John Deere 1010 will not run properly

lavallj3

New User
I have a 1960 John Deere 1010 (Gas) that starts hard and when I try to rev it up it sputters and dies unless I ease on the throttle. I just rebuilt the engine and put a new Zenith carb on it and adjusted the jets 1 1/2 to 2 turns out. When I timed it with the light (@2500rpm) I did notice the timing mark seems to jump around alot (it has a Delco distributor with new condensor, points, rotor, plugs and wires). Any help to get this tractor running good is greatly appreciated.
 
Did you put new points and condenser in the distributor? Bad points will cause your light to be erratic.

Sounds like your mechanical advance may not be working inside the distributor. This will cause the engine to hesitate when throttling up.

Check your timing at an idle not 2500rpms. Once you get the timing set then rev it up slowly and see if the timing advances using your timing light. If it doesn't advance then I would have a look inside the distributor to see if the mechanical advance weights are froze up. Common problem on the older tractors. Cars too!
 
Plugs, wires, points, and condensor are new. I took the distributor apart and the advance does move but it is dirty. My next step was clean and lubricate the advance. The timing was set at 2500 rpm because that is what the IT shop manual says to set it at (not sure that it is right, but that is what the book said).
 
Had a ford tractor that was running like that and we put a different condenser in and it ran great. HTH

Bob
 
make sure the distributor bushing has less than .001" radial movement. if more it will have very inconsistent timing. Jim
 
Not familar with that carb. on that tractor,but it may even need opened up some more turns ? IIRC the stock ones on like a 40,M, or 440 need opened up more then you would think to handle the load properly.
 
It is a replacement carb that is suppose to out perform the original. I will try and open it up some more.
 
Try readjusting the Zenith first.If that doesn't solve problem,the new condenser may be bad.I wish i had a nickel for every brand new out of the box condenser that was bad,and this was when there were quality ignitions parts to be had.
 
Got the proper way to set your carb here. Also might want to check the float level to make sure it is getting enough fuel. Some specs on your distributor also. Manual mentions checking the point spring for proper tension.
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I replaced a distributer on a 4020 gas for a guy about 2 months ago. Tractor had the same problems as yours. Don't know what he paid for the reman but he said it was reasonable from JD. His had been converted to IE so shaft play wasn't as much of an issue but the mechanical advance was worn and dirty plus the springs were weak.

And yea the manual say high RPM to set the timing on the 4020 too.

Rick
 
Yes check the distributor shaft for side movement like has been mentioned in the post below. Also check for vacuum leaks on the intake manifold with it running spray some WD40 around the mounting areas and carb mount.
 

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