[AT] Ford 4000 Quitting Afer Running a While

[Dick Day]

I had a similar problem once. Turned out to be the coil.



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From: "Alan  Nadeau" <ajnadeau1 at myfairpoint.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 2:39 PM
To: "ATIS" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
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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