Getting CA started
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Allis Chalmers
Forum Name: Farm Equipment
Forum Description: everything about Allis-Chalmers farm equipment
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=175238
Printed Date: 09 Jun 2025 at 4:23am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Getting CA started
Posted By: JD-Ohio
Subject: Getting CA started
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2020 at 3:38pm
| CA hasn't been run for about a year. Magneto was rebuilt several years ago by Steve; has a good click. New battery, turns engine over fine. Compression checked good on all 4 cylinders. Took carb apart today, don't see any problems there. Has fresh gas in tank. Take plugs out and squirt gas in each cylinder; it then tries to fire just a little. Still won't start. What else could I try. I'm working alone on it so can't try pull starting it. |
Replies:
Posted By: Dick L
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2020 at 4:10pm
| I would guess your still not getting gas thru the carburetor. I would take the hose off between the carburetor and air cleaner and mist in some starting fluid to see if the carburetor is the problem. Also put your hand over the carburetor while cranking to check for vacuum. You could turn out the fuel power adjustment some. I have had a little goo in the power jet and after starting on starting fluid it cleared its self. If it was running good the last time I wouldn't tinker with anything much. Points will get some oxidation setting now and then and not give a hot spark. |
Posted By: Bill Long
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2020 at 4:17pm
|
JD-OHIO GREAT advice from the best mechanic I have never met. Probably is a fuel problem but it has been so long since I have worked on them cannot give you any better advice Except to day Good Luck! Bill Long
|
Posted By: Boss Man
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2020 at 5:08pm
| Sounds like carb or something blocking flow from the tank. |
Posted By: JD-Ohio
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2020 at 8:21pm
| With gas line disconnected from the carb there is gas flow out of the line. It's hard to use starter fluid quick enough by yourself to be successful. It's also hard to check for spark at a disconnected spark plug. Maybe I can find some help. |
Posted By: Dave(inMA)
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2020 at 9:32pm
|
I've used starter fluid and then cranked the engine by myself. With hose to carb disconnected, key and choke open, give it a decent squirt, close the choke, and crank it - after checking to make sure the tranny is in neutral. ------------- WC, CA, D14, WD45 |
Posted By: Dick L
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 5:54am
Find a hand crank to check for spark! You can put a wire fastened to a plug wire long enough to get to the seat if you want to check for spark. I don't like the feeling but in a pinch I have used my first finger and thumb to check for spark. Holding it tight or loose it feels the same. It only feels bad for an instant.
|
JD-Ohio wrote:Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 9:05am
|
if it tries to fire on the gas you squirt into the plug hole, put twice as much gas into the hole and see if it starts and runs for 5 seconds.... It sounds like you DO have spark.... sometimes the carb FLOAT or INLET VALVE can stick inside the car and keep gas from filling the bowl...... tapping on the carb might causes it to DROP and start filling the bowl... do you have a DRAIN plug on the bowl to check for gas inside ? ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: DaveKamp
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2020 at 10:15am
|
The test you did (putting fuel into the cylinders) proved several things: 1) You have sufficient compression 2) You have proper valve timing 3) You have a source of ignition 4) You have fuel 5) You have oxygen Of course, it's running state was only temporary, so ask yourself: --> Of these five things, what did you do that was only temporary? The answer: 4) Fuel. You have an engine that is fully willing to run, but is not able to get fuel. There are several things that will prevent fuel from coming in. You can start at EITHER end... at the fuel tank, or at the intake manifold. Since most suggestions will start at the fuel tank, I'll be entirely odd, and start from the intake manifold: A crack in the intake manifold, or a lack of seal at the manifold joints, will prevent engine vacuum from drawing fuel. While a starter-cranked circumstance might not be so picky (because it's spinning the engine over fast) a manifold leak in a hand-cranked engine will really, realy, REALLY reduce inlet demand, hence, poor fuel draw. A carbeurator that has a vacuum leak, most often a worn out throttle plate shaft/bushing will cause same. Not much, but doesn't help... but if the throttle plate action or governor linkage is worn just enough to make the throttle plate stick SHUT... it won't pull fuel/air well at all. Don't roll your eyes at this one... it doesn't happen often, but it happens, and it's humiliating to go through everything else, and bang your head against the wall, only to have a friend point out... (don't ask me how I know)... Carbeurators don't like to sit... with, or without fuel, they don't age nicely. Others' suggestions cover this well. Pull the bowl drain, make sure that the stuff coming out is fuel, and it's coming out swiftly, and clean. Carb jets, emulsion tube, float, float valve, Fuel strainer on the carb inlet... wonderful spot for plaque to form. Fuel line, sediment bowl, and the inlet in bottom of fuel tank (check for stray beech-nut shell fragments on vacation there). Finally... is the fuel actually combustible, and is the fuel tank vent unobstructed? When you place liquid fuel in a container, it stays that way ONLY if it's PROPANE. Any other liquid fuel settles out, and moisture in the air finds it's way into the fuel. Gasoline consists of different fractions... it is a mix of lighter and heavier hydrocarbons. The lighter fractions evaporate off, the heavier stays behind. Additives tend to bind to certain fractions, some (especially ethanol) are hygroscopic- they absorb moisture. All these things, sitting still, settle out by virtue of gravity, and form layers, where the heaviest fall to the bottom, and in most cases, that heaviest is WATER... so... So if it's been sitting, the very FIRST thing I do, is put a 5-gallon can under the sediment bowl, drop the glass cup, and drain the whole tank... All these things noted, there's one more thing: If it starts, then stalls, like it's flooding, disconnect the air cleaner and try again. Most air-cleaners of these old gals are oil-bath type... there's an oil cup in the bottom, and it frequently accumulates crud and water. Crud makes it very restrictive, and water, on a below-freezing day, affects a wonderful airtight seal. (don't ask me how I know)...  ------------- Ten Amendments, Ten Commandments, and one Golden Rule solve most every problem. Citrus hand-cleaner with Pumice does the rest. |
Posted By: JD-Ohio
Date Posted: 31 Oct 2020 at 9:13pm
| My son picked up the tractor last weekend to take home to Iowa. We winched it on the trailer cause still couldn't get it started. My son and grandsons worked on it all afternoon today. Cleaned the points on the magneto; drained the sediment bowl and swapped the carburetor. Still not much spark at the plugs. They finally wondered if the oil I had squirted in the cylinders in the past to keep the motor from locking up might have fouled the plugs. Put in plugs from a good running C that they have at the farm. Started right up and runs fine now. If I would have thought of that I could easily have had it running a couple of weeks ago before they came to Ohio to pick it up. Hope this info might help someone else in the future with their tractor. |
Posted By: Dave(inMA)
Date Posted: 02 Nov 2020 at 5:44am
|
JD - first, glad to hear that your CA is alive and well! Sometimes it's the simplest things that cause the most trouble. Second, thanks for letting us know the outcome. ------------- WC, CA, D14, WD45 |