Yep - believe it or not ...I'm ready. I have the original lever on the back of the F-4 mag...hooked to the control linkage. Now - I retard the timing with the lever- all the way to the Left(in driver seat) ....which will pull the lever on the mag. up; is this start position? Then how do I "kill" the engine after it starts? This is my "rebuild project"....not "restore project" ! Thanks!

Use the "Twisted Belt" method to start the first time and fine tune it. This will save you a lot of cranking in case your adjustments are not correct.

Does your w-30 have a belt pulley?
Do you have another tractor with a belt pulley?
Do you have a flat belt?
If you cab answer "Yes" to all 3 questions, you can use the "Twisted Belt" method of starting a tractor.

No -Yes- Yes.... lol Im trying to get a pulley from "Moll" but haven't went to get it yet. I think it will crank if I just get out there and do it. Was pretty cold today - oil is thick - I had the spark lever about half way - some of ya are scaring me about the "mule kick"....but Ill be fine. Might have a neighbor come pull me! Thanks!

Every time I crank a tractor, I can hear my Dad say, "Don't wrap your thumb around the crank!"

Nothing like good conversation....Not much to the timing...right? I set the rotor strip in the mag on "1"...with the No 1 plug "out" as soon as I felt compression coming out the whole I set the two coggs together.... and bolted it together. Should work. and yes not using my "thumb".

Find the TDC mark on the flywheel or crank front pulley & as you turn it over slowly, the mag impulse has to trip at TDC or a little after. If it is too late it will be hard to start & if it is early it will kick back. Be careful!

double check your timing and your perfectly safe if the timing is correct. you guys make me laugh. i get enjoyment out of a first start on an engine especially a crank start. if she has spark ,gas , correct timing and compression its a go . only pull up on the crank. this would be 1976 or 77 in class we had to tear down a 225 slant six crysler engine to bare block and measure all clearances and components. then put back together and have it all ready for the instuctor to come turn the key and start it on engine stand. and it did start. all the torques were reduced by 75 percent to save the threads because the engines were dissasembled so many times and reassembled.

I have used this method to start my W30. But it's a little tricky as it's quite easy for the belt to come off. Works best if I use my 450-D with the TA back to slow down the belt pulley as much as possible. Also, get the belt as tight as possible. Then I put the W30 pulley in gear and block the clutch. Then I start the pulley on the running tractor. Then go back to the W30 and very slowly let the clutch out. You will have to slip the clutch some to get the W30 motor turning over or the belt will come off. If I am lucky, the W30 will start the 1st time without the belt coming off. But this method still works much better than cranking. Al

I think the pulley on a John Deere "H" turns "backwards" with forward engine (flywheel) rotation. If that is correct then the flat belt start method on that tractor needs a non-twisted belt.

Huh ?

Here's a photo of belt stating a couple of old tractors.

ok....neat....I dont have that capability..... I tried several times may wait til next week when it warms up....thanks.

I have an F-20 with an F-4 mag (same mag as yours). I start with mag lever half way down. All the way down to run. All the way up to kill. If hand cranking in cold winter time, I usually only go about 1/3 of the way down with lever when starting. It is more susceptible to kick during cold weather because of engine being more stiff, and you having a slower cranking motion because of that.

Ok thanks...been busy for a few days....will get to it today :)

When i started collecting tractors the first one i got was a 22-36.
When i got it to the first show, best we could do was belt start it and it ran
on 2 cylinders. 2 plug wires were switched. After we got that figured out a guy
loaned me an owners' manual and the clouds parted.
Best investment in tractor repair is a manual, absolutely. And these internet forums
with knowledgeable folks are very helpfull also, but sometimes you can get several
different answers to one question, most all of them right but sometimes confusing
to the first timer. The owners and service manuals have one answer and often times
pictures, the parts manuals clear up a lot of questions also.

Thank you - I have one. Sometimes I just like talking to all of you on here and getting experience; by the way - I have emailed you two times this week ???

i will be disappointed if its not running on the 4th. pull of the crank.see in counting on you.

lol...me too! have a gas leak on my bowl last night...cold today! Will continue-on soon, thanks.

The lever all the way to the left should kill the engine. Most folks round here, including me, set those mags just off of "kill" to start.

I push mine all the way down and pull it back up a bit on both my W30 and F14. If you leave it all the way they can kick like a mule.

okay.....so I will go clear to the left...then go back right a bit......sounds right - right ?

That is the way I do it on my 10-20