IH 340 sputters then dies

Hello all new here to the forum!

I have a 61 ih 340 utility tractor. It fires right up when cold and once she warms up she starts to sputter and then die.

The tractor is 12(alternator) has new coil, plugs,condensor, points.

The carb looks pretty rough but a filter is installed after the fuel bowl. it also appears to have new fuel lines.

does this sound like a fuel problem or still something in the ignition?
 
Very simple trouble shoot then parts NEVER the other way around. Fire it up and run it till it dies. Then the moment it dies check for spark. Make sure it is a nice Blue/white in color and will jump a 1/4 inch gap at all plug wires. If you have spark then check gas flow by pulling the carb drain plug and let it flow a few minutes. Catch it to look for dirt/rust/water in the fuel. By the way an in line filter is also likely to hurt you since most are made for system with a fuel pump and your tractor does not have a pump. If it where my tractor I would throw the thing as far as I could. You also might try pulling the gas cap off. Listen close for air coming or going out either of which say the tank vent is clogged. It should have a vented cap which can clog and cause that also
 
More likely fuel. Every time I have had a coil go bad when hot it just dies like you cut the switch off. Same with condenser. I agree completely with old except I have inline fuel filters on most of the tractors I use. Pretty easy to disconnect downstream of the fuel filter and see how fast fuel will flow into a can. If the fuel filter is plugged, replace it. If you throw it as far as you can you'll probably hit it with a mower later.

I never have cleaned a fuel tank. I put an inline fuel filter in the system and run them. After several tank fulls of fuel the rust gets shook off and the sediment bowl stays clean. I've done this on at least twenty tractors.

My worst fuel problem was a C. It would run rough then finally die when working. After a few minutes it would start and run fine. Only by trying to drain the carburetor quickly upon dying could I determine it was a fuel issue. There was a ring of fibers floating in the bottom of the fuel tank and occasionally would settle around the fuel outlet. Fished it out with a wire.
 

The coil is warm when it dies but not hot. It also is brand new. I'll check spark?

Fuel appearing clean does steadily drain from the carb drain plug.

What is the oil looking capped resivoir attached to the back of the distributed? And what does it need to be filled with.
 
That little cap thing is the distributor oilier and you put a few drops of plain old oil in it
 
Yes in line filters can work if this is the big thing they are made for a gravity flow system and 99% of the ones I have thrown away to get a tractor running for some on where the ones made for a car or truck with a fuel pump
 

Ok thanks it looked like it held a lot of oil. I thought it was a spark issue but replaced coil and that didn't fix the problem
 
Steadily drain? You should be getting a full stream. Does the choke help? If the fuel cap vent is not plugged, you may need to put a monometer on the carburetor to witness fuel level while using the tractor. (plastic tube from carburetor drain to a level above the fuel tank. The gas will flow into the tube until it shows you the level inside the carburetor. If it drops when the tractor sputters you know you are running out of fuel regardless of the cause and regardless of how fast it recovers after the tractor stops.)
 
About 99.9% of the time a coil is not bad they almost never go bad. In all the cars/trucks and tractor I have only had 2 that I can remember go bad. 1 was in an old VW bug I had that was 6 volts but I had a 12 volt battery in it. I left the key on one time and the coil exploded. Sounded like a shot gun going off. And the second one was on a ford 841 I have and it would run fine for about and hour then die. It now has a Chev coil on it form a 1969 pickup
 

So probably a fuel issue? If I check this as stated above, does this mean I need to rebuild carb? And why would it only die when it warms up?
 
That is why I say check the spark when it dies. Things like a clogged cap vent can cause that as can a bad ignition switch.
 
By the way the flow out of the carb drain plug needs to be a good steady flow that will fill a pint jar in about 5 minutes
 
NO, you check the spark when it dies then the gas flow. Never try to check gas flow on a running engine.
 
(quoted from post at 15:05:09 06/20/15)
When checking spark there appears to be little to no spark with a grounded plug?

I found the condenser inside with the points had a broken wire replaced that and no change. Fires right up, 5 minutes gets warm and starts to sputter and run like crap then dies,

I'll check spark now
 
Does it start right after it dies? or does it need a cool down period?

Check for cracks in the manifolds.
Our 706 was doing that for a while recently. When it got warm working(started missing), stop and let it idle for a time and go again. We put a washer on the bolt across where a flange was cracked off. It works good now, hopefully till a new manifold comes in.

Another thing to keep in mind is what type of fuel you have. I might get in trouble for saying this and I don't want to start a fight, but I'll say it any way. Go find some NON-ethanol fuel, if you don't run it already. Drain the tank and carb, dump in the other "clean" fuel and see what happens. If your problem goes away its was the fuel.

A few years back got in a bad batch of fuel in from the supplier, all the tractors acted up. Went to town and got the non-ethanol blend, and went through the method above, the problem cleared up. Talked to the driver(from supplier) the next time he was out. He agreed it was the ethanol in the fuel, and also said it wasn't just us that was having problems with it(ethanol) in the area.
 

It still will not restart after it dies. The tractor will idle for a while but once you go to drive it under power is when it starts to sputter and die.

Example yesterday day started tractor in the morning and immediately started to drive it up hill to the garage abou 200 yards away. Barely got to the house when it started sputtering and died.

This is recent to. I bush hogged for about 45 minutes a few days ago and all the sudden thie spent tearing started happening
 
So if it cools down it will start again. That still leads me to think its the fuel. Try a few different blends(ethanol/not)/octanes. The worse case it don't help any and you have a few extra gallons on hand.

Maybe check flow into the sediment bowl/filter as well as out of carb. Going up the hill maybe dumped a lot of stuff right on top of the passage way. When it goes for a while; enough small stuff gets in then it slowly clogs the line and that small passage into the bowl. This could prevent the immediate start. We have to pull the lines off a few times once in awhile and blow back (all the junk) to clear a steady flow again into the bowl. That vent hole may be small but stuff still gets in, as well as when adding fuel.

If it does it only its under load(to fast up hill, tough spot when mowing) try stopping then tapping the governor linkage when it start to sputter. If that clears it the governor is jammed/sticking.

I can't think of anymore ideas off hand(after these) right now. Try the various things already suggested(one at a time) and let us know the results.
 

Ok I think I've got everything narrowed down, electrical and spark are fixed!

I don't know how to check manifold?

Had tractor idling for 30 minutes today no issues but under power it starts to sputter stop tractor and everything seems fine? So I'm assuming I've got a fuel issue.

When I checked carb drain plug the fuel leaks out at a steady rate but it's definitely not pouring out
 
My 340U had similar a similar problem, but it would stay running with the choke closed about half way.
Long story short, after tearing my hair out and having the carb off about half a dozen times, it turned out that the manifold bolts were finger tight.. I checked for a leak with ether and it didn't make any difference, but when I tightened the bolts, the problem was solved.
CHeck it out, and get ready to possibly buy an intake gasket.
 
I would try taking the carb. off and take a part and clean and blow it out good to make sure there is nothing stuck in it.Then take sediment bowl off and do the same to
it and the lines also.I usually add a short extension tube to the sediment bowl so it is not getting the fuel from the bottom of tank anymore and also if you can add a
inline fuel filter.
 
To check manifold, start with obvious. Is it tight all the way and no cracks that could hamper the intake suction.

To go deeper to find a more exact spot. Take a unlit propane torch when sputtering and move it around where manifold meets head(or suspicious cracks),this being most likely spot(s)(gasket blown) . If tractor clears when passed over a spot there is the vacuum leak. If you cover the entire area, with no luck, this isn't your problem.
I haven't tried it but from what I read this method works good.

Did you try timing the fuel flow rate like old mentioned before (pint jar in 5min (or less))? If not a really good steady flow(yes nearly pouring out), the lines and passages ways are blocked.

Just blowing back(remove line at carb attach a short length of tubing(if needed) and blow) helps a lot. Be fore warned you will get a strong taste of gas doing this!!
 
(quoted from post at 16:13:17 06/26/15) To check manifold, start with obvious. Is it tight all the way and no cracks that could hamper the intake suction.

To go deeper to find a more exact spot. Take a unlit propane torch when sputtering and move it around where manifold meets head(or suspicious cracks),this being most likely spot(s)(gasket blown) . If tractor clears when passed over a spot there is the vacuum leak. If you cover the entire area, with no luck, this isn't your problem.
I haven't tried it but from what I read this method works good.

Did you try timing the fuel flow rate like old mentioned before (pint jar in 5min (or less))? If not a really good steady flow(yes nearly pouring out), the lines and passages ways are blocked.

Just blowing back(remove line at carb attach a short length of tubing(if needed) and blow) helps a lot. Be fore warned you will get a strong taste of gas doing this!!

Looks like I've got her going good! Not just have to figure out how to set timing! I use to have to do it all the time on my bronco, is it the same concept?
 
Timing is timing. All tractor/truck engines (that I can think of) have marks to indicate TDC. After that is the degree of offset per book. Use the light just the same. Then turn the whole distributor to advance/retard the spark. You can look through the search/archive pages to be sure.
 
After I rebuilt the carb, installed an ignition tune up kit, cleaned the fuel line the problem disappeared ! Now on to what's next
 

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