Working on the Ford 8N Tractor

Showing the old spark plugs

Finally, a Saturday off and nothing to do but work around the farm! Top of the list is the old Ford 8N tractor. I had been trying to charge the old battery in the farm house for the last two days to save some money. The charger said it was registering a charge but it wasn't enough to fire up the old Ford.

I headed into town to get the battery tested and buy some tractor parts: spark plugs x 4, Marvel Mystery Oil, Berryman B12 Chemtool carb cleaner, ethanol free gasoline, a gas can and a funnel. After finding that my two local parts stores closed at noon in my nearby small town, I headed into the next bigger town to O'Reilly Auto Parts. They were more than helpful and super friendly. That's part of why I moved out here. I ended up buying a new 6v battery too.

I didn't know what size spark plugs the old Ford would take but the fellas at O'Reilly had a parts book which they used to look it up. I linked to it up above in case you need some someday. As my transactions concluded, they politely reminded me that they would be open until 7pm...as if they knew I'd be back.

I stopped back by the small town nearest the farm on the way home for gas. There's always young teenage girls working the register and I knew the time would come that I'd have to look like an idiot. Not knowing a thing about tractors, I first used the restroom while I tried to figure out how NOT to sound stupid. I approached the register and said "I need some tractor gas. That's pump 3, right?" I had noticed a farmer filling up his tractor at that pump a few days prior.  "Yes" the two country girls said with a smile. "I'll also need some regular gas for my jeep. That's pump 2, right?" Again they agreed. I left my credit card on the counter and scooted out the door.

Yeah, but at least I didn't ask for "tractor gas"...

"Whew, I made it out of there with my pride intact," I thought, as I walked out to fill up. First, I put the nozzle from pump 2 into the jeep and started filling her up. I took the newly bought gas can out of the passenger seat and walked over to pump 3. I noticed it said "Diesel" on the side of the pump. "Crap. I'm not supposed to be buying Diesel, am I?  Oh Lord, I'm gonna have to walk back in there and be stupid now..." was my internal dialogue. "But wait! They confirmed that the tractor gas was pump 3. This IS pump 3." So I just decided to take my chances. I filled up the five gallon can and went back inside to pay.

I casually walked back in feeling confident that my Justin boots and dirty Carhartt pants and shirt would make me blend in. I paid the bill and then it happened. I couldn't help myself. The last thing I wanted to do was put the wrong gas in the old Ford and mess it up just because I refused to ask a dumb question and look like an idiot. So I said "Pump 3 says Diesel on it. Is that the same as Ethanol Free gasoline...for tractors...?" Their smiles were even bigger this time. I could feel my face heating up like a little boy staring at a pretty lady. "It's tractor diesel," they said in what seemed like a restrained giggle.

I nodded as if I knew what THAT meant and headed for the door. Before I could put my hand on the door handle, one country girl said quickly "Hey..." and I turned to look at her. "Don't put that in your truck..." she said sheepishly. With my last speck of couth, I winked at her and said "I have a lot to learn." I made it to the Jeep without tripping over anything and off I went.

Carb cleaner in a fuel additive form.

Back at the farm, I enjoyed every bit of working on the old Ford tractor. I slid in the new battery and hooked it up. I replaced all four spark plugs and added drops of Marvel oil into each cylinder. The oil filter had semi-clean oil and a decent level on the dipstick. Air filter was emptied out and replaced back into place with the thin jerry-rigged wire that had been used by her prior owner to secure it into place.

I put her in neutral and held my breath as I gave the starter a push. Rerrrr rerrrr rerrrr...nothing. Cranked over but no start. I figured out how to fill the glass gas bowl with gasoline and did that. Followed the gas line over to the other side of the engine into the carburetor. I removed the drain plug to find that no gas was coming out. I opened all idle screws and tried cranking her again. Nothing. So I removed the gas line on the carb side and nothing was coming out.

Knowing how awful gasoline tastes (don't ask), I knew I had to siphon it over. I did...and it came flowing. Blecht! "Yep, still tastes like arse," I thought.  However, it was a small victory in my mind. I screwed it back to the carb and checked the drain plug. NOW I had gasoline draining. I tried cranking it over several times with several different combinations of choke, no choke, low accelerator, high accelerator but she just wouldn't start. By the time I was done, the brand new battery wouldn't crank. Dang. Defeated for today. Tomorrow, checking the points in the distributor.

The good news is the cavalry is coming tomorrow. Both Uncle R and Uncle J are coming to the rescue. They both have 8N's at their houses and know a lot more than I do about these tractors. I'm sure they'll have the old Ford up and running in no time. I'll make sure to video it for you guys. Aunt D just text and said she was bringing hamburgers to grill outside. Sweet! I sure wish Wifey and the girls were here. They would be having a blast for sure. 

So that's it for today. I did learn some new rules though...

New Rules of the Farm

- swallow your pride and ask what you need to ask. The biggest mistake you can make is not doing the right thing because you were afraid to ask the right question. (Pretty girl, or no pretty girl...just ask already!)

- small town parts stores will close before you get there. The worse you need the part, the earlier they will close. Call ahead and check their store hours. Then, find out where the parts store is in the next bigger town and call them.

-it's a six volt battery if it has three distilled water chambers in the middle of the battery. I don't know why, that's just what they said. And the part that says CCA is Cold Crank Amps, which is relevant, for some reason...

-gasoline tastes like crap. Figure out how to siphon without you mouth...or expect to be tasting it for the next two days.

Back Home Report

It was Dollar Flip Flop day at Old Navy. The girls all went shopping for shoes and left happy, according to Wifey. They also picked up some free movie tickets from some church friends who were giving them away due to a scheduling conflict. They enjoyed the new Monster's Inc movie last week. I wonder what they'll see this time?

Happy feet!