3 cyl. gas won't idle below 1100 RPM - stalls

Tom in TN

Well-known Member
I have a 1973 Ford 2000 3 cylinder gas tractor.

Engine was surging when I put tractor under heavy load, particularly when going uphill. It's been a long time since I did a tuneup, so I did
points, condenser, rotor, distributor cap, wires, plugs, coil, and timing. Starts okay but engine stalls when I try to idle it down below 1100 RPM.

At 1000 RPM it will run okay for about a minute then tries to stall. Governor opens throttle, and engine recovers for about a minute. Then engine
again tries to stall. Governor opens throttle and engine recovers, again for about a minute.

Any ideas? Carburetor problem? I'm stuck.

Tom in TN
 
Could be the carb or the governor or a linkage adjustment. Is it the original Holley carb, or a replacement Zenith?
 
I had some similar problems. I would assure myself of proper fuel delivery. It's messy perhaps but if you disconnect the fuel line at the carb, crank the engine with starter you should see a fair amount of fuel pumped through the line and spilling out all over your new cap, wires, and coil. If you don't, which I didn't, check the sediment bowl ahead of the carb. Two things can catch you there, first the screen assy within the bowl and the other is the bowl gasket itself. If that gasket swells, it can block off the flow of fuel to, or out of, the bowl. There's also a screen in the inlet fitting of the carb that you could/should check.
 
Thanks for the information Curt.

I removed the sediment bowl to insure that it was clean and free of water. When I put it back on and cranked the engine, the sediment bowl filled immediately and I could see that the gas was spurting into it. I'll disconnect the line and try it again just to be sure that the lift pump is actually pumping gas to the carburetor.

Tom in TN
 
Sean,

At this point I'm not sure about which carburetor is on there. I have not yet seen any specific information on the carburetor. I'm going to print
the part explosion for the carburetors from the New Holland website. If I can't find any markings on the carburetor, maybe the picture(s) will help
identify the carburetor.

Thanks for the note.

Tom in TN
 
"Spurting in to it" is a good sign indeed. Of course, the question is, Is it spurting out of it?" Sounds like you've already verified the action of the pump, that's real good.
 
Sean,

I pulled the carburetor off the tractor today. It sure enough is a Zenith carburetor. The New Holland website has a part number for a "Repair Kit"
for the carburetor but doesn't list what parts are included and doesn't give a drawing of the specific parts.

A local equipment dealer is supposed to have various carburetor rebuild kits available, so I'm going to go to his store tomorrow morning and see what
he has. I have the carb soaking in parts cleaner right now.

Tom in TN
 

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