Just love them points on a front mount: NOT!!!!

oldtanker

Well-known Member
New points last spring. 15-30 hours a week from the 1st of May till late Nov. Bladed my drive, bout 2 1/2 hours, drove it 6 miles to the MIL's place and did about 8 hours worth of work, Drove home, drove back to MIL's place after she decides she wants more done. That was another 6 hours, Finished up this morning then barely made it in the drive when it died today. Yep, points were bad. Echlin points too. Got points and condenser and put em in, runs good. Plow about 1/2 acre this afternoon for our garden and just got home from doing one for hire, about 1/3 acre. That darned N is getting EI in the next couple of weeks! So much for them "last 5 years" points.

Rick
 
(quoted from post at 19:27:58 05/04/16) New points last spring. 15-30 hours a week from the 1st of May till late Nov. Bladed my drive, bout 2 1/2 hours, drove it 6 miles to the MIL's place and did about 8 hours worth of work, Drove home, drove back to MIL's place after she decides she wants more done. That was another 6 hours, Finished up this morning then barely made it in the drive when it died today. Yep, points were bad. Echlin points too. Got points and condenser and put em in, runs good. Plow about 1/2 acre this afternoon for our garden and just got home from doing one for hire, about 1/3 acre. That darned N is getting EI in the next couple of weeks! So much for them "last 5 years" points.

Rick
ou should probably go ahead & get one, but you very likely have other problems causing your failures. Just looked and of my point tractors & pickup, the last point replacements were done in 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2010 and they are all put to work every week or two.
 
They'll last longer than that if you lube
them and reset the gap at least once a year.
(tip # 67) If that doesn't work for you,
then EI is a good alternative.

I know those tanks had really big air-cooled
engines in them......but did they have
points or EI?
75 Tips
 
(quoted from post at 17:04:45 05/04/16) They'll last longer than that if you lube
them and reset the gap at least once a year.
(tip # 67) If that doesn't work for you,
then EI is a good alternative.

I know those tanks had really big air-cooled
engines in them......but did they have
points or EI?
75 Tips

1970 CI V12 DIESEL! Not points or EI.

I do reset the gap at least twice a year and they get lubed when they get set.

Rick
 
(quoted from post at 17:01:27 05/04/16)
(quoted from post at 19:27:58 05/04/16) New points last spring. 15-30 hours a week from the 1st of May till late Nov. Bladed my drive, bout 2 1/2 hours, drove it 6 miles to the MIL's place and did about 8 hours worth of work, Drove home, drove back to MIL's place after she decides she wants more done. That was another 6 hours, Finished up this morning then barely made it in the drive when it died today. Yep, points were bad. Echlin points too. Got points and condenser and put em in, runs good. Plow about 1/2 acre this afternoon for our garden and just got home from doing one for hire, about 1/3 acre. That darned N is getting EI in the next couple of weeks! So much for them "last 5 years" points.

Rick
ou should probably go ahead & get one, but you very likely have other problems causing your failures. Just looked and of my point tractors & pickup, the last point replacements were done in 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2010 and they are all put to work every week or two.

Tractor has been rewired. Has 12 volt one wire done by PO. Has a 12 volt coil. Now my Farmall that has points that are easy to get to the cheap TISCO points lasted 8 years. The tractor gets run no more than 10-12 hours a year on average.

Rick
 

You have to have a OEM ballast resistor in line after the ignition and before the 12 volt coil,to keep from burnin up your points.
wm_A8NN12250A.jpg
 
I like front mounts. I really don't see why so many people complain about them. I have a 9n, 62 4000, and a 641. The 9n gets used
the most and gives the least amount of trouble.

My 9n is on 12 volts. it has two resisters. I just changed the points last year after running them for 13 years. I didn't adjust
them or lube them once.
 

One reason I don't like'em,,, customer says its the first time I tried to start it since I hauled it home... I have better thangs to do than fudge with a ft mt sell it and shed yourself of the problem...

Most are worn out and good parts are no longer available...

If they had made them FWD with the engine sideways I could lean to like'em...
 
Dad said when they farmed with the 46 2n and later a brand new 52 8n. The 8n distributor would get full of dirt and the advance
would work. Dad said they never had any trouble with the 2n distributor.
 
(quoted from post at 23:20:22 05/04/16) Dad said when they farmed with the 46 2n and later a brand new 52 8n. The 8n distributor would get full of dirt and the advance
would work. Dad said they never had any trouble with the 2n distributor.
I got my 2N distributor wet once plowing snow with a front blade.
I dried it out, replaced the gaskets, cleaned the points and its been fine since.
Going on 7 Years now on the points that were in it when I bought it.

Other than that the only time I've had trouble with the front mount distributor
is when I let them set and corrode or when the bushings are worn out.

Just because points are labeled "Echlin" or "BlueStreak" doesn't
mean they are the premium version of their points.
Buy good parts. They're worth the extra money.
 
The only time I mind doing them is in the winter. My hands get stiff in the cold weather. I try to service my tractor on sunny fall days combining my favorite time of the year to be outdoors with my desire to work on old tractors.
 
I have one gasser and one diesel.
I'm going up to my land this weekend to plow
my cousins' gardens and redo a deer plot.
Neither tractor has been started since last
October.
The diesel will sound like the whole engine
is coming unglued. And it'll Stink and gas
you before you can get it out of the shed.
But it WILL start and run like I just used
it yesterday.
The gasser is much more pleasant to be
around.
I MIGHT get it to run just by cleaning the
points. Or I might have to mess with the
carb too.
 
(quoted from post at 18:10:56 05/04/16)
You have to have a OEM ballast resistor in line after the ignition and before the 12 volt coil,to keep from burnin up your points.
wm_A8NN12250A.jpg

It has a 12 volt coil new last spring and the OEM resistor was new 2 years ago right after I bought this N. The PO had the poor thing cobbled together with 2 non OEM resistors in line.

Rick
 
they can last years.. but you need 3 conditions.

1, the dizzy needs to be good. wobbly bushings don't count

2, you need good clean maintenance habits. they need to be properly gapped, not sanded, and have cam lobe lube, plus you need clean gap tools and the correct gaskets to keep debris out.

3, your electricals need to be correct... if you have insuficient primary resistance, points life will suffer.

Get those 3 handled AND good points, and you can get years out of them.

So.. what failed on your points?
 
If it would run with two resistors in series you should have left it that way. Too much voltage kills points.

Zane
 
(quoted from post at 07:01:50 05/05/16) If it would run with two resistors in series you should have left it that way. Too much voltage kills points.

Zane

They had bypassed the OEM dash mounted resistor and had 2 aftermarket ones in line. I put the new 12 volt coil on it and a new OEM resistor. It doesn't have light so the rewire was simple. Both the resistor and coil check out with an ohm meter and I have 12.8 volts to the coil with the engine off. So it shouldn't be getting too much voltage. This isn't the first time I've work with points by a long shot. Heck I had to tweak the new Standard brand points to get the contacts to line up. I can't kneel and have back problems too boot. So working on the front mount is an issue. So EI it is. For a company that claimed to have a better idea that front mount wasn't one of them.

Rick
 
(quoted from post at 15:51:39 05/05/16)
(quoted from post at 07:01:50 05/05/16) If it would run with two resistors in series you should have left it that way. Too much voltage kills points.

Zane

They had bypassed the OEM dash mounted resistor and had 2 aftermarket ones in line. I put the new 12 volt coil on it and a new OEM resistor. It doesn't have light so the rewire was simple. Both the resistor and coil check out with an ohm meter and I have 12.8 volts to the coil with the engine off. So it shouldn't be getting too much voltage. This isn't the first time I've work with points by a long shot. Heck I had to tweak the new Standard brand points to get the contacts to line up. I can't kneel and have back problems too boot. So working on the front mount is an issue. So EI it is. For a company that claimed to have a better idea that front mount wasn't one of them.

Rick
ront wasn't it........but they did, eventually, have 'a better idea', when they changed to side mount. :lol:
 
That darned N is getting EI in the next couple of weeks!

Rick

My 8n does OK with the points , but when I wash off the mud and weeds it will not start for a day . Yes I have all of the gaskets in place .

I would like to seal it good with a little sillycone but the points need to breathe I believe . Not the case with the EI unit .

I am in the process of rebuilding the motor so I think I will grab the EI unit on the shelf an have at it .
 

Make a indicator of some sort while you are at it for # 1 TDC...
You can then use a timing light to nail timing instead of a guess with a jig...
 
(quoted from post at 13:52:21 05/06/16)
Make a indicator of some sort while you are at it for # 1 TDC...
You can then use a timing light to nail timing instead of a guess with a jig...

That was already on the "Must Do" list :wink: I am busy figuring out the fine tuning of the steering box and playing with the front pin / bushing . I have 4 extra front ends and every one of them has a &^%$ mile of weld on the front pin .

I have not played with the timing parts yet . My 226 flathead has a pointed stud I think and I have some of those sbc tabs that have numbers on them . might just need to make a custom tab .

I have not even looked up what the idle and total advance should be . I'll post pics when I get there .
 
Not sure about the T Model, but A Model Fords (1928-31) had the distributor dead center on the head. And then came the V-8 in 1932, when Henry put the damn distributor of the front on the engine. So, in 1939, Henry kept it there on the 9N. It wasn't until 1948 (???) IIRC that the distributor on the flathead V-8 went on the top of the engine.
 
(quoted from post at 17:55:49 05/06/16) Not sure about the T Model, but A Model Fords (1928-31) had the distributor dead center on the head. And then came the V-8 in 1932, when Henry put the damn distributor of the front on the engine. So, in 1939, Henry kept it there on the 9N. It wasn't until 1948 (???) IIRC that the distributor on the flathead V-8 went on the top of the engine.
he "T" didn't have a distributor as we know them. It had a coil per cylinder (100 years ahead of its time :) ) But it did have a "timer" or "commutator" on front of cam gear that more or less did the function of points, but with a rotating roller, thus no points as we know them. On early models, before starter & generator & battery system, the hard part was the magneto as they called it, which powered the 4 coils, as it was on the flywheel, so access was about like getting to a ring gear or clutch on you tractor. Nothing is ever easy.
 

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