No Power, Is it the Governor?

When I first replaced the well warn governor, I was shocked. It ran like a champ and cut the fields great. Unfortunately during that time I discovered that the manifold was cracked, as it started to run really lean and pop and loose power. I replaced that, but it still just doesn"t have enough power to cut a modestly grown field, especially if im going slightly at an incline. Points are in spec. It is in time. Carb is clean. It runs good, even throttles up good. If im just driving around it seems to do decent, but under a load it will literally bog down to the point of killing it. I can post a video of it running and cutting the field if that would help. Did my new governor go bad somehow?

Lastly, I have read several blurbs on where to set the zenith carb, but this one doesn"t seem to fit the bill. It runs best with the idle/air screw turned all the way in and with the main jet turned no more than 2 turns out. If I idle all the way down it starts to smoke a bit, but otherwise seems to be pretty ok. Very very minor smoke at speed. So, its possible the carbs still goofed up too.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

Probably not. But to confirm it, see tip # 14 at the link.

" It runs best with the idle/air screw turned all the way in "

Nope. You've got a dirty carb.

" Complete in the last year: new plugs, wires, stripped and sealed gas tank, carb cleaning, point, rotor, condenser, cap, all new electrical,"

All that's good, but did you set the timing? Did you remove the plate & check the advance weights?

• 75 Tips

" I set the timing by what was called the 2 hand method with a volt meter, "

I've never heard of that.

Pull the distributor. Take the points out, remove the timing plate screw, remove the c-clip, remove the plate & shaft. The weights should be clean & move freely in & out. Make sure the points screws aren't too long & hanging on the weights.

Put a LIGHT coat of WD-40 on the weights/shaft & reassemble it. Straight part of the clip on the timing screw side.

Re-set the point gap at .015.

Now, set the timing. Get a meter or test light, a 21/64” drill bit (*** see below) & a metal straight edge. Put the distributor face down w/ the condenser on the left & the timing plate lock screw on the bottom. Look at the end of the shaft: it has a narrow side & a wide side. Make sure you can tell the difference. Now, place the drill bit in the bottom mounting hole (this will be your reference point for measuring). Next, place a straight edge on the wide side of the tang on the shaft as shown in fig. FO83 in the picture. Rotate the shaft CCW (as viewed from rotor side OR CW as viewed from back/tang side) until the straight edge is ¼" beyond the outside edge of the drill bit you stuck in the distributor mounting hole. At this distance, the distributor points should start to open (get your meter/light out now & check). If not, loosen the timing plate lock screw and turn to advance or retard the timing (move the plate down to advance timing, up to retard). Remember, each one of those little hash marks represents about 4° of timing. Keep adjusting until you get the proper ¼" setting. (if the plate won’t move, you might need to remove the big C clip to loosen it a bit) As you’re adjusting, eliminate backlash by turning the shaft backwards (CW as viewed from the front) and bring the shaft forward (CCW as viewed from the front) to measure your setting. This ¼" setting will get you static timing at top dead center.

As you can see from the picture, this particular distributor needed to have the timing advanced by about 8° (two hash marks) to achieve the ¼” measurement.

After you set the points & timing, do a continuity check before you put the distributor back on the tractor. Before you start, make sure your meter/light works.

With the distributor still off the tractor, follow these steps:

1. Coil off, cap off, points open. One probe on the brass screw & the other on both sides of the open points. On the side closest to the cam, you should have continuity. Not on the other side! If you do, you will also have continuity everywhere because the points are grounded.

2. Coil off, cap off, points open. One probe on the brass screw & the other anywhere on the body of the distributor. You should have no continuity! Now, rotate the tang on the distributor....as the points open & close, you have continuity (closed) and lose it when they open.

3. Put the coil on the distributor, cap off, points open. One probe on the lead on the top of the coil, the other on the cam side of the open points. You should have continuity!

4. Coil on, cap off, points open. One probe on the lead on the top of the coil, the other anywhere on the body of the distributor. You should have no continuity!

At this point, I just put the distributor, coil & cap all back on the tractor as a unit. The reason I do this is because it is real easy to get the cap or coil misaligned trying to put it back together, one piece at a time. The result is something gets broken or you get a ‘no spark’ problem.

It's possible to put it back on wrong & break it. Look at the slot on the end of the cam shaft. Whatever angle it happens to be, turn the distributor tang to match it. Make sure you can tell the wide side from the narrow side on both the cam & distributor! (close counts). Place the distributor on the front of the engine, gently push it in place & slowly turn the distributor body until you feel the tang slip into the slot. Rotate the distributor body until the bolt holes line up. Hand tighten the two bolts until the distributor body is flush with the timing gear cover.

Double-check your firing order & plug wires. It’s 1-2-4-3, counterclockwise. It’s very easy to cross 3 & 4.

And finally, do not forget to remove the distributor on an annual basis (more often, depending on use) to check the point gap and re-lube the cam.

*** Rather than the drill bit, a jig made by Dan Allen (The Old Hokie) will make this task quicker & more accurate. (see the pic)

Link

• 75 Tips