International 544 Stalling after a few minutes

Hello everyone, I'm hoping to solve this ongoing problem. My tractor is a 1969 International 544, with a C-200 Engine.

The carb is a Zenith 13384.

My tractor starts without any hesitation. After running from anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes it will stall suddenly, sometimes after a few engine revs. It stalls reliably when the engine is at full throttle or it is working hard with my backhoe attachment, but it can still stall without any hydraulic levers pulled at all. It has also stalled while using a disc in heavy soil.

My air filter is clean and new. My manifold is highly discolored, but I don't see any holes in it. My fuel shutoff solenoid was just replaced, and it is definitely working correctly.

My problem doesn't seem to be related to engine temperature. It could be a fuel issue as my glass bowl does have rust in it. That brings up a side question:

what is the most elegant way to put in a modern fuel filter? I'm not excited to cut into my original metal fuel lines, but will do so if necessary.

Do I just need to clean or rebuild the carb? Or does this sound more like a gas problem? Thank you for any help.

-Steve

First of all, rule out a loss of ignition/spark by attaching a neon spark tester to one of the sparkplug wires and note if it continues to have spark while "dying".

I'd also connect a temporary test light to the connection at the fuel solenoid to verify FOR SURE that an electrical problem isn't cutting of ignition poser and/or fuel solenoid power.

If the electrical part checks out, you may have something restricting fuel flow, could be something partially clogged so not enough fuel can flow under load (although you said the "stalling" sometimes happens without a load, IIRC), or something floating around the tank that sometimes moves into position blocking the flow of fuel.

feel the coil as soon as it stalls, if its hot then thats the problem. also how long between stall's? could be a floaty in the carb covering
the jet . if you are cleaning the sediment bowl regularly i dont see any gain in another filter as long as you have the filter at the bowl.
plus there might be on at carb inlet not sure on this tractor.

Do verify the spark first. And verify the solenoid on the carb is getting power. Be ready to do the tests immediately when it fails. Also try loosening the gas cap just to verify it is not creating a vacuum in the tank.

Then have a clean glass ready. With the fuel valve open, remove the drain plug from the carb bowl, be ready to catch the flow in the glass. If there is no fuel pump, the flow should continue in a stream, not slow to a drip or stop.

Look at what was caught. If it is dirty, or water on the bottom, the same will be in the tank.

If the flow stops, there is a restriction somewhere. Likely causes are a restricted screen inside the tank, the screen in the sediment bowl, possibly a screen in the inlet fitting at the carb, or trash caught up at the needle seat.

If there is a fuel pump, crank the engine through, see if flow begins at the bowl drain. If not start tracking back to the tank, see where the restriction is.

If this is a gravity system, adding an inline filter may cause more problems than it solves. Plus it will destroy your factory line.

As for the carb, chances are if the fuel tests dirty, the carb will have some contamination. Usually you can ease the bowl off without tearing the gasket, and clean it out. They are simple, just work over a clear surface so no screws get lost.

Thank you everyone. I'll do the spark test, and will also test the fuel system. This helps a lot.

I had a Super C that did that. Aggregated me to no end, replaced the entire ignition system piece by piece to no avail. Finally one day I knew I was nearly out of gas & headed for farms fuel tank. About 100 yards from the goal, she quit. Ran out of gas, I thought. Took off the gas cap & looked in - there was the cardboard circle from the inside of the cap for a 2 1/2 gallon oil jug I had used one time for an emergency fuel can laying over the inlet of the gas line. Fished it out & problem immediately ended. Bottom line - make sure there isn't something floating around in the tank that can get sucked over the inlet!

I don't have anything to contribute to the advice here but just wanted to say that a 544 is not a real common IH model from what I can tell.

My late Dad bought a used '69 544 in '73 and I learned to run a 4 row cultivator on that tractor and spent a lot of hours doing that in my HS days in the early 80s. Also pulled a disk and was the feed grinder tractor, pulled wagons, 2 row corn picker, 3-16 plow etc. Got sold at the retirement auction in '98 and last year I was talking to someone who worked for the more recent owner who mentioned using it to run a baler so its still going!

I hate to admit it, but now that you mention it, I may remember losing the tip of a gas can inside my tank.....can't believe I didn't think of this sooner.

How on earth did you get the object out? Did you have to remove it?

You might check that the screws are tight to the carburetor bowl to horn . If they are loose or the gaskets are leaking ,it will do that forever.

Used a "grabber" that my brother-in-law
had in his shop. It wasn't fun.