Been working on my new Super C I just bought. It was a hedgerow tractor so been pulling vines and cleaning mouse nests. Removed about 20 snails. Everything was going great until I got to the fuel system. I never bought a non running tractor that had gas in it until this one - probably 30 yer old gas. There is a tar like substance in the bottom and a lot of it. I was wondering if there any home remedies to get it out. I don't know anyone around that could steam it. I tried some paint thinner on it and that doesn't work. If I can get the fuel system cleaned I think I can start the tractor.
- Thread starter Charlie M
- Start date
rustyfarmall
Well-known Member
Drain what you can of the old gas. Pour in maybe 5 gallons of E-85, slosh it around and let it set for a day. Slosh it some more and drain it. Repeat if needed.
acetone will work. put into tank. let as much run into carb as possible. turn engine over a time or 2. let set for a few days and do it again. remove spark plugs and put some oil into each cylinder , about a teaspoon full, before you try to start the engine. lubes the cylinder walls and rings and will increase compression.
probably would be a good idea to remove the gas line, tank to carb and let as much of the goop , run out as possible.
probably would be a good idea to remove the gas line, tank to carb and let as much of the goop , run out as possible.
Ken Hansen
Member
Never heard of that but if I am thinking right E-85 is 85% metenol it might work. I was going to suggest acetone but khouse6 beat me to that.
Have you taken the carb apart? If not that would be one more idea, or if it has a drain plug on the bottom remove it and see if you get good flow through the fuel lin while soaking with what ever you use.
I would also suggest removing the air filter so you could see if the float valve is shutting off when carb is full of fuel. If not guess next thing would be to pull the carb and soak and clean that!
dharmab434
Member
E-85 is anywhere from 51 to 85 % Ethanol ( grain alcohol) mixed with gasoline.
While it may work as a solvent for the sludge in the tank, it may also attack certain parts of the fuel system, such as parts made of magnesium, aluminum or rubber.
It would be better to use naphtha or acetone for cleaning the carb or just naphtha for the fuel pump.
Any decent carb cleaner contains some amount of acetone and other solvents such as xylene and isopropyl alcohol. The composition of the product can be found by looking up the MSDS for the product.
Brownie450
Member
Gallon of laquer thinner & gallon of de-natured alcohol
dumped in the tank. Let sit for a week.
Save the drainings for the next brush pile.
Jim
dumped in the tank. Let sit for a week.
Save the drainings for the next brush pile.
Jim
Ken Hansen
Member
Ok got the wrong type of alcohol. Also only familiar with the fuel system on my BN, not sure about the Super C, mine does not have a fuel pump and about the only metal other than the fuel strainer/shut off casting is the cast iron of the carb.
Plus I think the person suggesting using the E-85 was suggesting it more for just washing out the tank.
rustyfarmall
Well-known Member
YES!! Use it just to clean the tank, however, I have run straight E85 in my 1940 Farmall M. Did not damage anything, and the tractor did run quite well, but was very cold-blooded. Started good, but had to warm up for longer than normal before the M was ready to pull the plow. Once it was warmed up good, it pulled that plow just fine. E10 is the fuel of choice.
the tractor vet
Well-known Member
Straight al-ki-hol will gut thru over time , you will have to let it set and soak . It will cut the varnish . as far as Al-KI-HOL added to this gas Nah it has caused more problems then one can think of . Al-KI-Hol laced gas Has given everybody around here that ran a gas powered tractor nothing but head aches and cost them money they did not need to spend on repairs . From pour performance to burnt pistons and scored sleeves . Ya don't know how many times you will see a post on here where a guy will say he has carb problems because his tractor while tryen to do work will start missing loose power and die . It's NO the carb it is the gas , what is happening is the pistons are starting to melt and swell causing them to drag on the walls along with predetonation . Lots of problems with the 06-66 gas tractors and now i am seeing it with the 60 sires as in 460 560 . Was just out to one of my old customers where he was brush hogging the pasture with his 460 that has spent it's whole life on the same farm is not liking the supposable 89 octane gas . This week we will see how well the grain truck likes this load of gas and it will tell us if he indeed got 89 or he got cheated and they dropped a load of 87 on him and billed 89. As the 404 in the grain truck will not run on 87 loaded .
Ken Hansen
Member
Can't speak to your problems with the E10-87 octane but my BN has been running on it since they first started selling it here in NY. It is used 90% of the time to run a Woods 72 inch mower and handles that as good today as it did some 30 years ago when I rebuilt it.
According to my research back when my BN was built(1947) high test gas was only 85 octane and even as the gas companies kept boosting the octane ratings of both regular and premium regular was only 86 octane.
dharmab434
Member
Don't forget that back in the day, the octane boost was provided by tetra ethyl lead, a truly nasty compound. The octane boost is now provided by some percentage of ethanol blended with gasoline.
Unfortunately, ethanol absorbs water which can cause issues in some engines, especially if there is enough water to form acidic compounds.
If you turn over enough fuel so it's always fresh there shouldn't be any issues running E-10. If you are a sporadic user like me, (10 gallons every 3 months) just add some 99% isopropyl alcohol and a dose of Stabil or equivalent with every fill up.
Unfortunately, ethanol absorbs water which can cause issues in some engines, especially if there is enough water to form acidic compounds.
If you turn over enough fuel so it's always fresh there shouldn't be any issues running E-10. If you are a sporadic user like me, (10 gallons every 3 months) just add some 99% isopropyl alcohol and a dose of Stabil or equivalent with every fill up.
CenTex Farmall
Well-known Member
I cleaned an h tank this summer that had the exact same problem.
I put 4 or 5 gallons of E85 and with the tank off of the tractor let it sit for about a week with daily sloshings. I would slosh and then each day leave it laying a different orientation.
It got rid of better than 90% of the crud. I let it dry out and ventilate good and then vacuumed out the dust that was left.
I put 4 or 5 gallons of E85 and with the tank off of the tractor let it sit for about a week with daily sloshings. I would slosh and then each day leave it laying a different orientation.
It got rid of better than 90% of the crud. I let it dry out and ventilate good and then vacuumed out the dust that was left.
BarnyardEngineering
Well-known Member
- Location
- Rochester, NY
Plan B, all else fails, find another tank. Plenty of old Super C's out there.
Just be warned that you may end up with a SECOND Super C that you just can't bring yourself to part out and HAVE to get running just like the first one...
Just be warned that you may end up with a SECOND Super C that you just can't bring yourself to part out and HAVE to get running just like the first one...
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