1949 cub stalling question

[wvginseng]

I got the 1949 farmall cub delivered to my farm today. We put about 2.5 gallons of gas in the tractor. The tractor ran fine driving it to the trailer but when I tried to drive it up onto the trailer in first gear it stalled. I was able to back up in reverse onto the trailer with no problems. Is this because of the low gas level in the tank and when I drive up hill I lose gas going to the carburetor? Or is it because these tractors do not like going up steep hills? I drove it up a slight hill to get it in position to drive onto the trailer with no problem but driving it up onto the trailer was more steep than the yard. Another question, how can I be sure that the coolant is circulating? I am also going to have to work on the gas lever since it does not catch. I think the metal piece with the notches needs to be bent back towards the lever. The oil pressure gauge was working, I don't know how much pressure it should have but the needle was about a 1/4th of the way up on the gauge. As far as I can tell the tractor run fine except for the stalling going up hill. I took pictures but did not think about the size and the pictures are to big to post on here so I am going to have to take some more pictures of a smaller file size.

[bob in CT]

Hello, Congrats on your Cub.

First thing I would do is download an Owner's manual and read it from cover to cover. Then I would go ahead and service everything unless you are certain of the history. Here is a 1949 manual: http://www.farmallcub.com/[ Sorry, direct links to manual section is not allowed. ]/download.php?fname=./files/Cub%20Owners%20and%20Operators%20Manuals/1949%20Owner%27s%20Manual%20McCormick%20Farmall%20Cub%205-1-49%20OCR.pdf

Coolant is circulated by a thermosiphon system. Coolant heats up, rises, dumps into the radiator and cools. No pump. The owner's manual will explain it for you, but flushing details are in one of the service manuals.

You have plenty of fuel. You need to find out why it is not getting delivered. Start with the plug on the bottom of the carb fuel bowl and see if you have a steady stream of fuel coming out when you remove the plug.

[wvginseng]

ok thanks

[Donegal Cub]

The Notches can get worn and need deepened with a triangular file. Re not making it up the steep slope, if the engine was at fast idle and she failed to climb the slope the maybe the governors are not responding and giving the engine more gas when the pull/load comes on the tractor. And as Bob says you need to ensure the gas is getting into the carb in the first place. Re the coolant when the engine heats up take off the rad cap (it is not pressurized) and you can actually it circulating. Hot coolant rises goes into the top of the rad the fan blades draw air through the rad to cool it. Enjoy your cub and post your issues here. There are guys on this site who are a lot more expert than I who will gladly help you get things right. And yes the pics would be welcome
Bernard,
Donegal Cub.

[wvginseng]

The notches might be a little worn but the lever is not tight up against the notches, I was thinking of bending the plate tighter up against the lever. I have been reading the manual on here and learning about the different parts of the fuel delivery. I will have to take a look at the shut off valve and those fuel screens. I have not taken a close look at the governor and the different parts since the tractor is about 17 miles from me right now. So any advice will be welcomed. I read in the manual this tractor takes about 9 quarts of coolant which is about 2 gallons and 1 quart right, I only was able to put 1 gallon of coolant in the radiator. That was my reason for asking about circulation of the coolant. When the tractor is running with cap off it looks like the coolant is moving but that may be due to vibration of motor. Question, do I have to wait till engine warms up to a certain temperature before the coolant is circulated through the motor and then add more coolant to radiator? Thanks

[staninlowerAL]

The tractor should not stall but load on a trailer in second gear. The service manual that Bob referenced will tell you how to check/adjust the valves. If you don't know the history this is a good service check to take care of soon. It might make a lot of difference in the power of the engine. When you added coolant and was able to only add 1 gallon it was probably because some was already in the block/radiator. You should not have to wait for the engine to warm up to top it off. Any excess will drain out the overflow in the filler neck after the engine is warmed up.

[challenger]

Two points:

Throttle - You do not need to bend anything on the throttle control mechanism to make it hold. It sounds like the spring that is supposed to hold the throttle lever against the control sector may be weak, broken or missing. You can repair the sector teeth as well as the catch on the lever if they are worn. Both get worn from improper use of the throttle. It may be tempting to do so, but the throttle lever should not be pushed up over the teeth when increasing throttle since this is what causes the wear and will eventually render the throttle control useless. You should place your left palm on the control sector and use your thumb to move the lever to the left off of the teeth and then forward. After you reach your desired engine speed, allow the throttle lever to return to the right to seat itself in the appropriate notch. If the notches are now worn down, you can try to reshape the existing teeth or you can fabricate a narrow strip of thin steel and braze it under the existing notches. Then, using the old worn notches as a guide, file or use a dremel type grinder to make new notches in the new strip of steel. You can also touch up the catch on the lever with a little bronze rod and reshape the catch.

Second point: Coolant capacity - As noted the Cub has no positive circulation system so it is important to remember that if you live in colder climates and need to add anti-freeze when temperatures are hovering in the freeze zone that you mix your anti-freeze with the appropriate amount of water before adding it to the system. While all the liquid in the system will eventually mix on its own, the safe approach is to mix it yourself before adding it to the system to insure you are protected with uniform dispersion throughout the system.

[wvginseng]

thanks for all the replies, have not been able to go look at it yet