Replacement points/condenser in Deere 2010

Hi guys.

Question about points and condenser in 1965 Deere 2010 gas. The tractor runs OK, but there's a miss at idle. I'm thinking it may be time to have a look at the points/condenser. I have not replaced these since I bought the tractor in the summer of 2014 and I use it much more than the previous owner.

As a note, I replaced the plugs last August and they are correctly gapped. Qustions:

1. I have some maintenance records and a receipt that says the points were replaced in 2013. Only points are listed on the parts receipt, no condenser.

Just given the amount of time that has passed, should I assume both points and condenser should be replaced and order new parts before I tear into it?

As a note, the tractor stays up at my hunting farm so it's 90 miles from my house. In general, I prefer to have parts with me if I reasonably suspect they will be required rather than getting things taken apart and then having to leave everything until I can return with parts.

2. I see often repeated on this site the need to buy "quality" ignition components. Where do I get the good stuff for my Deere?

3. As long as I'm there, I have no idea when the cap and plug wire were last changed. Change these as well? Or only if the idle miss fails to disappear with new/properly gapped points.

Many thanks.


Grouse

I would expect a high speed miss to be "electrical", vs. a low speed miss, not so much. It is UNLIKELY to be the condenser, if it runs good at higher speeds, IMHO.

MAY be related to an intake leak, or other possible issues, including valves and valve settings.

In the past, DEERE has had good quality ignition parts for these old tractors, NOT sure if quality is still as good, and they will cost come $$.

"Standard Ignition" "Blue Streak" ignition parts, available at many auto parts stores, have been as good or better than many other aftermarket ignition parts in the past, there's been some rumors they are sourcing some (possibly "poorer") imported parts nowadays, as well.

Don't know which distributor you have, if Delco, likely you can find NOS genuine DELCO parts on ebay, as they would take the same cap, rotor, and points as certain automotive applications. MAY find some NOS Prestolite, as well, if that's what you need.

A while back, I got a nice new NOS Delco cap with brass terminals and rotor for my 4020 (which, of course is 6 cylinder, but the parts have automotive applications, as well) on ebay.

As to good quality wire-core sparkplug wires, www.brillman.com is as good as you will find.

Wish I was nearby, I could hook up my ignition 'scope and tell you in a minute or two if there are any igntion issues, but that is getting to be a lost art and an obsolete tool.

Standard does have a second line now to be aware of. I know at least some of the parts use the same part number with an added suffix letter. For example: The premium "Blue Streak" points I use in my AC's are part # DR2227P. The second line is part # DR2227PT. Those are plain steel, no copper; white nylon, not the blue; and they don't have the lube wipe the premium ones have, a few quick visual differences. Look on eBay and you will see DR2227PT series pictures, with the DR2227P description advertised. Basically a price deal it appears.

As Bob noted, the 3020s used 3 different distributor manufacturers, Delco, Prestolite, and Wico. They use different parts. The Standard Motor Products eCatalog will cross most of the JD and/or manufacturer numbers that found in the JD parts catalog. Do you know which distributor you have?

(quoted from post at 06:56:55 12/10/18)

As Bob noted, the 3020s used 3 different distributor manufacturers, Delco, Prestolite, and Wico. They use different parts. The Standard Motor Products eCatalog will cross most of the JD and/or manufacturer numbers that found in the JD parts catalog. Do you know which distributor you have?

Click to expand...

I believe I have the Delco, but I will take pictures this week when I'm there and post them to verify.

Given I'm approaching 5 years on the points and who knows how long on the condenser, rotor button, distributor cap, etc is it just time to plan on replacing a lot (or all) of these components?

Or is it a deal where these are good until they're not and do 1 or 2 at a time to see if any of them impact the miss at idle?

Overall, given the reputation of 2010s, this has been a good tractor and she has a loader so I've gotten a lot of work done with her. More than anything, she suffered from generic mechanic rigging jobs instead of fixing problems the right way. Most of the "fixes" I've had to do could have been avoided like the fuel filter removed resulting in a plugged carb and the sway blocks were removed due to a broken mount bolt that somebody couldn't be bothered to extract. The key switch went bad so some rigger wired up a button starter, etc, etc.

Grouse