While loving the distributor removal on my two 8N's, I now have a 601. What pitfalls could I expect (seems like if there are any I will always find them) in removing and installing the distributor. If I orient the rotor toward #1 before removing..., shouldn't I keep the timing unchanged if it goes back with the rotor toward the #1 tower (no one will be rotating the engine during this)? If I convert to EI during this, will it matter how it goes in? Thanks!

Why do you want to remove the distributor?? Most thing can be done with it in place and yes it is easy to get it back in wrong plus if you pull it you have to re-time it.

If you just have to pull it mark where it sits on the block and also mark where the rotor sits and when you pull it have the cap off but the rotor in and notice where the rotor comes to rest and mark that also so your more likely to get it back in correctly

Old, this tractor came with land I bought. It had been sitting in the open for at least two years according to the previous owner. Battery was stonecold dead, battery cables and connection points badly corroded, gas tank nearly empty and the liquid was viscous, points dull. I cleaned everything up, purged the gas tank, lines, and carb with fresh non-ethanol gas, replaced the battery and installed new cables. It started on the first attempt in about five seconds. Mowed two, two-acre pastures all last summer with no problems.

Last Fall, preparing to mow for the last time, it started with great quantities of black smoke, running roughly; then it wouldn't start at all. Checked spark first with the nice gap detector and it jumped 5/16, so dismissed spark/electrical problem and concentrated on gas. Gas drained well from carb tap, nothing else seemed amiss. Concluded the float had failed; Royse rebuilt it. Installed and got same results. Thought fuel must be contaminated, drained some and it was good gasoline. Have tried lots of things, rechecked spark last week (tractor is in the mountains, 4 1/2 hours away, still outside but now has good canvas tarp..., few intervals to work on it) and there was no spark at all. Points were probably .010 or less, installed new at .025; still no spark. Had replaced coil earlier with no change at that time based on local mechanic recommendation.

Looking at parts diagram, there is a distributor shaft spring thing in the pictures that is not on this one, it's function seems to be to hold the dust cover down when you take the distributor cap off, but not sure. But I don't think this would be affecting much. I do note the dust cover and distributor cap seem "loose" compared to others I have worked on..., a lot of rotational play and the right clamp is very hard to snap on, almost as if the cap isn't fully down. So I was going to take the whole thing out to check it better in a place I can work on it, and maybe do an EI conversion as one of my 8N's has (with great results). Help me if you can, thanks, Jim

Did you buy a good brand of points or did you buy the TSC cheapo points?? If you got them from TSC that is why you do not have spark. You also might try cleaning the point since many come wit ha protective coating on them o they do not rust etc while on a shelve. As for the spring clip you have to have it or the rotor will not fit tight and it will just sort of flop around and not get you spark when you need it. This site sells the rotor spring clip which you have to have

Is the tang protruding upward on the spring clip oriented in-line with the flat on the inside of the rotor and the flat on the shaft or 180 degrees off from the flat?

Round part of the spring goes down and the tang part points up and on the flat of the distributor shaft. Common to be lost when one tries to pull the dust cover with out removing the spring clip fist

That spring clip is needed. The rotor will be too loose without it. Black smoke usually indicates that it's running rich. Have you checked the air cleaner? Could be that it can't pull enough air through... maybe dirty, maybe over-filled from rain getting in?

One spring clip will be ordered! The points were vented Blue Streaks and polished with a new dollar bill. Air cleaner was serviced after the first time it ran so it is fine, and I get the same results even with air filter rubber hose disconnected. Carb is a Royse product that ran fine on his tractor, he even noted it was strong as he did some grading with it before mailing it back..., so that is one thing on the tractor I have no worries about.

While Royce may have done very good job all it takes is a small piece of rust or dirt top cause the needle seat to leak and that can cause it to run rich. One way to maybe fix that is to pull the carb drain plug and let gas flow for a few minutes and catch it to look for water/dirt/rust

Even if you orient it towards #1 you will still alter the timing with removing it. I would suggest using the FO manual and timing it according to the instructions there. Orienting towards #1 just helps get the firing order back right after the removal. Below is a link that discusses this on an old thread. If you scribe a mark on dist and block before removing that *might* get you by.

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