Tractor Stalls or No Power - 1953 Ford 8N

My 1953 Ford 8N had been running great but with good usage time and bad gas caused the carb the need to be rebuilt, which I did and even replaced it with a new one. I am able to get the engine started cold by using full choke and having it crank for a bit. Once I get it on, it will either begin to idle for about 45 seconds then die or the full speed wont go past 1800 RPM unless I manually move the governor but will hesitate and act like its going to die when I crank it from a slow idle to full throttle. The governor does have some play in the larger arm that connects to the carb by it being able to wobble towards or away from the engine aka side to side horizontally. If the tractor dies or I shut it off after it warms up, I am not able to get it started again unless I close the choke fully and crank for a while or I end up having to wait for a bit because the carb is flooded. I have checked for spark, checked to make sure all the points on the spark plugs and distributor are 0.025, replaced the spark plugs, installed a new carb and played with all the settings on the carb with no luck. So I am lost on what to do here, as it doesn't want to run smoothly or have enough power to run a brush hog which we did all the time prior to the carb getting jammed up. Any suggestions are welcome. a I really need to mow soon and without it working makes cutting 120 acres very hard to do.

You either have a 1953 Jubilee or an 8N,
not both.

Is your engine a flathead or OHV?

Is your new carb a MS clone you bought on
eBay?
75 Tips

FWIW, all 8N production was finished by May, 1952 as Ford would retool for the new NAA (Jubilee) Model released in September, 1952. Like stated, if it has the 128 CID flathead engine, it is an 8N. If it has the 134 CID OHV engine, it is the NAA Model. Also, is there a large red, round wheat staw emblem on the nosecone? Does it have the words GOLDEN JUBILEE around the circumference?Most components on these old Fords were designed to be rebuilt over and over and the M/S TSC carbs are one of them. Many of todays' aftermarket parts are purely cloned junk. If you HAVE to replace a part with one NEVER assume they are good to go right out of the box. Did you check the 'new' it before mounting? I can rebuild your old M/S if you want. Did you perform the fuel flow test on either carb?

Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)

So I just figured out that it is a 1951 as the hand stamped on the side of the engine says 8N400185. As for it having a flathead or OHV I have no clue on how to tell.

You have a 1951 8N. It's a flathead

Where did you get the carb?
75 Tips

Amazon and it was the Radracing 8N9510C Carburetor Replacement for Ford Tractor 2N 8N 9N Marvel Schebler Heavy Duty TSX33 TSX241A TSX241B TSX241C 13876 0-13876 B3NN9510A 9N9510A

try this. close the valve from your gas tank. remove the line from your carb. spray some wd-40 into the carb inlet. put line back in and open valve from tank and try to start it. the wd-40 will act as a lubricate so if your needle valve is stuck a little it might free it up and make it work properly. I did this once on an 8n I had and it did fix the problem. worth a try first. good luck

(quoted from post at 07:24:28 10/16/18) try this. close the valve from your gas tank. remove the line from your carb. spray some wd-40 into the carb inlet. put line back in and open valve from tank and try to start it. the wd-40 will act as a lubricate so if your needle valve is stuck a little it might free it up and make it work properly. I did this once on an 8n I had and it did fix the problem. worth a try first. good luck

Click to expand...

Nope it didn't work but it was fun trying as always...

Any other suggestions?

Some folks have good luck w/ clones. Sounds to me that you aren't so lucky.

Do you still have the oem M/S carb that you rebuilt? What's wrong w/ it?
75 Tips

If the s/n begins with '8N' then it is an 8N using the flathead 4-cylinder engine. The NAA (Jubilee) first used the OHV 134 CID engine and the serial numbers all begin with NAA. Serial numbers really mean nothing. The important 8N points are: Front Mount or Side Mount distributor and if it is 6V/POS GRN or 12V/NEG GRN. ALL Fords after 8N263844 used the side mount distributor. Aftermarket parts and their manufacturers mean nothing to me -I don't use them so don't care. I bought an aftermarket distributor once and it was junk. Never again. Perform the fuel flow test first. Don't prime with WD or starting fluid, or Mom's bacon grease, just test flow from sediment bulb to carb. ENGINE COLD, coffee can under carb, remove drain plug on bottom of carb, open SED BULB VALVE 2-Turns. Fuel flow should fill a pint jar in 2 minutes with a steady, uninterrupted flow. If not, close valve, replace drain plug, the remove the fuel inlet line at the brass elbow on the carb. Open valve and observe test again. A steady stream is good, fill a pint jar in 2 minutes means no obstructions in the sediment bulb to carb. If during either test flow is not right, try opening the gas cap. No change? Obstructed Sediment Bulb screens or valve stem. You really need to get the essential manuals. The 39-53 MPC shows the flathead and the OHV engines.

FORD 8N TRACTOR ESSENTIAL OWNER/OPERATOR/PARTS/SERVICE MANUALS:


Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)

Tim how much would you charge me to rebuild the carborator as I have done it on the original one and it hasn't worked so I am thinking I did something wrong? Or do you know how I can contact Royse?

I tried to figure out a way to look at your profile in the forums but had no luck getting it.

Did you ever get your low power issue resolved?

Nope as we ran into another issue of the starter going out from us cranking on it so much. We are having it rebuilt right now and should hopefully have it back together in 3 weeks.