Farm Widow

New User
8N has been idle for 5 years. Finally have $ to make repairs and I know nothing. Installed new Carb and Sediment bowl. It ran rough for a bit, but now running real rough, leaking fuel from drain (?)off of carb, and it lurches. Fuel tank has been drained. After reading articles on here I understand it's possible I don't know what model it, have no manual, and can't find model number. Really would appreciate some advice. Just want to get it running better.
 
Welcome to the forum! Check out [b:a1a61bf518]John Smith's[/b:a1a61bf518] great site to ID your tractor.
8N had two brakes on the right and four forward gears.
9N/2N had one brake on each side and three forward gears.
All had a flat head engine.

The most common problem I see with them is weak or no spark.
Points can be easily cleaned and burnished with card stock or a
piece of brown paper sack. No need to throw money at parts.
An adjustable gap spark tester is about $8 at the local car parts
stores and can be used on your lawn mowers, etc. too.
 
Thank you Royse. Have looked at John Smith's page numerous times. The 801 series 1955-1957 sure looks like the one I have. Will use your advice and replace plugs and work on the points. Getting ready to order belts, fan shroud. Think I will also order a service manual and if it isn't the right one, I can always return and get the right one. Guessing it would help if I post a picture and maybe someone can help me identify it.
 
If it is leaking gas from the carburetor when running you probably have a tiny bit of dirt stuck in the carburetor inlet needle that is holding it open or a float that isn't floating.
 
His ID page also shows you where to find the model and serial number
on each of the different models. They will tell you the model and year.
 
Your spark has to be pretty darn strong for your tractor to run the way it is supposed to. The spark should be able to jump a 1/4" gap in open air. There are two kinds of spark testers, and they are both pretty cheap: neon bulb and open air gap. The guys on here don't like the neon bulb type because it might mislead you, since it won't tell you if your spark is really strong enough. (They are right, but the neon tester will give you some indication of how hot your spark is by how bright it glows. The problem is that it will glow brightly even if your spark won't jump the 1/4".) I like to use a neon bulb tester in the daylight, and just to see if I have any spark at all. Sometimes it is hard to see the spark in an open-air gap tester in the bright daylight. If I have spark showing on the neon bulb tester, then I wait until dusk and see if it will jump the 1/4" gap in the open-air gap tester.
 

This is a good air gap tester that works.

SparkTester.jpg
 

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