I recently purchased a 1949 Ford 8N. The previous
owner repaired the hydraulics and converted to
electrical system to 12V with the alternator,
replaced spark plug wires, etc. Before I get to
the overheating, I had problems with it not
starting which I traced back to the coil not
making contact with the distributor. It had a worn
gasket which I replaced with one from this site,
but even with the the new gasket it does not make
good contact. If I want the engine to run, I have
to remove the gasket which I think is a little
dubious. Any suggestions?
On to the main problem. I"ve been trying to mow
some high grass with a 5" Deere bush hog and the
thing keeps overheating. First the block
temperature was getting to about 220 when coolant
would come out of the cap. It seemed the cap was
faulty and I replaced it. The old cap was faulty
as now it gets to a higher temp when it spews
coolant. I have recently installed a thermostat in
the top radiator tube (pointy side toward
radiator). I also have a rhythmic knocking
(sometimes squealing) sound coming from the
crankshaft pulley which wobbles a bit. It seems to
be the original pulley and the edge is warped
toward the engine block. I have read I can pry it
out (which I did after I disassembled everything),
but since I am going to replace the radiator (had
to cut the bolts off) and water pump, I thought
I"d just replace the pulley while I had everything
disassembled. Finally, the belt with the
alternator set up deflects about 1", maybe more.
Definitely more than I think is reasonable, but I
can"t move the alternator farther away to tension.
Is this typical of 12V set ups? Could this be why
the thing is overheating? I have a replacement
belt from this site designed for the alternator
and it seems to be the exact same belt currently
on. The old belt doesn"t seem worn much at all.
The fan and pump definitely spin, but I can"t tell
if it is slipping to some extent. Is there
something else I should be doing? I"m not positive
the water pump is bad - is there a way to
determine this with it off the tractor?
Thanks for any help you can give me. I don't necessarily want to replace everything, but on the other hand I don't want to mow for 5 minutes and then have to keep ripping it apart every weekend to save $30-40.
owner repaired the hydraulics and converted to
electrical system to 12V with the alternator,
replaced spark plug wires, etc. Before I get to
the overheating, I had problems with it not
starting which I traced back to the coil not
making contact with the distributor. It had a worn
gasket which I replaced with one from this site,
but even with the the new gasket it does not make
good contact. If I want the engine to run, I have
to remove the gasket which I think is a little
dubious. Any suggestions?
On to the main problem. I"ve been trying to mow
some high grass with a 5" Deere bush hog and the
thing keeps overheating. First the block
temperature was getting to about 220 when coolant
would come out of the cap. It seemed the cap was
faulty and I replaced it. The old cap was faulty
as now it gets to a higher temp when it spews
coolant. I have recently installed a thermostat in
the top radiator tube (pointy side toward
radiator). I also have a rhythmic knocking
(sometimes squealing) sound coming from the
crankshaft pulley which wobbles a bit. It seems to
be the original pulley and the edge is warped
toward the engine block. I have read I can pry it
out (which I did after I disassembled everything),
but since I am going to replace the radiator (had
to cut the bolts off) and water pump, I thought
I"d just replace the pulley while I had everything
disassembled. Finally, the belt with the
alternator set up deflects about 1", maybe more.
Definitely more than I think is reasonable, but I
can"t move the alternator farther away to tension.
Is this typical of 12V set ups? Could this be why
the thing is overheating? I have a replacement
belt from this site designed for the alternator
and it seems to be the exact same belt currently
on. The old belt doesn"t seem worn much at all.
The fan and pump definitely spin, but I can"t tell
if it is slipping to some extent. Is there
something else I should be doing? I"m not positive
the water pump is bad - is there a way to
determine this with it off the tractor?
Thanks for any help you can give me. I don't necessarily want to replace everything, but on the other hand I don't want to mow for 5 minutes and then have to keep ripping it apart every weekend to save $30-40.