Jubilee rotor play on distributor shaft

I'm new here and don't know if I'm
posting this properly, etc., and I've
written a small book here, so forgive me
if I've done it wrong...
My neighbor asked for my help with a
recently purchased Jubilee, it was
getting harder and harder to start and
running quite poorly once it did. The
fuel filters were clogged and the carb
was dirty...preventative maintenance had
long been neglected and it has a number
of issues throughout. Well, after the
the fuel and carb system was cleaned, it
still suffered the hard start problems
to the point that it was obvious to me
that something was still not right. And
i could tell even though the carb was
dialed-in good something else (like the
timing) was preventing it from being
perfect: it required such a rich mixture
to hold an idle that it led to fouling
plugs after maybe 3-5 minutes of idling.
I had noticed early that the rotor had
excessive play which prevented it from
indexing correctly and had gotten a
replacement thinking it was the rotor
itself was what was worn. Not so: the
new rotor had all that slop also, so i
thought maybe that's how it was supposed
to be (for reasons unknown) and went
back to focusing more on the carb's
missing poppet valve spring and maybe a
leaking gasket causing a vacuum leak.
When I eventually broke the old gasket
on the bowl he purchased a complete carb
kit and went back through it all again.
Now, even with the poppet valve working
properly, there was no significant
improvement to the cold start problem!
From there I've gotten back to this
rotor-index and all that play it has...I
did an experiment using a JB weld
plastic glue to situate the rotor in a
position close to original. It fired
right up with almost instantly with no
effort and pretty well purrs like the
proverbial kitten AS LONG AS IT'S KEPT
AT LOW THROTTLE (idle). Go past that and
she's spitting and choking and totally
unable to lift her head up. It was just
an experiment and not precisely done, so
I removed the rotor and cleaned off the
epoxy within a few hours while it was
still going to be expectable to do.
So I am left to think that (1) that slop
isn't normal, (2) someone went and
retarded the timing to compensate for
the slop, (3) the carb has to be run
rich in order to insure there's enough
fuel still available when the plug does
spark, and (4), my mechanical advance
can't adjust to accommodate higher
rpm's.
The play in rotor travel is close to
1/2" total, and I'm confused about
whether there's supposed to be some kind
of metal clip sitting over the shaft
that would take up that takes up the
extra space or if it has just worn down
after all these years. I know the
distributor needs a new bushing(s?), but
before I spend anymore of my neighbor's
money I'd appreciate some input on my
situation so I can get it "fixed" and
can move on to hydraulic issues. Finding
a mystery clip that goes on there would
surely be cheaper than buying a shaft!
Also, I have little knowledge and
experience with distributors and spark
advance mechanisms, I'm just flying on
observation and common sense when I've
been studying the problem, so I really
don't know if it's been advanced,
retarded or what condition my indexing
it closer to center created. All I
really do know is that she started right
up when the rotor was indexed (advanced)
to the shafts locating flat.
I really believe the carb is clean and
operating properly, but it's easy to
pull and check so I'll do that while
waiting for someone with some expertise
to respond. Thank you in advance!

" The play in rotor travel is close to 1/2" total, and I'm confused about whether there's supposed to be some kind of metal clip sitting over the shaft that would take up that takes up the extra space "

Yes.

p/n 12213. Rotor clip. Buy 2 & keep a spare.

" I have little knowledge and
experience with distributors and spark
advance mechanisms,"

See tip # 39 at the link. If you own or work on 60+ year old equipment, you need the manuals. Even a toaster comes with a manual.

Get your parts & manuals here or from nnalert's.
75 Tips

Thanks for the info about the rotor clip!
I had seen reference made to them among the forums but also found reference being made to these tractors having been operated without one. I believe I even saw references to the clip only being needed to insure the rotor remained contacting the coil's input stud inside the cap. That left me a little confused about what exactly was even being referred to and it's role. Perhaps in my neighbor's situation a previous owner lost the clip and began running it "without" by advancing the distributor one tooth to compensate? (I could still use a little insight on the possibility of that being the case).
I didn't press my neighbor to purchase a manual because I had also read posts stating the manual was "confusing and unclear" on some matters ~and I'm sure that I'm not the only one to have experienced manuals that don't even provide accurate and complete exploded views. I combined all that and assumed the worst. Right now I'm just trying to help him be able to pull his finish mower, we'll get the manual before tearing into the hydraulics in the fall (that was already a given,really.) But, and unless I'm way off, I still have doubts the manual is going to offer much in the way of insightful explanation of what I might be looking at here (as opposed to someone's experience of how someone bypassed the need for a missing clip). Know what I mean?
Again, thank you for the information you did provide, not only that we have a missing part, but even the part #!!!! Sincerely, thank you!

I have sen them where the clip was lost and a person used a piece of card board like what the points come in to take up that space. It works for a while but then falls out etc and that could be the case on that one. Common for that clip to fly off when the dust cover is removed

Yes, there's a metal clip under it.
I made one from the end of an old plug wire until
I could get a new one. Now I keep a spare too.
$2.62 [b:35bed2cfad]here[/b:35bed2cfad] on YT.
Looks like this:

" Perhaps in my neighbor's situation a previous owner lost the clip and began running it "without" by advancing the distributor one tooth to compensate? "

That's highly unlikely.

" I didn't press my neighbor to purchase a manual because I had also read posts stating the manual was "confusing and unclear" on some matters"

The 3 manuals I suggested in tip # 39 aren't confusing, IMHO. And if something is confusing to you, that's what this forum is for.

" I still have doubts the manual is going to offer much in the way of insightful explanation of what I might be looking at here "

Well, if you have a timing problem, it will tell you how to set both the static & dynamic timing & what to set it at.

Anyway, don't over-think this. Get the rotor clip, check the firing order & see how it goes.
75 Tips

you got the clip info.
now, static time it, check firing order, and then get your timing light on it.
Doesn't cost nothing, and there really is no other way.....
(I've found most tractors that have been timed by 'ear' have been advanced too much...which creates hard starting, especially if it is 6v)

Your "purrs at idle, but falls flat with throttle"
check that firing order...again.
If it is right and if the main mixture screw won't smooth out the stumble....fuel restriction, or you missed something in the carb...dirty passage etc.

Now that you've mentioned it, I seem to recall finding (and blowing away) paper-like debris at the cam and points! I'm also vaguely remembering a match-book trick from years gone by. Old age claiming it's grip.

Thank you for that checklist, I wouldn't
be surprised to learn that I now have
wires crossed AND another fuel
restriction.

I REALLY needed the "don't over-think this" advice, thanks!
It rained hard (again) last night so the pressure is off for a few days yet. I gave myself permission to back away from it briefly. But I'll probably piddle and improvise tomorrow just trying to satisfy my curiosity and, hopefully, regain some dignity.
I found posts regarding that clip after you gave me the name. Thanks for your patience.

(quoted from post at 14:47:30 08/02/15) Yes, there's a metal clip under it.
I made one from the end of an old plug wire until
I could get a new one. Now I keep a spare too.
$2.62 [b:230f96c441]here[/b:230f96c441] on YT.
Looks like this:

Click to expand...

Royse, does a 2n need this clip? Will be doing tune up soon, if needed will get one just in case.

"Royse, does a 2n need this clip?"

Not needed on the front mount distributors, just the side mount.

(quoted from post at 13:21:52 08/04/15) "Royse, does a 2n need this clip?"

Not needed on the front mount distributors, just the side mount.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Will be doing tune up soon wanted to be ready.

Sorry to be late in returning here, but between poor health and my neighbour buying a new Kubota, the jubilee project sorta fell by the wayside.
The problem turned out to be that the mechanical advance had been? jammed. Between the missing rotor clip and the sticking advance, it had been causing one huge confusing mess!
My previous work was in order, but even after static timing I still couldn't get the engine to sputter. I kept repeating the process, and double checking my work, and eventually it came to life. Ah! the only thing I'd done differently that time was to use air to blow out crud from under the cam plate. I'd read somewhere that there wasn't any need to delve into that portion of the distributor, so I never had. Well, so now I took the cam plate off and found the dogs on the advance weights were worn and hanging up terribly and the bushing was dry and dirty. I filed/honed, polished, cleaned and oiled the action before putting it all back together. After doing that I was able to get it to run sweetly. She'd fire to life with just a brief tug of the choke and a few turns of the engine. Once warmed it could be idled down to a crawl of about 0.5 mph.?
We got about 3 hours of hard service out of the tractor before she shot craps (again!!!) ...seems removing all that grime from around the shaft's bushing allowed for more flutter than the flyweight springs could withstand, the first set (the low speed springs) had been worn through. Just to prove to myself these were the problem, I made some new ones using the spring steel from an .010 feeler gauge. It worked, it fires right up again now, but they only work well enough to allow the tractor to be started and moved about in the shop (until the owner buys a new distributor).
Thanks for your help, Men!