[Farmall] H Woes

[Michael Miller]

Karl and all,

Thanks for your bits of wisdom.   Your thoughts sparked a couple comments.   
The miss is not a dead miss.   Pulling spark plug wires one cylinder at a 
time affects it the same no matter which cylinder is pulled.   I also found 
out today that the carburetor was rebuilt by the professional carb guy at 
the local CaseIH dealer, which is where the boss' son works.

I do agree that the systematic approach to repair is the best way to go 
about it.   This one is just frustrating because the problem seems to come 
and go in its severity.  As of right now, I'm going to ask around a little 
and see if I can dig up a timing light(and someone who knows how to run 
one!).   I would also like to check the distributor shaft bushings, how do 
you do that?   I have a compression tester, maybe I'll take it over tomorow 
night and test it dry and wet.   I am waiting on some parts for my Super MTA 
and if they come in working on my own tractors comes first but if they don't 
I'll probably go mess with this H a little bit.   I have to go to small 
claims court tomorow and regardless of the outcome I think I'll need 
something to do to relax afterwards!!!

Anyway,  Thanks again for the help.  We'll get this thing figured out yet!  
I wish I could get more information on what has been done to the thing, and 
when, but any time I ask about the old girl the mechanic just asks why I 
want to bother with that old thing, it won't ever run right.....   Little 
wonder he hasn't been able to get it whooped with an attitude like that, eh?

Mike

Mike

>From: olmstead at ridgenet.net
>Reply-To: Farmall/IHC mailing list <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>To: "Farmall/IHC mailing list" <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>Subject: Re: [Farmall] H Woes
>Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 06:54:34 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Hi, Mike!  I second Jim's suggestion about the timing light.  That'd tell
>you a lot.
>
>I only know of two ways to diagnose a problem like the one you described.
>The first requires divine intervention (or a healthy dose of dumb luck).
>That's the approach where you keep changing things and hoping that they'll
>fix the problem, whether or not they make any sense.
>
>The better approach is to approach this problem in a systematic manner.
>If it's a persistent miss on one particular cylinder, it has to be
>something that only affects that one cylinder.  That pretty much rules out
>timing, dirty gas and carburetor adjustment.
>
>It could still be the distributor.  As others have mentioned, if the parts
>start wobbling, you pretty much lose control of timing.  The timing light
>will tell you a lot.
>
>If the miss sounds like one cylinder only, I'd focus on things that only
>affect one cylinder... leaky valves, intake manifold leaks or cracks, bad
>plug wire or spark plug, etc.  You can pull or short a plug wire and find
>out if it really is just one cylinder that is missing.  A compression
>check would be a great idea.
>
>I once had a Datsun 210 that ran great on the road but missed horribly on
>one cylinder around town.  After days of fine tuning and tinkering, I
>decided to clean the spark plugs.  I discovered that some "mechanic" had
>dropped one plug and closed up the gap to almost nothing.  Two minutes
>with feeler gauges and the car ran like new.
>
>The biggest problem with a rebuilt engine is what you alluded to... you
>can't really take anything for granted.  Incorrect cam timing, leaky head
>gasket, leaky or stuck valve, incorrectly installed intake manifold
>gasket, incorrectly adjusted rocker arms, bent pushrod.... have fun!
>
>-Karl
>---------------------------
>
> >
> > List,
> >
> > My employer has an H that has been in the family since new.   His son 
>went
> > through and rebuilt it a few years ago.   It does not run right.   It
> > seems
> > to miss, and doesn't have any power.   Supposedly the Carb has been
> > rebuilt
> > and all tuneup parts replaced.   The mechanic isn't much of a gasoline
> > motor
> > guy and while he does good work he is short on patience when he tries to
> > work on a gasser that has an issue other than it is out of gas.   I have
> > tried playing with it a little bit, and some things I've discovered:
> > Changing the timing helps the miss, and the power, but it doesn't 
>totally
> > cure it.   Changing the timing also makes it impossible to crank start 
>the
> > old girl.  You can crank start it easily if the timing is set at one
> > specific place.  I am timing by ear, no timing light involved.   I am
> > almost
> > tempted to say I think the automatic advance isn't working in the
> > distributor.   I really hate to tear the thing apart and make it totally
> > inoperable, so I am looking for any advice as far as what to look at and
> > what I will find if I do tear that distributor apart.   Worn bushings?
> > Worn Gears?   mucked up auto-advance?
> >
> >
> > Many thanks on ideas on where to start.   I know I haven't given you 
>much
> > information but its been a couple weeks since I've messed with her and 
>my
> > memory isn't as good as it used to be :-)
> >
> > Thanks again
> > Mike
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Farmall mailing list
>http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/farmall