Super C Idle Flutter

DanMD · Jun 20, 2015

I just bought a '51 Super C with a belly mower. I've never had a gas Farmall before and am a newbie. This tractor runs great under a load while mowing and seems to have good governor response based on everything I've read on this site. My problem is the tractor has a random flutter anywhere in the idle RPM range that is random and is occurring every few seconds. I have replaced everything from the plugs back to the distributor, this didn't change the flutter. After searching this site, I checked my distributor shaft for side play and found between 1/32" and 1/16" side to side play.

Is this the likely source of my idle flutter? If so, are there rebuild parts around for these and is it an easy task for a average wrench?

Thanks,
Dan

MikeJM · Jun 20, 2015

Is it a flutter or is it the governor surging? The timing could contribute to it, but most Super C's I've run at home have very sensitive governors and will hunt for stable rpms if the load on the engine changes even slightly.

Janicholson · Jun 20, 2015

Possibly, put a rubber band on the shaft sideways to keep it to one side if that helps, a new bushing may be needed. A check of the linkage to the carb for any play at all is also important. Setting the idle mix and speed might also help settle it down. Jim

pete 23 · Jun 20, 2015

I you have a timing light I would hook it up. I bet that you will see the timing bouncing back and forth and also way over advanced at low idle. When the distributor shaft and weights wear timing jumps around and they over advance at low speeds. A good distributor advance , with ign static timed to top dead center, will stay very close to that top dead center mark when running low idle and will advance the timing in a nice even curve up to max advance which should occur just before full throttle speed. Easy to make a few chalk marks on flywheel for reference as there is only one factory mark , that being tdc. Also, there being at least five different advance distributors it is hard to tell what you have. A 30 degree advance would be very close to correct on most C's depending on pistons and head.

DanMD · Jun 20, 2015

Should the distributor have two different rate springs on the weights?

DanMD · Jun 20, 2015

(quoted from post at 21:04:52 06/20/15) Should the distributor have two different rate springs on the weights?

Alright, I may have found my problem. One of the springs was different and did not quite hold the weight tight to the shaft. I have another distributor off of a "C" and it had two matching springs. I stole those and put them in this distributor. I see the "SUPER C" distributor has a 30 degree advance plate in it and the "C" has a 40 degree plate.

What do you lube the weight shafts with? I used a drop of "Break Free".

I'll start this up tomorrow and see what happens.

Thanks,
Dan

Super C Idle Flutter

DanMD

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Janicholson

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pete 23

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DanMD

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DanMD

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