Allis Chalmers EB Has No Power

Hi all,

My Brother and I have been fixing up my Allis Chalmers EB.

We have reset the timing, it sounds better but it has little to no power.

It can just start off in 1st gear but it dies soon after.

What should I do now?

We don't know much about magneto ignition.

We would be grateful for any help!

Thanks!
Samuel

Have you checked for fuel flow to the carb? If you open the petcock on the bottom of the carb. you should be able to fill a pint jar in a minute. I would start there.

If it starts and idles, it probably has spark enough to continue to run. Is it running on all cylinders? Pulling one plug wire at a time and finding no change in engine speed on certain wires tells that story. As noted below, if the fuel is getting to the carb in good flow, it may be a vacuum leak, or other condition that cause it to die. Adjusting the fuel mixture would be my first effort if it is hitting on all cylinders. If no joy, I would then do a check of wire routing to assure the firing order was correct, then a compression check. If these terms are beyond your skill set, you need some on site advice from a capable person. Jim

Ability to idle but not make power can be:

Weak spark. Check the spark at each plug, at the plug, not the cap. It should be able to jump 1/4" to ground.

Retarded ignition timing. Most magnetos will only go on one way with little chance of getting out of time, but depending on how far apart it has been anything is possible. See link below.

Cam timing off. Highly unusual unless it has been apart and improperly timed on reassembly. Easy enough to check, get #1 to TDC firing position, #4 should be in "overlap" position. Slightly rocking the crank back and forth near the TDC position, watching the intake and exhaust rockers on #4 should be both valves closed at TDC with each equally just opening as the other closes.

Lack of fuel. Either lack of fuel being delivered to the carb, or restricted flow of fuel through the carb. Check the fuel flow through the carb by removing the drain plug in the bowl. It should flow a full stream, not slow to a drip or stop flowing. Catch the flow in a clean glass, see what is caught. If dirty or water contaminated, the tank will likely need to be removed and cleaned. If good flow through the carb drain, it could be clogged internally, as in a partially restricted main jet. The carb is simple and field serviceable, can usually be eased apart and cleaned without a kit.

The unusual. Look for restricted air intake or plugged exhaust. Rodents, birds, mud dobbers can get into the strangest places. Inside the air canister, above the oil cup, is a wire mesh that needs periodic cleaning. It is often overlooked.

Forgot the link...
Magneto Timing

Check to make sure the wires on the plugs are in the right order.Once bought a CA that the owner sold because it lost power turns out two of the wires were mixed up.Surprisingly it ran pretty smooth,swapped the wires and it ran like a champ.

If smooth but no power my bet is timing still not right.

Proper timing gives an engine a staccato sound, late timing blah, if too far advanced it will lope at idle.

Something like that can be a number of things.
#1 firing order wrong so running on 2 cylinders instead f them all.
#2 bad head gasket and a couple of cylinders have very low compression and maybe even crossing over to each other.
#3 bad intake or clogged exhaust system. Or vacuum leak in the intake.
#4 clogged up carb so running either very rich or very lean
#5 a weak spark. Spark needs to be a nice blue/white in color and jump a 1/4 inch gap or more at all the plug wires