, and I just figure that something is blocked up in there somewhere. I was able to do a full teardown on it last night with the exception of the main jet (didnt even see it in there behind the packing) and the venturi (stuck tight). I know I should be able to heat the casting to get the venturi out, but I may soak it first to see if that helps. But I do have several other questions....

1. Has anyone ordered anything from McDonald Carb & Ignition before? They have a "premium" rebuild kit that comes with a throttle shaft with the brass connector on the end. Its about $40, and Im considering jumping on it. (Also looking at the IH one, and the one that Rusty has, which I am guessing is the TISCO kit?)

2. Everything I have read says to use compressed air on the carb to blow it out. I have compressors, Im just curious, what do you all use for nozzles? I was thinking of using an inflation needed for a basketball.

3. I would like to paint the casting once I have it all cleaned up. What color did these come originally? Just bare metal? And what do you use to plug all the holes if you dont want to paint the adjustment screws?

4. (Last one, honest) Do most of the rebuild kits include the ball and spring that goes behind the lever on the choke shaft? I found the ball when I took the carb apart, but no spring...

Thanks in advance for any help!

1. Never heard of McDonald Carb. I have had great success with my bead blaster and the better kit found at my local TSC store. There are two and the better one includes the main jet packing. I believe it is a TISCO product.

2. A rubber tipped nozzle came with an assortment bought for me years ago as a Christmas present. It has a larger hole than the inflation needle and will give you better velocity. Use caution and eye protection!

3. The carbs were painted red with the rest of the tractor at the factory. You'd better use a lot of hardener in your paint if you expect it to stay that way for a long time. Now, if you like the brassy stuff to show, you could swap parts from the other carb until you are finished painting, or what I'd do: carefully mask them.

4. I have not found either a ball or spring in any of the kits I've purchased. If you accidentally launch the ball into the nether regions of your shop/garage, a common BB is very close in size and works fine.

Clark, the spring is in there. You can't see it because the hole is packed full of dirt and rust.

Thanks for the replies Rusty and Theman.

Any idea if the brass fitting works better in the long run than the nylon one? Im sure there are 1000's of machines out there of each type, but for a few dollars it looks like I can get the brass one which I would think is better? Then again, I want a made in the USA (or Canada) kit, and I dont know the origins of that one.

Paint is really just to stop rust, and will be from a rattle can, so no hardener. No parade duty any time for my machines. I just didnt want to paint over any of the adjustments, since I know how little adjusting they really do after that....

I have the rubber nozzle you mentioned somewhere. Ill give that a shot instead of the inflation needle.

Rusty, thanks for the info on the spring. I have the bottom half soaking in carb goo right now, so hopefully the spring will be visible tonight.

Any tips for pulling out the old packing?

Just get a small, sharp, pointed object and dig the old packing out bit by bit. There is no possibility that it will come out in one piece. A very small screwdriver is what I use. I personally inspect every kit I sell and trial fit all of the parts to a carb I keep on the bench just for that purpose.

I have rebuilt several carburetors that already had the nylon lever on the throttle shaft, and those carburetors were in steady use on working tractors for many, many years. There is not a problem with them.

(quoted from post at 15:29:08 07/09/10)

Just get a small, sharp, pointed object and dig the old packing out bit by bit. There is no possibility that it will come out in one piece. A very small screwdriver is what I use. I personally inspect every kit I sell and trial fit all of the parts to a carb I keep on the bench just for that purpose.

I have rebuilt several carburetors that already had the nylon lever on the throttle shaft, and those carburetors were in steady use on working tractors for many, many years. There is not a problem with them.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips Rusty. Ill give that a shot tonight. Im hoping to find the main jet behind the packing so I can pull it out and then put everything back in to soak for another night.

I think its great that you test all of your kits for fit and finish.... That may have just swayed my decision on where to get one. I am always leery of getting aftermarket parts after hearing horror stories. I know a lot of previous posts here on the boards said to always get an IH kit to avoid problems, but I know you have re-built enough carbs for folks here that you know what works and what doesnt.

Ill probably shoot you an e-mail sometime this weekend about combining shipping on a few things.

Just to add a little here, the main jet is driven in and you need to fashion a puller to remove it so "don't" pull it unless you have another to replace it with.

Wow, thanks Pete! I wasnt sure if it was driven or screwed in.

Since thats the case, Im just going to leave it alone. Ill soak in the carb goo and let that work its magic instead. Much thanks!

Leave that main jet right where it is. There is no need to remove it, and if you do, and mess it up, you'll be on a tough hunt to find a replacement because it is an obsolete part from Case-IH.