tuneup time on 60# 6047500

Hi Guys,
With my 60 still not running since about 3 months ago when it DID run strong, I've started out my process of elimination by removing all the old gas & putting in new with stabilizer....still won't fire up. I've put new plugs in too. Once I saw the gas filling the bowl as I was cranking I figured it would fire soon....but no go...not even an inkling.
I've got some things I purchased that I never got a chance to put in but now will start doing so. I removed the distributor cap & was expecting to be looking straight at the points & condenser. Instead I was looking at a plate as shown in picture. I'm not familiar with this. I've replaced points on cars many times in the past when I was younger & we could actually do some of our own backyard mechanical stuff. Are the points directly behind that plate? I've got new points & condenser to put in but am curious what that plate is all about.
Thanks for any help. I'll try to keep posting with my progress as I eliminate possibilities. I guess my next step after either checking the points or replacing them & the condenser would be to put the new distributor cap, rotor on. Am I supposed to put the special electrical grease on the rotor end for better contact?

Arnie. The plate is called a dust cover. Remove the rotor and the cover will lift off. Install new points, condensor & rotor. Do not put grease on the rotor end as it will sling off & cause shorting problems. I recommend a new dist. cap plus spark plug wires. Wires should be solid core wire ones. I would remove what looks like electrical tape you have on wire ends. Just use the rubber dust boots for the cap & coil.

Before you remove every thing, turn ign on and see if you have fire at the points, if so it is either the COND or the CAP.Just to see if you can locate the prob and then change every thing any way.

Some recent ignition trouble on my 50 was caused by a bad coil. So you may need to include the coil in your search for trouble.

I"ll throw my usual 2 cents in -

First step - spray lots of starter fluid into the carb and try. If it doesn't work, try it several times.

if it runs at all (just a second even) - the electrical and timing side of things is probably ok - the best place to put your attention is on the carb.

If nothing - then focus on ignition - pull the plugs and look for good spark on each.

If you are getting spark - then you should check for compression in case a valve or two is stuck open. while you're at it - make sure the plugs are firing on the COMPRESSION stroke - common to put plug wires on backwards.

If no spark - good chance it's the points - where you have new ones anyways, I'd just sand the old ones in place real hard so you're SURE they're clean.

I'd type more, but I really think you'll have found the problem if you follow that path.

Arnie, your next best friend should be the service manual. Replacing ALL the ignition stuff is a good idea (the rotor looks like crap and I suspect the cap ain't too pretty). Hold off on the coil for a bit, they don't just fail too often. HTH

Carl i have actually had better luck with the automotive style silicone wires on the distributor fitted tractors. I use solids on the mag fitted tractors. Dont ask me why but silicones seem to work better for some reason.

Thank you y'all for your suggestions. I do have John Deere plug wires, new boots ready to go on....along with points, condenser. New coil too if needed. Need to swing by the dealer tomorrow cause I realized I failed to get a new rotor. Do have a new distributor cap too. Now all I need is the time to get back on it. I'll let y'all know how I make out. Sometimes it sure would be nice if when a person follows up on a subject like this it could be booted to the front of the forum without having to explain things all over again....but oh well !!!!
Thanks again. Might be a few days before I get back on it.

Had to order the rotor at the dealership. I also realized the new spark plug wires that I've had around for awhile doesn't have new caps in the bag....so ordered them too.

Will keep everyone here tuned in as things progress.

Arnie