# 8n stalling on incline



## Spruce (Sep 20, 2021)

I inherited an 8n. It runs great, pulls anything, and has more than enough power for what I need to do with it. Only problem I have with it is going up even a slight incline. It will spit and sputter and sometimes even stop running. Is it due to the carburetor and the float configuration? Or is there something else that may be an issue. Never does it headed down, always up.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Hello Spruce,

When it "spits & sputters" on even a slight incline, does it produce black smoke? Does the choke help or cause it to stall?


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## Joe.S.AK (Nov 26, 2020)

That Sixbales is right on top of things!

S-o-r-t-a sounds like a binding up float in the carb stuck giving too much or not enough gas to the engine. If you end up pulling the carb check the sides of the floats too. I had an unusual consequence to the cast iron body of the float chamber. Over 80 +- years "normal" buildup of corrosion had created an un-noticed small lump of corrosion (yeah - rust by another name) which ever-so-lightly brushed the side of one of the brass floats - causing a slight binding (or 'sticking') of the float. Just something to check every 70 years or so.

Back on track - there might be some sort of problem with the floats or the needle valve attached to them. THOROUGH inspection, and if necessary a cleaning, along with a practiced eye on carb adjustments should help (if not fix) the headscratcher. 

Also - while checking the carb - check that there isn't any water in it's float bowl. 

Water in the fuel tank also could make the engine run rough on an incline if it just starts to flow into the fuel line and then the carb due to a nose up attitude. Using ethanol free gas (if you can find it) to help lessen the water problem and the associated sludge and corrosion headaches works for some owners. - Joe -


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## Spruce (Sep 20, 2021)

More information. When I first got it, I knew nothing about how it ran for the previous owner and obviously couldn't ask him. He was in his 80's, grew up on a farm, and was always around ford tractors. 
From day one, it started hard when cold and had to feather the choke until it warmed up. Once it warmed up a bit, you could run it all day with the only issue being going uphill. He was using a lead substitute, so I continued with no ethanol and lead substitute. 
I pulled the carb off thinking there was an issue in that. It was pretty clean. I got a kit for it and also picked up a replacement carb. While it was apart, I pulled the tank and had it cleaned and coated. I then replaced everything else related to fuel delivery. All new from tank to carb. 
Research told me the value seats were hardened, so I discontinued the lead substitute. I also listened to a number of guys in forums who grew up with the n series tractors who said to not worry about the ethanol. Won't hurt the engine at all. 
So, new fuel delivery system. Same issue on incline. Dropped the lead substitute. Same issue on incline. Switch from no ethanol to blend. Same issue on incline. Cleaned up the original carb and put it back on. Same issue on incline. There is never anything in the sediment bowl. My days with a wd Allis tought me to dump it regularly no matter what. Nothing on screen's. I was wondering if it was an issue with the 8n in general. When it does die, I can usually level it out and it will start and run fine. Even on the incline, it will fire briefly and die out. When I know I'm coming to a problem area, I can usually go max throttle to make it up the hill. That is, unless I'm running the pto or pulling something.


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## Joe.S.AK (Nov 26, 2020)

Jeez Spruce, that really is a head scratcher.

Just for a moment lets address the Gasohol advice. For starters, Ethanol is cheap to make and it will, marginally, mix with real gas. Yes, we all know alcohol burns - and during times where there is condensate water in the fuel the ethanol will mix (VERY EASILY) with that small amount of water and burn (kind of poorly) until the Ethanol/water is able to get through "the system". Frozen condensed water in the fuel system was traditionally dealt with by adding Ethanol (Dry Gas, Heet and many others) to melt the water, mix with that water and allow the mix to pass through the system and be burned. Yes sir, that fixed that problem.

So, what's bad about cheap Ethanol as part of our car's gasoline year around? The surface answer is that there is nothing wrong with it. The underlying problem is with fuel sitting in a fuel tank over a period of time. Remember that Ethanol mixes easily with water and that fuel tanks are vented so that they can 'breathe' when the day / night temperature cycles expand or contract the air in the tank - or more practically to replace the volume of used fuel with air. 

When a partial tank of fuel (and air) heats and contracts there is slight air migration in and then out of the fuel tank. So, moist daytime air in at sunset, cooling at night condenses the tiny bit of moisture in the air and tomorrow the heat expands the extra, now dry, in-tank air. Do that over and over and, depending on specifics, water "appears" in the tank - only to be "eaten" by the Ethanol. Do that often enough and the ethanol eventually has trouble 'eating' any more water. 

So, a little alcohol/water in the tank works it's way to the carb bowl where the non gas stuff drops to the bottom and just sits there. Water/Ethanol that sits on metal reacts with that metal. Iron, Aluminum, Brass and other metals oxidize which creates problems inside the carb. Yes, OK, drain tanks and carbs and the problem goes away - right? Well yes, but how practical is that?

Small engine mechanics see this all the time. Lawn mowers in the winter just sit. Snow blowers sit all summer and the chain saw and wood splitter might go a year between uses. Just think about a generator sitting for 3 or 4 years. Suddenly the cheap Gasohol designed for daily use in the car gets pretty expensive on less used equipment. 

So, OK, you cleaned and replaced 'stuff' in the fuel system - good for you. Folks here know my thinking on cheap Chineesium carbs (make great shop lamps) and the rebuilt carb is running like a top - so what could it be now that the obvious fuel problems are eliminated.

Fuel, compression, air, spark. Could there be a goofy loose electrical connection that opens on the uphill angle? Surely you checked all that already - so what? 

Just for a one time thing, consider disconnecting the air cleaner and see if there is something flapping closed when the up angle of the tractor is "just so". 

If that is OK then the only other thing that comes to mind is the governor in some way. Possibly a binding up somewhere that stops "giving it the extra gas" going uphill?

Really a head scratcher!

- Joe -


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## Spruce (Sep 20, 2021)

Thank you, that is what I was looking for. Something I may be missing. I checked the electrical connections and they seemed fine to me. I hadn't thought of the air cleaner. It runs so good any other time, that didn't register as a possibility. I'll try that and see what happens.


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## HarveyW (Sep 15, 2014)

WAG (wild ass guess) - Your carburetor floats may be flooded on one side to the point that floats are barely functional. Enter the slope factor and the floats sink flooding the engine? The engine should spit & sputter and blow black smoke out of the exhaust. Choke will kill the engine.

Pull the float out of your carburetor (put a small tarp under the tractor to catch any dropped pieces) and put it in a small container of gasoline. See if one side floats lower than the other side.


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## Spruce (Sep 20, 2021)

Thank you! I'm open to any ideas at this point. It did make me think. I haven't noticed any black smoke. Exhausts behind me and I'm not thinking about looking at the exhaust. Choke doesn't help keep it running. 
I have tried going on an angle instead of straight up at times. It seems to run better with a left angle versus a right angle. Hadn't put that together before in my head either. Definitely worth checking.


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## Redmapleleaf (Sep 18, 2021)

Hi Spruce,

I know this problem very well because the tractor 8n that i bought also have exactly the same problem. It works well on level ground but going up an incline then the engine would stop dead. The only way that i could go up an incline is to go backward. I lost so much hairs with this problem initially.

I eventually found out what wrong with it and the fix only took me about 30 minutes. In my case the carburator is not an original but a cheap after market one. On an incline most of the fuel would go toward the back of the floater chamber pushing up the floater so that the float needle would not let in anymore fuel. To fix it i took out the floater and bend its shaft upward a little bit to compensate for the incline. After putting it back then the problem went away for good. I hope that this can help you out.


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## Spruce (Sep 20, 2021)

Redmapleleaf said:


> Hi Spruce,
> 
> I know this problem very well because the tractor 8n that i bought also have exactly the same problem. It works well on level ground but going up an incline then the engine would stop dead. The only way that i could go up an incline is to go backward. I lost so much hairs with this problem initially.
> 
> ...


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## Spruce (Sep 20, 2021)

Ok, thank you everyone for all of the ideas and input. The idea that seemed to be a good first step and made some sense to me was to check the float in the carburator. When you go uphill, the gas in the carb would settle to the back of carb. The float goes toward the back of the carb. In essence, the float was closing off the incoming fuel when in an incline. The fix was to put a small bend in the arm of the float so it would not cut off the fuel going uphill. I took it out on the steepest hill and was able to go up it at idle speed with no hesitating. Amazing how a small adjustment made such a huge difference. Thank you everyone!


Special thanks to Redmapleleaf! Your suggestion was spot on!


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## DON Thrasher H (6 mo ago)

Spruce said:


> Ok, thank you everyone for all of the ideas and input. The idea that seemed to be a good first step and made some sense to me was to check the float in the carburator. When you go uphill, the gas in the carb would settle to the back of carb. The float goes toward the back of the carb. In essence, the float was closing off the incoming fuel when in an incline. The fix was to put a small bend in the arm of the float so it would not cut off the fuel going uphill. I took it out on the steepest hill and was able to go up it at idle speed with no hesitating. Amazing how a small adjustment made such a huge difference. Thank you everyone!
> 
> 
> Special thanks to Redmapleleaf! Your suggestion was spot on!


Is there any way you could repost the pics, I am having the exact problem, I went and drove up the hill backward and no issues.


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Welcome to the forum. The poster seems to have fixed his problem, and hasn't been back since. There are a few good videos out there that I'm sure can walk you through the steps to adjust / rebuild an 8N carb.


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## HarveyW (Sep 15, 2014)

Here is strange idea (from internet) that I've never heard of before:

*Clogged Muffler*
The gas exits the tractor through the muffler. If the exhaust is clogged from fluids or other debris, the engine can malfunction and end up losing power, especially when going uphill. In order to prevent this occurrence, clean your muffler every season.


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