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1962 simplicity tractor NEED HELP!


eugenedrago

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I want to take a moment and introduce myself as I am new to this forum. My name is Gene, and I just spent the winter restoring a Montgomery Wards (Simplicity) Garden Mark tractor. I picked it up in pretty bad shape but she was all there. With a lot of time and elbow grease she is looking good. The problem I have is she starts up nice and runs good for several minutes with great throttle response. The tractor idles nice (real low) and comes up to speed nice. The adjustments for high and low end on the carb respond nicely from lean to rich. This all goes to pot after several moments of running. She becomes sick! The motor dies out and becomes very hard to start. If you can get it to start she will only at idle. When you try to bring it up to speed she will quit no matter how easily you try to nurse her up and regardless of what you do with the settings on the carb. If you let it cool down over night she will start right up and run great again for the first several minutes with everything acting and responding great. I had a extra carb that was also rebuilt and put it on with only the exact same symptoms. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the coil is breaking down and when she heats up and under a load becomes "strange". Any thoughts or suggestion would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks, Gene. I just ran through some of the posts here on the forum that might provide me some areas to search. I am going to try a compression ck when the engine is cold and when she comes to temp and quits. Can someone provide me with the numbers I should expect? It's a Briggs model 19. I did not tear down this motor besides removing the head and replacing the gasket. The tractor does seem to blow smoke on throttle up so maybe the valves could be in need of attention. Thanks again for any help here, Gene
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Check the valve lash. If you do not have any clearance, it will run for a few minutes and then the valve will not close. The stem gets longer as it heats up. I have run into this at three times so far.
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I have a 1960 700 and someone told me to replace the coil right away because of the problems you are experiencing. Just a thought. I didn't need to replace mine it runs great.
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I am going to try the condenser. If this does not work I will pull the motor and put on a new coil. While I have the motor out (again) I will go through it with more detail this time. I will ck the valves as well as the rings etc.! Thanks! I should have done all this while the tractor was apart this winter. It seemed to have nice spark and compression so I was trying to save some time.
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Basics, do you have a robust spark and a good flow of fuel into carb? If you a good spark and it quits, check fuel flow into carb.
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Fuel flow is 100%. I went through it twice and all is clear and flowing well. I even rigged a fuel line with a funnel held above the motor filled with gas. Still the same symptoms. :(
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As far as the spark It is a very strong blue crisp spark. At least when it's held against the head of the motor. This may change when it's under a load. My understanding is that maybe either when it's under a load or when the motor is heated up the coil and or condenser can act "strange". I am thinking that I am down to either a coil/condenser or internal issues like the valves.
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I want to add that the coil and condenser are most likely the original. the man I purchased this from said it has been sitting for at least 30 years. I don't know if this sets any alarms off to anybody or not but thought I would add it. Thank you all for the response!!! This is an awesome sight.
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Nice looking tractor. You did a good job. As far as the problem your have check to make sure the head gasket is'nt leaking after the tractor warms up.
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At one point I did find that the head bolts where not up to torque. I was actually kind of excited when I noticed this. I thought I had found the issue. After re-tightening the bolts I still had the same symptoms. The head gasket I put was was a NOS one from ebay. Maybe it is dried out or brittle from being around for so long and not making a good seal. I might have to investigate the idea of putting a new one on. It's a possibility for sure. Thank you for your input.
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Try a new spark plug. Regardless of brand, bar none, they are better the half of all starting problems. It is an electrical device, electrical devices fail. J19LM or even a CJ14 at last resort.
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Not a bad idea Bob. I have a RJ19LM in there now. I would still like to find a condenser for this but it seems that for the model 19 Briggs they are hard to find. There has got to be a condenser that will work even though I may have to modify the mounting bracket and or system. I just have to figure out which one has the same capacity range is my understanding. So we are down to: - head gasket - spark plug - condenser and or coil Thank you all for your input. I have a coil on it's way I just need to find a compatible condenser.
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You have the famous Magna-Matic Briggs ignition that is noted for the exact problem you describe caused by a bad coil. After verifying that the valve settings and the point and condensor are ok try this site for cheap fix ... http://gasengine.farmcollector.com/gas-engines/Cheap-Fix.aspx Gary
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Thanks Gary, I did come across this article the other day. I just might have to take this route. I ordered a replacement coil so I will give that a go for now. I still need to replace the condenser and want to make sure I grab one that is close enough to the one I have. I am thinking the condenser from the model 19 D's will work. But I am not sure..... Gene.
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I was able to find a condenser part # 291369 on ebay. Between the coil and condenser now on there way I am hoping this will solve the issues that have been plaguing me!!!! I am also going to try and grab a head gasket and another plug at my local Briggs dealer. Thank you all again for your help!! Gene.
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Do change the condenser first. A REO collector friend of mine says that condensers have a shelf life, and it surely isn't 30 years.
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quote:
Originally posted by eugenedrago
I was able to find a condenser part # 291369 on ebay. Between the coil and condenser now on there way I am hoping this will solve the issues that have been plaguing me!!!! I am also going to try and grab a head gasket and another plug at my local Briggs dealer. Thank you all again for your help!! Gene.
Try NAPA
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A Briggs dealer should have the ability to order the condenser also. It is surprising what still comes up if they know how to look it up in the databases.
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Hmm.....I'm going out on a limb here......Take the muffler out and liberally lube the valve guide with transmission fluid. Do this a couple or three times and run the engine until it falters. I've had a few engines that the exhaust valves acted fine when cold starting then started sticking after warming up some. I know it sounds like it's off the beaten path, but here's a video explaining what I discovered and how I remedied the problem. The symptoms are identical to what you are describing, and the fix is free and easy, almost TOO easy! But 100% legitimate, as I said, I've experienced this on more than one occasion with different engines. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea0jqefIlnY
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