CASE VAC-14 Engine Issues

VerfCase

New User
Hoping I'm not asking a question already answered on here, but here goes. I have a 54' Case VAC-14 currently under restoration/ work horse when needed.
When I last ran it with a brush hog on the back it would run fine for about a half hour, start to sputter and die. I let off on the throttle and shut off the pto and the tractor idles just fine. On top of that there is white residue in the crankcase filler spout, I assume hopefully just the head gasket is shot? If the tractor shuts off it fails to start again without a lot of coaxing, either, check plugs, ect.
It is still a six volt system, generator has just been re worked with new brushes and voltage regulator, new coil, so I hope I am safe to say electrical is no longer an issue. If anyone has any ideas or has had this trouble your input would be much appreciated! Thank you.
 
First off the generator and V.R. have nothing ot do with how it runs or it even running since you can remove them and run an engine for hours with just a battery so leave that stuff alone.
Next when this happens again do not think electrical is good make sure. Check the spark. Make sure you have a good blue/white spark at all 4 plug wires that jump a 1/4 inch gap or more and be sure it is not in the ignition system do not just guess.
Next does choking it hurt or help?? If it helps then you either have weak spark or lake of fuel due to the tank vent clogged or the gas boiling in the tank etc.
 
Thank you for replying back so soon, I'll be as in depth as possible to help out. Spark is very good, I won't claim to be a mechanic but there is a quarter inch arc and I get a hell of a shock if I hold my finger over the plug wire, in fact I put my hand on the plug wire on the block and got a shock last time I had it running.

Choking does not seem to help, and every time it quits on me I always check to see if the carb bowl has gas in case the line got plugged somehow.

This is usually my process of trying to start it when it quits: first choke it and try to turn it over (usually it will not start), then turn fuel line off, drain carb bowl, open fuel back up, check all plug wires make sure they are on tight, pull all the plugs look for fouling, clean them all in a plug sand blaster, then spray them with either. Lastly replace plugs and try to restart. Sometimes it works, most times it needs to be pull started, for better or worse, but it will run like a top.

I had the generator worked on because it was throwing -1 to 18 volts, a brush was loose and causing hell on the electrical. Before I got the generator worked on I would charge the battery and get maybe 6 hrs light duty (raking hay or cutting with a pull behind sickle mower) out of the tractor before it would quit and not start till I charged the battery, I thought my problems would be solved by fixing the generator. Put new V.R. on because I wanted to fix everything at the same time on the generator. Same with the ignition coil, it probably worked just fine but my thought is fix it all now and I shouldn't have to worry about it for another 60 years.

Other than that I changed every wire in that tractor, all six feet of it, except for the ground cable. And I replaced wires as I pulled them off to be sure I didn't screw up. I'm kinda stumped at this point.
 
If your saying the plug wire them self zapped you they probably need to be replace due to insulation leaking spark. When was the last time you serviced the air cleaner. What happens if you remove the gas cap
 
I replaced them a year ago, just bought the generic ones the dealer has on the shelf. I cleaned out the intake pipe and put oil in the oil bath pan last year, still looks clean. It never gets into really dusty situations except for hay now and then. I never removed the gas cap though, except to fill it while it is running and that never seemed to change anything that I noticed. Tuned the carburetor to the book's spec, all the needles look clean. Like I was saying, its hard to narrow down. I've always been told if you have spark gas and oil they will run, but I must have gotten the odd one.

But you don't think that antifreeze leaking or rotted head gasket is the root of my issue? That's all I have left that I haven't addressed on the tractor.
 
Head gaskets when they go most of the time you have coolant in the oil. You may have a loss connection some place or a little junk in the tank. I had a lief in the gas tank of one of my tractors and when it got down low on fuel it would die all at once and if left sit say 10 minutes fire right back up. Took a long time to see that lief
 
Well I suppose it won't hurt to look in the tank, I guess I'll just tear into the block this weekend and see what I can see. The white residue in the lifter cover is a tell tale sign I believe.

Thanks for the help though, I'm only 21 so I didn't grow up around these machines but I sure hate to see them go to scrap. Thanks again for the information. I hope it is just some junk in the tank!
 
All engines have some of that residue in them and the less you run an engine the more of it you will have. Condensation is the problem 99% of the time and opening one up to to look is a waste of $$
 
hey , verf ,welcome to the world of Case , but be careful ,,. NEVER POUR GAS IN WHILE ENGINE RUNNIN in perfect conditions you could become a fatal statistic ,, live sparks ignite fumes instatanously ...//// you should pressure wash the tankif you want to take stuff apart ,,, if your oil is not milky ,, your block is ok ,,. don't give this vac tinkeritis ...if it is milky , I would 1st try bars leak in the radiator and Lucas oil stabilizer sealer in the oil ///.its hard to stop guessing ../// I think your coil could be breaking down ,is coil hot when it stops ? , next time it quits, give it a pull, and see if it runs well , Dad said , Case tractors always like being pull started , but wont hit a lick while crankin .//.like OLd said , gas could be boilin and refuse to flow ,,cover the gas line with foil , and put foil between tank and engine to reduce heat ... most times on gassers the problem is crud in the valve assembly of sediment bowl.. seafoam and lucas fuel additive helps ..but you probably need to clean the tank
 

As Old says, that residue, I'm going to assume it is foam, is nothing to worry about, it is only condensation. Every vehicle that you have driven in the last 40 years has done the same thing, but positive crankcase ventilation has been hiding it from you. Don't even think about it.
 
I'd just about bet the farm you have an automotive inline gas filter on it don't you? Throw it as far as you can toss it and splice the line back together. It's vapor locking.
 
Disconnect the gas line at the carburetor and see if you have a full stream of gas from the tank. Use a clean container to catch the gas. If there's a full stream of gas from the tank remove the tube fitting from the carburetor where your gas line connects. Look for a screen behind that fitting that may be plugged with crud. Hal
 
As much as I wish I had, I never put a fuel filter on it, I try to keep it as stock as possible. Thanks for the input tho, I"ll remember that for future projects.
 
The only other thing that comes to mind,if everything else fails is something I remember reading in Hart Parr Oliver Collector Magazine one time. A dealer had an Oliver 77 come in that was doing the same thing. They did EVERYTHING that could be done and it kept it up. The difference here though between that one and yours is that the Oliver has a frame. They finally took the gas line off and put a longer piece of neoprene hose on it and laid it outside the frame. That fixed it. It was vapor locking in the gas line. They rerouted the line using copper but ran it farther from the engine and manifold. I don't know just where they ran it,just that it was farther away from the heat.
 

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