Mackz abbott
New User
Well here goes nothing!
-The Back Story
I received my new to me 8n from a neighbors barn, he says this tractor belonged to my great grandfather and plowed all of my family s Feilds for years. My father stated he dreams of "playing around on the tractor in his retirement". My father is no mechanic by any stretch of the imagination. The running joke is "he will build you a house by hand, but he won t install the door handles" being that it is to "mechanical" for him. I found out first hand how true that is, we built my home together a year ago and I installed all the door handles. Anyway- now that retirement is coming in the spring for him, I m attempting to get this tractor up and running for him as a surprise. He knows nothing about me picking it up or working on it. I m really hoping to fix it up and get it into running condition/ convert it to 12 volt/ repaint it for him to "play around on" in his retirement.
-The issues
So this tractor was plucked from a barn where the neighbor was in fact using the tractor for daily fire wood, brush hogging, snow plowing and general fun 2 years ago. 4 years ago, it was rebuilt top to bottom, the entire motor was gone through, parts replaced and seals redone along with a fresh coat of dripping paint! The tractor was used for 2 years after with what I m told was "no issues". After resting in a barn for 2 years with monthly start ups this is what I found. On the initial startup the tractor would run for 5 min or so and sound as if it was running out of fuel when finally shutting itself down. The tractor refused to stay running during any "load", that being anything from a slight incline to letting the clutch out relatively fast. I was told it was the carb and sense I have never even touched an 8n until now, I just assumed my neighbor who ran this tractor for the last 20+ years knew what he was talking about and I purchased the carb and adjusted to specs with no lengthier run times. All parts replaced are brand new and from my research online they are "quality" and not cheap overseas replicas. This is what I have done/replaced so far with no change in the very short run times and sputtering out to a stall with any movement.
Oil change
Oil filter
Fresh fuel changed out 3-4 times now, roughly 8 gallons each time
Points (x2)-set to spec
Condenser (x2)
Cap
Plugs(437&al216) gapped to a .020
Wires (2 different styles)
Fuel line
Sediment bowl
3 carbs (2 zenith and 1 m&s)
10+ fuel screen filters
Fuel tank has been cleaned thoroughly and coated-no rust/debris
Compression test reads 100psi (dry) on all 4 cylinders
All valves are working properly upon pulling the inspection plate
Fuel pours from the fuel line! No shortage! Will run entire tank dry with speed!
New 6 volt battery
Spark appears to be a bright blue indicating to me it is strong
What I have noticed- being a complete novice to these tracors that appears suspecting is
1)The governor upon inspection does have a few extremely small flat spots on the main large "weights"? Or ball bearings.
2) The electrical system appears to be a complete mess- some new- some old, all was tested and appears to be in operational condition, inspected and repaired where needed
3) The throttle control lever has significant play, I can move the throttle from its lowest idling position to half throttle without the tractor even attempting to adjust its RPM s
4) every so often I have heard the tractor while idling create an ever so quiet "pop pop pop" from the exhaust, it sounds like a misfire but it will come and go with no pattern that I can find
Any and all help/advice is appreciated, for the record I am no mechanic, the term shade tree mechanic comes to mind when my skill level is being determined so do please keep that in mind!.
A month ago I couldn t tell you a darn thing about these tractors, today, I am learning about these tractors just as I will be tomorrow. I couldn t think of a better way to spend some garage time/ quality time with my 5 year old daughter then working on her grandfathers retirement toy.
-The Back Story
I received my new to me 8n from a neighbors barn, he says this tractor belonged to my great grandfather and plowed all of my family s Feilds for years. My father stated he dreams of "playing around on the tractor in his retirement". My father is no mechanic by any stretch of the imagination. The running joke is "he will build you a house by hand, but he won t install the door handles" being that it is to "mechanical" for him. I found out first hand how true that is, we built my home together a year ago and I installed all the door handles. Anyway- now that retirement is coming in the spring for him, I m attempting to get this tractor up and running for him as a surprise. He knows nothing about me picking it up or working on it. I m really hoping to fix it up and get it into running condition/ convert it to 12 volt/ repaint it for him to "play around on" in his retirement.
-The issues
So this tractor was plucked from a barn where the neighbor was in fact using the tractor for daily fire wood, brush hogging, snow plowing and general fun 2 years ago. 4 years ago, it was rebuilt top to bottom, the entire motor was gone through, parts replaced and seals redone along with a fresh coat of dripping paint! The tractor was used for 2 years after with what I m told was "no issues". After resting in a barn for 2 years with monthly start ups this is what I found. On the initial startup the tractor would run for 5 min or so and sound as if it was running out of fuel when finally shutting itself down. The tractor refused to stay running during any "load", that being anything from a slight incline to letting the clutch out relatively fast. I was told it was the carb and sense I have never even touched an 8n until now, I just assumed my neighbor who ran this tractor for the last 20+ years knew what he was talking about and I purchased the carb and adjusted to specs with no lengthier run times. All parts replaced are brand new and from my research online they are "quality" and not cheap overseas replicas. This is what I have done/replaced so far with no change in the very short run times and sputtering out to a stall with any movement.
Oil change
Oil filter
Fresh fuel changed out 3-4 times now, roughly 8 gallons each time
Points (x2)-set to spec
Condenser (x2)
Cap
Plugs(437&al216) gapped to a .020
Wires (2 different styles)
Fuel line
Sediment bowl
3 carbs (2 zenith and 1 m&s)
10+ fuel screen filters
Fuel tank has been cleaned thoroughly and coated-no rust/debris
Compression test reads 100psi (dry) on all 4 cylinders
All valves are working properly upon pulling the inspection plate
Fuel pours from the fuel line! No shortage! Will run entire tank dry with speed!
New 6 volt battery
Spark appears to be a bright blue indicating to me it is strong
What I have noticed- being a complete novice to these tracors that appears suspecting is
1)The governor upon inspection does have a few extremely small flat spots on the main large "weights"? Or ball bearings.
2) The electrical system appears to be a complete mess- some new- some old, all was tested and appears to be in operational condition, inspected and repaired where needed
3) The throttle control lever has significant play, I can move the throttle from its lowest idling position to half throttle without the tractor even attempting to adjust its RPM s
4) every so often I have heard the tractor while idling create an ever so quiet "pop pop pop" from the exhaust, it sounds like a misfire but it will come and go with no pattern that I can find
Any and all help/advice is appreciated, for the record I am no mechanic, the term shade tree mechanic comes to mind when my skill level is being determined so do please keep that in mind!.
A month ago I couldn t tell you a darn thing about these tractors, today, I am learning about these tractors just as I will be tomorrow. I couldn t think of a better way to spend some garage time/ quality time with my 5 year old daughter then working on her grandfathers retirement toy.