TO30 timing

I've watched the site for a long time, so I think I understand how it works. I have a problem that I have not seen listed in the current issues, nor in the archives. here goes

I have a TO30. Worked for my dad since new. I got it years ago, had it rebuilt.

The mechanic brought it to me. Cranked, ran fine. I used it about 8 hours, fuel fowled. Drained tank, cleaned it, all ok. Worked great. Them about 4 hours later, it would run fine, run fast, run slow. I looked at the distributer, it was totally lose.

Not being the tractor genius I thought I was, I picked it up (distributer). Came out nicely I might add.

I have the manuals, I have all the old post. I have done everything they all say, get to compression, get to 6 degrees, put the cap on pointed to number one cylinder. my poor little wife has spent hours on that manual crank getting everything to line up. But it doesn't start.

I'm about ready to get a mechanic, but I know I can do this.

Question is: on a new assembly, how did they do the timing for the first time? No marks on where you took it apart. From Scratch?

I appreciated any suggestions. I know I'm a pretty good engineer, at least they retired me from that. But this just frustrates the heck out of me.

Are you sure you're using # 1 cylinder for checking Compression?Check rotation of engine by engaging starter momentarily,bring # 1 cyl. up to compression,actually just before top dead center,install the dist.
with the rotor pointing at # 1 cyl spark plug lead on the dist.drop the dist in till it seats all the way down.put the hold down clamp on so you can still turn the dist. as you are cranking it over,some times
you may have to move it CW or CCW a little to obtain the correct firing position.If you were close to Northern Ill. I would drive over and help you,I've done Hundreds of engines all are similar.Hope this
helps,someone else may explain it better.

Forgot to say that # 1 is the cyl. closest to the radiator dist. turns CCW and the firing order is 1342.

I r emgin-eer. (Not really, but the wife is.) Her funniest story ever was taking a world cruise with her mother
and girlfriend, many years before we got married, and wound up in a taverna in Greece. The local youngsters
asked them what they did for a living and when the wife said she was an engineer, both guys got an astonished
look on their face and said, "YOU drive trains??"
Emgin-eer. The glass is neither 1/2 full, nor 1/2 empty. It's the wrong size container.
Hope this made you smile. I have more....
As for the '30, You already have one response. #1 cylinder is towards the front of the engine.
(Unlike Peugot who puts #1 at the rear of the engine or Saab who drops the engine in backwards, again putting
#1 towards the rear of the vehicle.)
You can statically adjust the timing marks to 6 degrees, I have done it in the past and once running still
needs a timing light to dial it in. Setting it to TDC works a bit better in my experience.
What are the chances you have no spark? Hmm? New points you say? I remember new points at time being glazed
over and would not spark. Wire going to the points grounded out at the distributor entry hole? Inside the dist?
Grab the volt mete if your so inclined and check voltage on the ground side of the coil with points open and
closed. Closed should be close to zero. You might also have a faulty new condenser. I just went through this
entire game with a Ford Gold Demonstrator. Napa sells quality ign parts if your's prove to be a bit off.
So, stick the dist in the hole and check your voltages and for spark.
Have fun!

Don't give up, you can do this, it's really simple once you've done it.

Go back through your procedure for finding #1 on compression. I like to do my own turning of the engine, that way I can feel the compression and know just when to stop. A wrench or channel locks on the crank bolt works well.

Once you've got the engine on compression and the timing mark aligned, hold the distributor housing in the position you want it to be. Look at the position of the rotor, get it toward the #1.

Now, take a closer look at the rub block on the points. Envision the distributor shaft turning CCW. Set the cam lobe of the distributor so it is just coming in contact with the rub block of the points. You can feel the resistance and see where the points are just opening.

Without turning the distributor shaft, rotate the entire assembly slightly CW to compensate for the spiral of the gear. Seat the distributor fully, install the clamp nut hand tight, snug the clamp hand tight. The distributor is now in time, close enough. As long as you don't turn it more than a quarter turn, you can count on it being where it needs to be.

Now, to fine tune it. Connect the points wire to the coil, turn on the ignition, place the coil wire close to a metal surface. Rotate the housing a few degrees CCW until the points are closed. Then slowly turn the distributor CW until you see the points open. With the ignition on, you will see the points spark and hear the coil pop fire to ground. If you miss it, turn it back and try again. Once you get this set, tighten the clamp.

If you are sure the crank is in the right place, a few degrees before TDC, and on #1 compression, you can now KNOW the distributor is in the right place.

If it still won't start, move on to further trouble shooting.

Thanks for posting this. I am helping my brother-in-law with tuning up a 1953 Ferguson-Ford TO30. Despite buying the service manual for this, one thing that is absent from the manual is the cylinder order. Searching for that for the TO30 and for the Continental Z-129 didn't return an answer. So, the cylinders are number 1-2-3-4 from front (radiator end) to back (flywheel end), correct?

(quoted from post at 13:09:28 08/01/23) Thanks for posting this. I am helping my brother-in-law with tuning up a 1953 Ferguson-Ford TO30. Despite buying the service manual for this, one thing that is absent from the manual is the cylinder order. Searching for that for the TO30 and for the Continental Z-129 didn't return an answer. So, the cylinders are number 1-2-3-4 from front (radiator end) to back (flywheel end), correct?

Click to expand...

Welcome to the forums.

Yes, 1, 2, 3, 4 from the radiator towards the rear of the tractor.

You are best served to make a new post of your own. Identify your machine and fully describe the issues(s). This site uses two different views for viewing the forums. Modern View brings the old post to the top so one can see the entire topic. Classic view does not bring the old post to the top it stays where it was posted in the index. If you swap to Classic View you will see the only thing there is your post as a "Re." to the old post. Many here use Classic and don't bother with the off the wall ''Re.'s'', so you may lose the attention of some who give good advice.