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refuses to take a shower

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bdunegan

08-24-2006 09:58:25

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have a 1951 8n that everytime we get a few raindrops, it wont start(dont have luxury of barn yet). everyone knows that the wiring and dist cap on these are pretty well out in the open. all my wiring harness is wrapped in rubber sleeves, and sealed. my dist cap is the problem. does anyone know of a good way to waterproof these? also what should the original colors be. i am going to have it repainted.

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Travis 8N

01-08-2007 07:14:40

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to bdunegan, 08-24-2006 09:58:25

A while back a friend who once had a couple Ford tractors commented that "those old Fords were bad about eating up points".
I think I discovered the reason for it. The distributor cap is a poor fit and lets the dust in. I've cleaned it out and looked at it after bushhogging and found a layer of dust inside. When I place the cap on the distributor, I can move it from side to side almost an eighth inch.

Has anyone found a solution for this? A certain brand of cap that fits better than others?

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Ford850

08-25-2006 10:46:23

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to bdunegan, 08-24-2006 09:58:25

Even though the wires look good and are soft and pliable, they could be bad. Have someone crank it when it"s damp after dark. Look close at all the areas the wires are close to metal. I"ve been surprised by how fast the insulation on wires breaks down sometimes. Easy to spot after dark.

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carl wells

08-25-2006 05:31:18

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to bdunegan, 08-24-2006 09:58:25

I have 3 tractors under shelter but if I didn't have shelter for them I would get tarps and cover them up.

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Beck

08-24-2006 14:30:02

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to bdunegan, 08-24-2006 09:58:25

The original colors for an 8N are Ford gray for the hood and Ford red for the rest of tractor, except the rims of which I am not sure of? I believe the wheels are also painted Ford gray.

I would go right to your New Holland dealer and buy the paint, that way you know for sure its the right match, plus they probably have some one there that can advise you as to what gets painted which color. The paint will be a little more than you can but it for at the local farm supply store, but paint isn't a real big ticket item anyway.

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rick in sc

08-24-2006 14:26:28

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to bdunegan, 08-24-2006 09:58:25

Believe it or not, the bakelite the distributor cap is made from can become saturated with water. You can dry out the inside, but the first dampness that hits the outside will cause dampness on the inside. Ford cars with points and GM trucks in the late 80"s early 90"s were bad about this. I"d try replacing the cap before anything else.

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Charlie in NY

08-24-2006 12:43:01

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to bdunegan, 08-24-2006 09:58:25

One of the few "true" uses of WD-40: water displacement. When I had my '67 VW Beetle it was standard proceedure to squirt the distributor cap and coil if it liked like rain., or a chance of morning dew. Probably from an unnoticed crack or a bad seal.

Also, my '64 Rambler wagon had a cracked distributor cap and a big puddle would stop it cold. I was too broke to replace the cap. Easier just to avoid big puddles. ;-)

They should start in the rain. Anything you do to waterproof it is temporary if the cap or seal is defective. Water never sleeps and vibration defeats most spit & gum repairs eventually. You could try smearing it with clear silicone caulk, but forget painting it thereafter.

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cj3b_jeep

08-24-2006 11:33:12

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to bdunegan, 08-24-2006 09:58:25

Old Jeep racing trick is to use a rubber glove with the fingers cut out. Slip it over the distibutor, wire tie it on. Slip the wires through the finger holes and wire tie the fingers over the wires and you've got a neat little raincoat for your distributor cap. I would agree with others that it sounds like you have a cracked/leaking cap and should think about fixing the problem rather than fighting the symptoms.

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old

08-24-2006 10:40:21

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to bdunegan, 08-24-2006 09:58:25

I would almost bet you have a cracked distubutor cap. Had an old GMC truck that would do the same thing and it was the cap. As far as spraying the cap with WD-40 my self I will never do that again, I had one blow up on me when I did that and it wasn't pretty. One way you can find out but you will only do it once is to hold the cap the next time it does that and at the same time try to start it. If it ZAPS the $%^& out of you then you know the cap is bad. I would replace the cap and rotor at the same time by the way

Hobby farm

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Jerry/MT

08-24-2006 10:29:43

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to bdunegan, 08-24-2006 09:58:25

I take it you have a sidemounted distributor. Take a good look at your distributor cap. Look for cracks and carbon tracking on the interior surface. Make sure there is no corrosion on the interior terminals, the rotor, and in the sockets where the wires go. Likewise with the coil terminal. Is your distributor supposed to have a dust cap and if it does, is it in place?

Make sure that your ignition is operating properly i.e. you have a fat, bluish spark. There are a bunch of tractors out there running without this problem so there has to be some kind of defect in your cap or in the ignition system to cause this to happen. As a last resort you could spray the cap interior with WD-40.

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bdunegan

08-24-2006 10:40:08

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to Jerry/MT, 08-24-2006 10:29:43

my cap is good, dust cover in place, and altho it is still on 6 volt, i have a sharp blue spark for ign. all sockets are good and fit tight on cap, and coil wire and sockets are tight. what about silicone spray on all wires and cap? would this help or hurt?

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Jerry/MT

08-25-2006 21:14:10

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to bdunegan, 08-24-2006 10:40:08

I'm not talking about tight fitting. I'm talking abut corrosion. A lot of these distributor caps have Aluminum terminals which can corrode. Sure they'll fit tight but they may have a high resistance from corrosion. When you check the sprk, is it a fat bluish spark? blue isn't good enough(though it's better than orange or yelow). It has to be a FAT, bluish Spark.
WD-40 is a water displacing compund so that would help on the wires and cap IF water is the problem. I think you have something defective because, as I said before, there are tons of these tractors out there that don't have your problem. If you live in a high humidity area, corrosion and/or bad wires, defective cap,etc could be your problem.

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old

08-24-2006 13:27:29

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to bdunegan, 08-24-2006 10:40:08

How do you know that cap is good?? Believe it or not you can not see cracks in a cap, and if it is cracked it will stop it from running if it gets wet. I've even seen brand new caps that where cracked. It doesn't take much to put a hair line crack in a cap and like I said you can't/will not see the crack. One old trick to finding a crack in the cap is to spray it on the inside with starter fluid and then let it dry. If you see any lines on the inside after doing that you are seeing a crack and it is bad.

Hobby farm

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Tom Jefferson

08-24-2006 14:57:41

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to old, 08-24-2006 13:27:29

You could also try running it after dark to see if a stray spark shows up where it shouldn't. Usually a crack or other spark problem will arc a pretty blue in the dark, when you can't see it in the daytime.

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Jerry Cent. Mi.

08-25-2006 16:07:22

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Re: refuses to take a shower in reply to Tom Jefferson, 08-24-2006 14:57:41

You might also clean the oil fill cap. Your distributer is old and no doubt the shaft is worn. Fumes that build in the crankcase have to go somewhere and if any vent is blocked they will come through around the shaft and lodge inside the cap. The film draws water and the motor won't start. This was a big problem with our first Ford with the front dist. Don't forget your coil. I have seen them short out from moisture. Good Luck

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