Farmall Smta won't start

I'm calling in some help because me and my father in law are stumped on this Smta. We've got gas, sometimes too much, running out the bottom, but it stops when you stop cranking. We've got fire however it looks dim. Rebuilt the carb, cleaned it out. What are we forgetting? What can we try? This gas got us stumped, please advise.
 
Spark has to be a good blue/white and jump no less then a 1/4 inch gap no matter what to run. Also if you have gas running out the bottom of the carb you have a flood engine and poor spark and flooded do not mix. Clean and or replace the plugs and check/clean the points and be sure they are gaped as thy should be
 
With a S/MTA or any up draft carb you will have some gas dripping and sometiimes running out of the carb once you stop cranking it. Now first thing i would check is to make sure that the piston one #1 is at the top of the compression stroke and that the rotor is under #1 plug termial . also do a compression check on the engine and see what you have on all 4 cylinders . If the rotor is way off you may have and issue with a sheared key on the cam gear or even a broken cam gear. Also make sure that the distubtor is turning and that you have spark at the points and plugs. I don't know what is going on with the points today but for some reason they get a crust on them and they will not make contact. see this alot anymore , even seen new points out of the box that will not work.
 
Have you replaced the points & condenser? Are the plug wires in the proper order in the dist. cap? Is the rotor in place?
These engines aren't that critical it should run if you check the items mentioned by the others.
 
If you have a distributor make sure your battery is fully charged. Check the specific gravity using a hydrometer of each cell and write the readings down. Should see 1.280 on each cell.
If the battery voltage is dropping too low during
cranking you may not have enough battery voltage for the igniton. Hal
 
have you tried to clean the wire on starter at the push button i have had that happen to me was not getting a good connection from heating up may help
 
(quoted from post at 09:44:24 12/25/12) If you have a distributor make sure your battery is fully charged. Check the specific gravity using a hydrometer of each cell and write the readings down. Should see 1.280 on each cell.
If the battery voltage is dropping too low during
cranking you may not have enough battery voltage for the igniton. Hal

A volt meter while cranking would be the quick and dirty way around playin with battery acid.

Also, a good key to having too low of voltage is thwt the tractor starts when you let off the starter.
 
Agree with checking timing, check point gaps.

My old SMTA had sat for several years when I got it, cleaned carb, checked fuel flow, replaced points and condensor, checked valve opening & closing with rocker arm clearance, and it had spark at end of PLUG WIRES-to-ground, but wouldn"t hit a lick. Turned out All of the plugs would not fire. Replaced plugs and it is the absolutely easiest starting tractor I have ever had.
Best Wishes!
John
 
It's not too hard to rebuild the carb and still have amainn jet that the needle is not serating in or the float is pinholed or the hinge pin is loose. Keep "tinkering" on that carb until you solve the dripping gas.
Thne on to next problem if it doesn't start.
 
Low voltage won't tell you what what's causing the problem. Specific gravity will tell you quickly if you have weak or dead cell. Hal
 
(quoted from post at 19:33:54 12/25/12) Low voltage won't tell you what what's causing the problem. Specific gravity will tell you quickly if you have weak or dead cell. Hal

But it sure is a lot quicker and easier. Not to mention you are not playing with a very strong acid. It will also tell you if you need to look into the battery using your methods.
 
I'll stick with my method. I don't thnk you've been around batteries very much. We did a lot of cold starting on military vehicles. Some had 8 large batteries. Hal
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What's wrong with both?

Check battery voltage. If it's low you know you've got a problem. Investigate further by checking specific gravity.

Low voltage by itself will tell you whether or not a jump start or booster might help. At least you can get the tractor running to get the job done.

Specific gravity will tell you whether or not you need to replace the battery. That's something you do at the end of the day when you're finished with your work.
 
(quoted from post at 06:17:49 12/26/12) What's wrong with both?

Check battery voltage. If it's low you know you've got a problem. Investigate further by checking specific gravity.

Low voltage by itself will tell you whether or not a jump start or booster might help. At least you can get the tractor running to get the job done.

Specific gravity will tell you whether or not you need to replace the battery. That's something you do at the end of the day when you're finished with your work.

That's where I was headed...but I haven't been around batteries very much.
 
I forgot to say that El Toros hydrometer is a lot nicer than mine. Mine is just like a coolant one. A turkey baster looking things with floating balls.
 
Now we have bigger issues. We required and replaced the electrical system plugs wires wiring etc , got it going good and she started smoking a bit, then white smoke And oil in number one. It ran fine coming over here before we had the starter issues and no smoke but it looks like either the head or hopefully just the head gasket needs replaced.

Any insight ? FYI. I have replaced the head back in the summer it's a 450 hp head
 
Did you have the head checked for cracks? Did you retorque the head gasket after you warmed it up? How tight did you tighten the head?
 

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