1953 Ford NAA Jubileee erratic idle, carburetor trouble?

[Whistlin10Speed]

I have a 1953 Ford NAA Jubilee that is in great shape for It’s age. It has plenty of power and runs like a scalded dog…. Until today.

I went out to bush hog and cut for about an hour with no issues, then it started to stumble under load and die. It would fire right back up each time but after heating back up it would stumble and die again. This happened 3 times or so before I got fed up.

I had a new carburetor for it (Amazon cheap model) so I swapped it out, and it fired right up but immediately was wide open max RPM, so I took the old one apart, cleaned it and put the top of the old on with the bottom of the new one, same issue. I put the old one back together and put it back on, and still it runs wide open like it’s going to the moon immediately after starting.

I adjusted and adjusted and adjusted and it would either not start or run wide open immediately upon start up.

The throttle lever doesn’t change anything, am I missing something?

The only thing I touched was the carburetor, the choke, and throttle cable.

Is there a governor or something I may have screwed up unknowingly?

Anyone else had this problem or have any ideas?

 

[old]

I have a 1953 Ford NAA Jubilee that is in great shape for It’s age. It has plenty of power and runs like a scalded dog…. Until today.

I went out to bush hog and cut for about an hour with no issues, then it started to stumble under load and die. It would fire right back up each time but after heating back up it would stumble and die again. This happened 3 times or so before I got fed up.

I had a new carburetor for it (Amazon cheap model) so I swapped it out, and it fired right up but immediately was wide open max RPM, so I took the old one apart, cleaned it and put the top of the old on with the bottom of the new one, same issue. I put the old one back together and put it back on, and still it runs wide open like it’s going to the moon immediately after starting.

I adjusted and adjusted and adjusted and it would either not start or run wide open immediately upon start up.

The throttle lever doesn’t change anything, am I missing something?

The only thing I touched was the carburetor, the choke, and throttle cable.

Is there a governor or something I may have screwed up unknowingly?

Anyone else had this problem or have any ideas?

Linkage hook up wrong or the linkage is in a bind

 

[Sean in PA]

I have a 1953 Ford NAA Jubilee that is in great shape for It’s age. It has plenty of power and runs like a scalded dog…. Until today.

I went out to bush hog and cut for about an hour with no issues, then it started to stumble under load and die. It would fire right back up each time but after heating back up it would stumble and die again. This happened 3 times or so before I got fed up.

I had a new carburetor for it (Amazon cheap model) so I swapped it out, and it fired right up but immediately was wide open max RPM, so I took the old one apart, cleaned it and put the top of the old on with the bottom of the new one, same issue. I put the old one back together and put it back on, and still it runs wide open like it’s going to the moon immediately after starting.

I adjusted and adjusted and adjusted and it would either not start or run wide open immediately upon start up.

The throttle lever doesn’t change anything, am I missing something?

The only thing I touched was the carburetor, the choke, and throttle cable.

Is there a governor or something I may have screwed up unknowingly?

Anyone else had this problem or have any ideas?

The only thing I touched was the carburetor, the choke, and throttle cable.

There was no throttle cable on that tractor when it left the factory.

 

[Whistlin10Speed]

There was no throttle cable on that tractor when it left the factory.

I guess I meant throttle linkage, or governor spring. I’m new to this tractor so I don’t know it inside out yet

 

[old]

I guess I meant throttle linkage, or governor spring. I’m new to this tractor so I don’t know it inside out yet

So again it goes back to what I said you have a linkage problem and either the choke is not open all the way or the linkage is hanging up for some reason both are common problems

 

[Sean in PA]

The throttle lever doesn’t change anything, am I missing something?

Does that mean that none of the linkages move, or just that the engine rpms do not change? When you move the throttle handle, do you see the linkage at the governor move? And does the linkage from the governor to the carb move?

 

[Whistlin10Speed]

Does that mean that none of the linkages move, or just that the engine rpms do not change? When you move the throttle handle, do you see the linkage at the governor move? And does the linkage from the governor to the carb move?

Never mind that was just one time, I think the issue is the throttle linkage but I didn’t mess with it so I can’t imagine what changed. Now I’m having a hard time getting it started all together

 

[Eman85]

No start is probably your problem just got worse which should make it easier to find. Do the diagnosing before "messing" with anything or changing any parts. First test is fuel flow, shut the fuel off and remove the plug at the bottom of the carb if it has one or remove the fuel line from the carb. Turn the fuel on and time how long to fill a pint jar.

 

[Jim L WA]

A vacuum leak will do that. Make sure the gasket is sealing all around
As for your original problem, my NAA did something similar a few years ago. After fighting fuel issues for awhile, I finally replace the coil. Problem solved. What you need to do, is as soon as it starts acting up, check for a good strong spark at the plugs that will jump a 1/4 inch. Also put your hand around the coil to see if it's hot.

 

[Whistlin10Speed]

It has great fuel flow and good spark, I think it may be vacuum leak because it does this with the throttle all the way closed

 

[old]

It has great fuel flow and good spark, I think it may be vacuum leak because it does this with the throttle all the way closed

With it running use some carb cleaner spray and spray around all gasket areas. If the RPM change you found your vacuum leak

 

[Whistlin10Speed]

With it running use some carb cleaner spray and spray around all gasket areas. If the RPM change you found your vacuum leak

Problem is it only runs wide open, it won’t idle down for me to try that

 

[old]

Problem is it only runs wide open, it won’t idle down for me to try that

Grab the linkage at the carb and move it by hand. Can you make it slow down that way or can't you move the linkage to do so

 

[Whistlin10Speed]

Grab the linkage at the carb and move it by hand. Can you make it slow down that way or can't you move the linkage to do so

I tried that, doesn’t change anything

 

[old]

I tried that, doesn’t change anything

If you cannot slow the engine RPM down by grabbing the linkage sound like you took the throttle plate out of the carb and either didn't put it back in or put it in wrong so it cannot be moved to slow the engine down

 

[Whistlin10Speed]

If you cannot slow the engine RPM down by grabbing the linkage sound like you took the throttle plate out of the carb and either didn't put it back in or put it in wrong so it cannot be moved to slow the engine down

The throttle plate is in tact on both the old and new carb. This just blows my mind, all I did was swap the carb and now it goes crazy. It needs a tune up anyway so I’m gonna do that but as for the carb I am stumped.

 

[old]

The throttle plate is in tact on both the old and new carb. This just blows my mind, all I did was swap the carb and now it goes crazy. It needs a tune up anyway so I’m gonna do that but as for the carb I am stumped.

So are you saying you can't slow the engine down but grabbing the linkage and move it to the idle position as in the linkage is stuck?? If that is the case take the linkage off at the carb and hold the throttle closed and start the engine and see if you can control engine RPM that way. If you can then the governor has something wrong with it

 

[Whistlin10Speed]

So are you saying you can't slow the engine down but grabbing the linkage and move it to the idle position as in the linkage is stuck?? If that is the case take the linkage off at the carb and hold the throttle closed and start the engine and see if you can control engine RPM that way. If you can then the governor has something wrong with it

The linkages all work as they should, no matter what I do it will only run wide open, moving the throttle lever or linkage doesn’t change anything. Is it possible the governor went out all together?

 

[old]

The linkages all work as they should, no matter what I do it will only run wide open, moving the throttle lever or linkage doesn’t change anything. Is it possible the governor went out all together?

If your closing up the throttle by hand to an idle and it doesn't go down to an idle then it has to have a throttle plate problem since if the throttle plate closes it has to slow the RPM down

 

[Whistlin10Speed]

If your closing up the throttle by hand to an idle and it doesn't go down to an idle then it has to have a throttle plate problem since if the throttle plate closes it has to slow the RPM down

I’m hoping It’s something simple I just haven’t realized. I don’t think It’s the throttle plate because I didn’t take it out. The new one was a complete unit and I put it on and that’s when the issue started. Then I put the old one back on and it still does the same thing. I have swapped them out several times, swapped the tops and bottoms and still same problem.