1950 Ford 8N Tractor, s/n 8N249439 (page 5)
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Before (2002):
June 28, 2008
I spent a very pleasant afternoon and evening buttoning up the last items before attempting the first startup, which, unfortunately, was unsuccessful. The engine turns over nicely, but I'm not showing any oil pressure yet, and am not getting spark at the plugs.
On a positive note (or, since the 8N uses positive ground, maybe it's a negative note?), I got all the lights up and running, installed a grease gun clip, plus a bracket to hold a hammer, and also painted the Ford logos on the fenders and hood (and yes, I do know that the early 8Ns had logo-less fenders, but these are the ones I had to work with).
I'll give both the tractor and myself a day of rest, and we'll hit it again Monday. I already have an idea why we're not getting spark...
June 30, 2008
Part One:
I've had the distributor out and apart once tonight, and am about to go pull it again. Before pulling it the first time, I had 6+ volts at the top of the coil, but when I put a test light in that circuit, it would not light at all while cranking over (no ground at all through the points - no spark at the plugs).
After stretching the pigtail, etc. and reassembling, I now get a light when cranking, but it stays on solid - it does not flash on and off presumably as it should as the points open and close.
I'm suspecting I've created a continuous ground in the distributor? Gonna pull it off again and check with the tester...
Part Two:
We have ignition - praise the Lord! I indeed had a ground in the distributor, created when I "improved" on things and added a lock washer under one of the points screws - the added height was enough to cause the screw head to touch the spring on the points, grounding the whole thing out.
After removing the offending washer and reassembling everything, I tried cranking again, but still no fire. I checked all four plug wires at the plug and was getting a good strong spark, so I tried it again with some ether for good measure and still no fire. Then I remembered to turn on the gas, and she popped! Then I remembered to turn on the video camera, and she started right up - woohoo!
She moved under her own power for the first time in nearly four years, and after three fairly solid months of work (not counting the initial teardown three+ years ago).
I have several items that will need attention before I go do any work: two of the oil lines were leaking profusely, so those will need redone, and I could hear the fan hitting the shroud every so often, so more adjustment is needed there. I also need to grease all the fittings and top off the hydraulic oil, plus retorque the head bolts after a half hour of running.
Again, praise the Lord for provision, strength, safety and perseverance!
July 2, 2008
Been taking a little bit of a breather since getting the 8N going, but did spend a little time on it last night. I got the oil line leak slowed down to a drip-drip from the gusher that it was, but suspect I munged the flaring job and will have to redo that line (from oil block on right rear to oil filter on left front).
Also bent and tapped on the fan shroud and got the "interference fit" almost corrected - at idle it doesn't hit, but under load it does. More bending and tapping is in order, I think.
My ammeter is still showing a pegged-out +30 amp charge (I did check to make sure wires are hooked up to the right terminals - when you turn the lights on, you get a discharge). While running, I turned all the lights on, and after 15 seconds or so, they all went out and won't come back on. Did not troubleshoot either of those problems yet, but suspect blown fuses are possibly related to the ammeter indication.
Other than that, she's running pretty smooth - a little hint of a miss at high RPM, but I have not yet adjusted the carb (just left it where it was when I took it apart). She's got a nice sound, especially after being used to my loaner 8N which had a blown out exhaust gasket.
Lift worked fine, a little slow and jerky coming up (no load).
Drove 'er around in 1, 2 and 3 gears, goosing the throttle, and she did just fine.
July 3, 2008
Did some more bug fixing tonight. Figured out that the oil leak was due to me cross-threading the fitting. I had a couple other fittings I was able to cobble together to jerry-rig it to work with only a slight weeping, so that's done for now.
The brand-new fuel strainer cutoff knob fell off yesterday while driving around the yard. Another wonder from "the land of almost right." Thankfully I had my old strainer, so swapped the knob off it and used a lock washer this time.
Was also able to almost completely eliminate the fan hitting the shroud. It still ticks every now and then, under load and if I hit a bump.
Finally, I was unable to correct the overcharging generator problem. I verified that I have a good ground from the voltage regulator to the frame (and thus to the battery), so that's not it. Also verified that wires are indeed hooked up where they are supposed to go. Rapped on the voltage regulator a bit, which didn't change anything, either. Not sure what to do next...
Chad grabbed some nice photos of me making a test run down the road:
July 7, 2008
Still trying to sort out my charging system - the voltage regulator isn't working properly, despite my repeated adjustments... Also need to do some fuel system tuning - she's running a bit rough at higher RPMs.
July 8, 2008
Installed the "correct" voltage regulator, and it's reading a constant 15 amp charge rate - better than before, but still not quite right, I think. Replaced my 10 amp fuses for the lights with 20 amp fuses, and they are now staying on longer than 15 seconds, so that problem seems fixed.
Hooked up the mower and did the ditch along the road. Had to hold the choke out about halfway to keep the engine running smooth, and also kept having to adjust the throttle - it keeps creeping down by itself, despite my having increased the spring tension on it...
More bugs to chase down…
August 2, 2008
Well, the 8N seems to be running pretty good so far, after making some adjustments here and there. I've been harvesting oats this weekend, but not with the N - it gets used mainly for moving the flarebox wagon around...
August 16, 2008
Full moon rising…
September 19, 2008
Installed a new right axle hub (original was leaking through the splines), and painted the starter (finally!). Gave it a good wash, and Tyler will drive it up to West Jersey tomorrow to display with the other vintage tractors in the area for our annual county Fall Drive.
September 20, 2008
At the Stark County Fall Drive (Tyler got to drive there and back!):
November 25, 2008
Other than moving equipment into the barns for winter and plowing snow, I'm done with my the first season with my "new" Ford 8N tractor. It's been a joy to use this year!
December 1, 2008
June 11, 2009
October 31, 2009
September, 2011
