44 Massey surging then dies

stevev · Feb 24, 2013

I have a 49 massey 44 that recently started to surge after running for 20 minutes. It has gotten gradually worse and will only run for a few minutes and then not restart. I have cleaned the fuel filters, replaced fuel line, cleaned carb. It has good fuel flow. I changed the points, condensor, coil, rotor, plugs, and wires. Could this be a sign of a bad alternator or recitifier failing.

old · Feb 24, 2013

Charging system does not even have to work for it to run. Is your spark a good blue white and jumps a 1/4 inch gap or more??? Do you get a good steady flow of gas out the carb drain plug for at least 3 minutes?? Surging is commonly caused by a carb running to lean but throwing parts at it before you trouble shoot can/will cause you more troubles before you find the fix

J. Everett · Feb 24, 2013

It would be my guess that you have a spect of dirt in needle passages, power adjustment needle would be my first thought, or it could be sucking ice water in the air breather.

David G · Feb 24, 2013

Mine ices real bad at about 20 minutes. I have to pull the choke out to keep it running. It will idle fine, but not pull. It is OK if I let it run longer until the manifold heats up. I really thought it was running out of fuel, but it was ice.

mark49 · Feb 26, 2013

Steve have you made any progress yet? I'll take a stab too. Run it until it shuts down & won't restart. Take the gas cap off, wait a minute and try it again (not likely, but maybe the vent in the cap is plugged). If the tractor is now 12v w/neg. ground (you mentioned an alternator), is the coil too hot to touch when it stops? Make sure you are getting full voltage to the coil when it shuts down (12v to coil w/internal resistor, 8v to one w/external resistor). Hope this helps.
Mark

stevev · Mar 6, 2013

Posted an update, but it doesn"t seem to be here. I have the tractor running now. After the surging I popped a rear tire so decided to replace both as they were badly rotted. Then the starter went on the same day. Had to have the armature replaced. The problem with the surging was the shutoff valve. It was turning, but was not opening more than a crack. The tractor is overfuelling a bit, but at least it is running. I need to check the needles and seats in the carb, but that is minor.

stevev · Mar 6, 2013

Mine ices all of the time, even on warm days in the summer. It has never caused a problem before. I have posted an update today as it seems my last update did not post. Thanks for the input.

stevev · Mar 6, 2013

It turns out there was nothing in the carb. It is now overfuelling a bit which leads me to believe the opposite of dirt, but maybe some needles that need replacing after having worn for a bit.

stevev · Mar 6, 2013

Trouble shooting is usually one of my better points, but not this time I guess. It was time to change a few parts anyway. I have posted a followup and I should have known it would be something simple. Thankfully the surging problem was simple. Should have used my own advice in life and "started at the start".

44 Massey surging then dies

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old

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