Trouble Starting TO-35

I'm sorry this is long but I was needing to elicit some advice. My 1958 TO-35 and I live in Oklahoma. We have had more than our share of rain lately. I haven't started the Massey in a while and I had to replace the battery. My storage is partially out of the weather but not completely. After 12" of rain in 5 days, I tried to start it. It made a gurgling sound and didn't start. I removed the oil sump from the air cleaner and it was full of water. I emptied it out and did not replace the oil. Drained the carburetor, added fresh gas to the tank, let some of that flush through, and cleaned the plugs. I also cranked it a little with each plug out to help get any water out. Lo and behold it started and ran good. I used it to get my driveway passable and put it away, still not refilling the oil in the air cleaner. Couple of days later, I went out and started it, shut it off, and refilled the oil in the air cleaner. Tractor would not start. I removed the oil bowl with oil in it and the tractor started. I replaced the bowl while it was running and it ran fine. Stopped it and it would not restart.

To make a long story short (a little late for that), it will start with the air cleaner oil bowl removed or empty but not with oil in it. I only have it about half full now with the same results.

I know I need to remove the whole thing and soak it in kerosene but work and fixing the flood damage to the house is taking most of my time right now.

Do y'all think cleaning the whole thing will cure my problem or is it something deeper?

Any direction anybody can give me will be much appreciated.

John

Just quick and dirty to get your emergency work done and not ruin the motor.

You have air filter tower problems, it needs to be soaked for hours, dried properly,
then recharged,

But you might buy a radiator water hose that will fit your carb air inlet, then buy a
small air filter that you can attach to the other end of your hose, tie it up, use it
till you get your emergency work done, this will insure your tractor is breathing good
clean filter air.

Then later properly clean your air filter, i have cleaned mine, TO35, it takes about two
days and five gals of kerosene to properly clean the air filter tower.

Let us know how it works out, if possible I would not take that wire mesh out of the air
filter tower, some say it's very hard to replace it, just let it soak for 10 hrs or so
in kerosene, then rinse it out with clean kerosene till it runs out clean, then set it
on a stump somewhere and let it drip dry, may take 24 hrs

My tractor ran better, I thought, after air tower cleaning, but it idles at 350-400 rpms,
runs great.

I DO NOT know if this idea will work, and I DO NOT know anything about the air filter tower, but I took my oil / wire mesh air filter assembly for my Farmall to the car wash and used the hot / soapy setting, and blew all sorts of crud out. I blew both ends, seemdt to work for me. Then used the hot / rinse to clear out the soap.

Thanks for the replies. Of course I moved the tractor out of the shed to work on it and it has rained more since then and now it won't start at all no matter what I do. If it ever quits raining when I am not at work, I will remove the tower and start with that and then try to figure out why I have no spark at the plugs. Again, thanks for the guidance.
John