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TE20 Plugs, Wires and air filter Question

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Berryville

03-09-2008 09:59:38




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TE20 Plugs, Wires and air filter Question.

I’m having trouble with my TE20.
First the front cylinder is missing. I pulled the plug (it was black but not wet) and there is spark but when I put the plug in it isn’t firing the cylinder. It was running fine then started to losing power and popping. I determined it was the front cylinder after removing one wire at a time and listening to the engine. I figured I would get new plugs but they are hard to find (It has champion’s in it now). Does anyone have the numbers I can get in the other brands of plugs? The auto part store couldn’t help.
I’m also thinking I should replace the wires, what’s a good source for wires?
I’m also thinking about upgrading to an electronic ignition has anyone else done this, is it very difficult? The tractor is a 12v system.

Second thing, I pulled the bottom off of the Air filter and the cap was full of oil. It wasn’t so full that it spilled out onto the floor but the cap was full of oil. Should this be? If it shouldn’t how the heck did it get full of oil?

Thanks,

Pete

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Chris D

03-10-2008 17:15:46




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 Re: TE20 Plugs, Wires and air filter Question in reply to Berryville, 03-09-2008 09:59:38  
wires can be located at NAPA part #700172 which are solid wire core



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Berryville

03-10-2008 12:10:19




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 Re: TE20 Plugs, Wires and air filter Question in reply to DennisPinOhio, 03-09-2008 09:59:38  
Thanks to everyone for the great info.

I believe it’s a wire problem.... I switched the wires from the front cylinder to the 2nd cylinder. The 2nd wire zapped me a bit. After switching the wires the front cylinder still didn’t fire all the time but I did notice one thing. If I didn’t slip the wire on the plug all the way the cylinder fired all the time. I left it loose and drove it around and it ran fine. I’m gona replace all the plugs and the wires and see if that fixes the problem.

Pete




Jerry/MT said: (quoted from post at 02:54:37 03/10/08) The black fouling that is dry is from a rich mixture but since I presume that only the #1 plug is fouled, that is probably as a result of a misfire.
I second phil(va)"s recommendation regarding the plugs; Autolite 3116"s. Since the problem seems associated with only that plug, pull the #1 plug wire out of the cap and check for corrosion in the cap tower. It can be cleaned out with a screw driver or a small knife to get you going again, but I"d look for a rplacement cap if you find corrosion.
How do the plug wires look. Is the insulation cracked when you bend the wire?If so it"s time for replacement wires. Are the wires copper core? They should be. Do not use automotive spark plug wire. Use copper core spark plug wire. Look at the plug insulator. Is it cracked or dirty. Either one will pleed the secondary current from the plug and cause a misfire. Look at the gap. Is it correctly set? Is the plug the correct heat range?

Sort this problem out before you get an electronic ignition system. Electronic ignition only eliminates the points from the system. All the rest of the system has to be up to snuff for the engine to run properly.

You have an oil bath air cleaner on this tractor and the oil in the cup is part of the filter system. When the engine is running, the oil gets pulled up on the filter element(a bunch of metal shavings) The airlow goes down through the center tube of the air filter, turns 180 o and goes up through the oil moistened metal shavings and then down through the air tube into the carb. The big particles are centrifuged out in the turning and drop into the cup. The small stuff collects on the oil moistened shavings. When the engine is shut down, the oil drips back down into the cup, taking the dirt with it. In really dirty conditions, you might have to change the oil several times a day. Engine oil is generally used in the cup. I buy the cheapest 30W detergent oil I can find for the oil cup. I wouldn"t go any lighter than 30W because it was the specified oil and if the oil doesn"t have enough viscosity, it can get sucked into the engine and it"ll smoke and foul the plugs.

Hope this helps you.

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Jerry/MT

03-09-2008 18:54:37




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 Re: TE20 Plugs, Wires and air filter Question in reply to Berryville, 03-09-2008 09:59:38  
The black fouling that is dry is from a rich mixture but since I presume that only the #1 plug is fouled, that is probably as a result of a misfire. I second phil(va)"s recommendation regarding the plugs; Autolite 3116"s. Since the problem seems associated with only that plug, pull the #1 plug wire out of the cap and check for corrosion in the cap tower. It can be cleaned out with a screw driver or a small knife to get you going again, but I"d look for a rplacement cap if you find corrosion.

How do the plug wires look. Is the insulation cracked when you bend the wire?If so it"s time for replacement wires. Are the wires copper core? They should be. Do not use automotive spark plug wire. Use copper core spark plug wire. Look at the plug insulator. Is it cracked or dirty. Either one will pleed the secondary current from the plug and cause a misfire. Look at the gap. Is it correctly set? Is the plug the correct heat range?

Sort this problem out before you get an electronic ignition system. Electronic ignition only eliminates the points from the system. All the rest of the system has to be up to snuff for the engine to run properly.
You have an oil bath air cleaner on this tractor and the oil in the cup is part of the filter system. When the engine is running, the oil gets pulled up on the filter element(a bunch of metal shavings) The airlow goes down through the center tube of the air filter, turns 180 o and goes up through the oil moistened metal shavings and then down through the air tube into the carb. The big particles are centrifuged out in the turning and drop into the cup. The small stuff collects on the oil moistened shavings. When the engine is shut down, the oil drips back down into the cup, taking the dirt with it. In really dirty conditions, you might have to change the oil several times a day. Engine oil is generally used in the cup. I buy the cheapest 30W detergent oil I can find for the oil cup. I wouldn"t go any lighter than 30W because it was the specified oil and if the oil doesn"t have enough viscosity, it can get sucked into the engine and it"ll smoke and foul the plugs.

Hope this helps you.

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phil(va)

03-09-2008 17:04:25




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 Re: TE20 Plugs, Wires and air filter Question in reply to Berryville, 03-09-2008 09:59:38  
Autolite 3116 plugs. Any decent auto parts store should have them. NAPA and Advance have them for sure. As mentioned you can get good wires from TSC, but if you are not close to TSC, most of the mail order houses have good sets of copper core wires. Don"t use the auto type (non copper core) wires which are made to eliminate static in the radio. YES, the bottom of the air filter is supposed to be full of oil. You should replace that oil when you change the oil in the engine. You should get a set of manuals, starting with an operator"s manual.

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phil(va)

03-09-2008 17:07:07




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 Re: TE20 Plugs, Wires and air filter Question in reply to phil(va), 03-09-2008 17:04:25  
Oh, i forgot. I'd get it running well with the current ignition before i made any changes. Then you will have a benchmark, and if you want to consider electronic ignition, go ahead.



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gshadel

03-09-2008 16:25:02




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 Re: TE20 Plugs, Wires and air filter Question in reply to Berryville, 03-09-2008 09:59:38  
Plug wires - get copper core ignition wires. The economy "cut to length" copper core tractor wires sold by TSC and similar places work good.
Spark - make sure you have a fat bluish white zappy spark. A yellow spark is weak and won't give good fire in your cylinder. Check that your points are adjusted to the proper gap, too wide, or too narrow gap robs your spark plug spark. Make sure your wiring to the coil and distributor are clean and shiny, 6V systems suffer voltage drop with even minor corrosion.
air filter - normal, you should see a line on the side of the cup for filling with oil. The oil catches debris that would otherwise get sucked into your carb. Dump & replace that oil regularly, use 30 wt oil in that air filter cup.


George

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CENTAUR

03-09-2008 11:40:03




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 Re: TE20 Plugs, Wires and air filter Question in reply to Berryville, 03-09-2008 09:59:38  
I would transpose the black plug with another that is firing to see if the miss is following the plug.If that does not work transpose the black plug wire with another. Post back if that does not solve it.From what I read on this forum the AUTOLITES are the way to go.If there is sediment it should be cleaned out and oil should be replaced with what is recommended.CENTAUR



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Berryville

03-09-2008 11:12:41




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 Re: TE20 Plugs, Wires and air filter Question in reply to Berryville, 03-09-2008 09:59:38  
"z120 engine"

Yes, I believe so...

Thanks for the plug info. Autozone didnt have any Champions in the size I had and they had no cross reference either.... They sent me to NAPA but they are closed on the weekends and during the weekdays they close at 5. Unless I take time off of work I cant get to the NAPA store.....



Pete



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john[mo]

03-09-2008 10:23:13




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 Re: TE20 Plugs, Wires and air filter Question in reply to Berryville, 03-09-2008 09:59:38  
do you have a continental z120 engine? go to auto parts store ask for 386 or 3116 autolite spark plugs. they will have at least one or the other or both.



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