[AT] Ford 4000 Quitting Afer Running a While

[Dave Rotigel]

Al, 
	It would take about the same time to replace the plugs, wires, points, condenser, rotor and cap as it will for your AK to cool down after several hours of shooting. I'd be willing to bet none of this has been done for at least several years. The total cost should not be more than the 150 rounds you just put through the rifle!
	Dave
PS, Many of us don'r remember how fast points, plugs, etc. wear out on these older units. I'm still shocked each spring when I "tune up" my 1953 MH Pacer! Points, cap and rotor are all burned! When I was a kid you needed to tune up your car every 8-10,000 miles--damn the 1948 Ford V-8 distributor was FUN to work on!


On Jul 14, 2013, at 9:21 AM, Richard Fink Sr wrote:

> Al i would bet on coil or resistor first. Then have the points and condenser 
> with me and tools to change next time i ran it.
> R Fink
> PA
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Alan Nadeau" <ajnadeau1 at myfairpoint.net>
> To: "ATIS" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 2:39 PM
> Subject: [AT] Ford 4000 Quitting Afer Running a While
> 
> 
>> The shooting club I belong to has a Ford 4000 which is having "issues". 
>> I'm not sure where to start trying to narrow it down.  This is the newer 
>> version with the 3 cyl. gas engine, not the early one which looks like a 
>> beefed up N Series.  We use it, with a 6 foot bushhog, to keep the 
>> weed/brush growth down on several acres of old pasture land around the 
>> club grounds.  I get along with it as it is the right age, even if it is 
>> an off brand(Ford was never real popular around here).  Nobody else really 
>> cares to operate it as it is a bit of a clubfoot and is not a shiny 
>> compact tractor.
>> 
>> I starts fine and runs good for the first 1-2 hours.  Then it starts to 
>> stumble and over a few minutes gets worse until it dies completely. 
>> Sometimes it will restart immediately and run (barely) for a few seconds, 
>> at other times it won't restart without sitting 30-45 minutes.  After that 
>> rest period it will again run normally but for a shorter time, continuing 
>> that sequence until It won't run at all until completely cooled down.
>> 
>> When it starts stumbling I can usually notice the difference in engine 
>> note.  If I catch it in time I find I can take the load off it, close the 
>> throttle to barely above idle and, by playing with the choke, manage to 
>> limp it back to the barn.
>> 
>> It doesn't backfire when it acts up, if it was going lean I would expect 
>> it to belch and bellow.  If the ignition was cutting out completely, then 
>> kicking back in I would also expect a horrendous backfire from unburned 
>> fuel filling the exhaust and then getting lit off.
>> 
>> Since I am always alone when I'm working it I don't have anyone around to 
>> help in trying to troubleshoot the thing.  Unless I am constantly playing 
>> with the choke it dies, there is no pulling the choke partway and having 
>> it continue to run.
>> 
>> One thing that may be relevant or not is that this thing has the 
>> absolutely harsh exhaust fumes I have ever been exposed to.  Terrible eye 
>> irritating stuff.  I added some to the stack so it is quite a bit higher 
>> than my head and I'm still coming home with my eyes so irritated that I 
>> often have to pull my eyelids part manually when awakening the morning 
>> after a hogging session.
>> 
>> Anyone have any ideas?  If you want more information ask any questions and 
>> I'll answer them as fully as I can.
>> 
>> As for taking it to a shop, it is really hard now to find anyone who knows 
>> diddly about carburetors and spark ignition.  Because it only acts up 
>> after being worked for a while I'm not sure how viable it would be to get 
>> it into a shop.  Now that I think about it I may well let it run at high 
>> idle and see if it craps out without a load.  If it does that would make 
>> getting it to a shop a bit more practical.
>> 
>> Al Nadeau
>> 
>> 
>> 
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