[AT] Ford 4000 Quitting Afer Running a While

[Alan Nadeau]

Thanks to everyone who has replied.

When it first acted up, last year, after running it quite a bit (it ran fine 
early in the hogging season) I considered vapor locking.  It runs "top of 
the green" after a while turning the hog which would make perfect conditions 
for vapor lock.  But, late in the winter I was using it with a box blade to 
grade out potholes that were developing in our long(600 yds), crushed stone, 
driveway. Air temps were in the 40° range and the tractor wasn't seeing much 
load as I was distributing buckets of stone where needed (tractor has a 
loader).  Operating time was mostly at part throttle in the higher gears 
with short periods of moderate load when I was grading the stone.  Temp. 
gauge was barely coming into the green and it bothered then.  I think that 
would tend to eliminate vapor lock as an issue, correct me if my logic is 
faulty.

I think I'll take a known good coil off one of my garden tractors and try 
that.  I will also change the condenser and points, both of them are low 
dollar items and easy to swap out.

This machine was donated to us several years before I joined the club.  It 
is my understanding that it ran reliably until last year.  Other than the 
odd color it is very much like the tractors I was operating on my 
grandparents farm in the late 60s-early 70s.  While it is a bit club footed 
compared to the Deeres of that era I can get along with it and enjoy 
operating it.

The majority of the club officers and board members have zero mechanical or 
equipment related background.  They seem to think that when equipment 
develops a problem the only cure is to replacement and they hem and haw over 
any repairs, seems like they think it will heal by itself.  They made the 
mistake of asking me to serve on the board this year and I took on the 
"Buildings & Grounds" committee chair.  There has been a disgusting lack of 
maintenance around the place and I made it clear that I was NOT going to 
continue that trend but it was probably going to cost the club some money. 
Six months into it and both those things are happening.  It's looking like 
it's time to do a little spending on the tractor.