Where do you stop??

*Sigh*. If I drop the pan, will I be looking at the crankshaft, and is there some best way to assess the health of the bearings?

Just my 2-cents.

You know, I was only half-serious. What I was doing is speaking to the addiction I can see this becoming. Mostly tongue-in-cheek, though I was staring at that head today, saying to myself "Know what? You can do this!"

I love this little tractor. It was born the same year I was. I believe, since it wasn't smoking, that I'm truly correcting everything I need to do to get it running smoothly: new electrics, new carb, (the old one was spilling gas- prob. forever, and prob. why it was too rich), and the old manifold looked like it was ready to crumble. Pretty cheap, so far. I've never checked the timing, but it was running-on, so I'll bet it's off a Nebraska mile.

I've been taking things apart since I was a kid, but I'm not a farmer, and tractors and their engines are new to me, and I'm dying to learn. Every tip I can find that I need I save to file, most recently that which I need to know to do the timing. And I am dying to learn, and why I was picking the brains of the parts-dude and service manager at Hoobers, the old guy at my local parts-supply house, you guys, and anybody else I can corner.

I'm looking forward to putting this back together, and tuning her up, like when I used to be able to get my '71 VW beetle spot-on, the last car I had that was as simple as the engine on my Super A. But this time, I have no manual of "Step By Step Procedures For The Compleat Idiot".

But someday, for no better reason than "just because it's there", I want to do the engine 'take-apart', just so I can say "Hey, I did it".

I should have known you guys would respond as though I had immediate need. And as always, the advice is practical, pragmatic, and supportive. And immediate. My sincere thanks.

I love this forum.

Now, I'm off to look up "plasti-gauge" in the archives.

However---if the timing is set retarded so much, or advanced so much that the tractor heats badley from being way off, then the heating will over heat the spark plugs, valve edges, and combustion chamber edges to the point that they become incandescent (glow red). This destructive condition can lead to Running on because the glowing parts set the mixture on fire as the piston comes up. making as if to go on forever.

Most farmalls will run on to one degree or another if shut off from a hard full effort workout with out a few minutes cooldown. (the fuel solenoid on newer tractors stopped this by stopping fuel.

I'd bet yours is carboned up in the combustion chambers from running rich. This has two issues. One, the compression is much higher than normal from the deposits, creating extra heat. And two, the carbon is a great source of glowing igniter. The solutions are two. Run it and clean it by operating correctly (listen for pinging and you might need to run medium octane fuel till it clears the carbon). Or, remove the carbon (many theories on adding various fluids while it is running --I do not subscribe to them--) and or remove the head and wire brush the devil out of it. with a 1" wire cup in a drill. (wear a respirator to do this because the material will be lead contamination and that is not good for you.
Great letting you in on what I know. JimN