I posted a week or so ago about my 2N that suddenly started running rough after running fine for 20 minutes. It then ran rough even when cold. I saw some smoke coming from around the #1 exhaust port after running for 30 seconds. People suggested a faulty ignition switch, a blown head gasket, etc.Well, I got it fixed today. I tried shorting across the ignition switch. No difference (even after I repaired a loosely splied ignition wire). I used a spare spark plug to check the spark quality on all 4 cylinders, and all 4 wires gave a nice, blue spark. Coolant was clean, with no compression bubbles. Then I did a compression test. 105, 90, 100, 100 (all within spec). After the compression test, the engine ran just fine. The #1 plug was a little oily when I pulled it, while the other 3 all looked perfect. My guess is that either the #1 plug wire wasn't securely attached to the plug terminal, and/or the #1 plug wasn't screwed into the head securely (it seemed to unscrew more easily than the others). Probably the plug wire wasn't attached securely initially, and slowly vibrated its way off while being driven. Still not sure what caused the smoke by the exhaust manifold. Perhaps it was all the unburned gas entering the manifold. I may have a leaky gasket, but I can't see any smoke when the engine is running well. I guess that being a computer guy, I should have known that the first thing you check when something isn't working is, "Is it plugged in?" I'm glad it was something that simple, but I'm bummed that it took me several hours to figure it out. At least now I know that several more parts of my tractor are in good shape! Thanks for all the help, guys.
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