I sure hope that one of you can offer me some enlightenment on a problem that has me totally befuddled!
The issue is with a mid-60s 350 loader with a 93A backhoe. It is gas fueled. The hour meter shows 980 hours (I'm suspicious of this, though). The machine had sat for about 5 years before I purchased it 2 1/2 years ago. I had to rebuild the steering clutches and do quite a bit of other maintenance to get it going again--and go it does! It's tough not to like a 350. I haven't put more than about 10 hours on it since I've had it going, and most of the time it starts up, winter or summer, within a few seconds of cranking (I don't think the engine turns over twice before it's off and running!).
One day I was using it and the engine chugged to a stop as if it ran out of gas. I had a devil of a time getting it restarted, but once it ran again, it ran like a top. Several months later, it happened again--but this time I knew it wasn't out of fuel. It had a spark, though weak, and would pop like it was trying to start. The fuel pump had a small leak so that was replaced (as was the fuel filter). It has new plugs, new plug wires, new coil (some previous owner had put the wrong coil on it), new condenser, and new points. I removed and essentially rebuilt the starting solenoid. The problem turned out to be a short in the condenser lead--after that was fixed the spark was audible (huge spark) and the old beast was off and running. A few weeks ago I was working on a culvert and if she didn't sputter and die (and this was after running like a top for over 30 minutes). The spark and timing are fine, I pulled the carb (for the 10th time) and replaced the gas shut-off solenoid with a manual adjusting main jet and still can't get her to do more than pop once or twice. Fuel flow is fine (it even siphons out of the tank!), fuel is clean and fresh, spark is good... and I'm fresh out of ideas.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
). It's possible the points are shorted again and that it is a pesky intermittent short (it took a month to find it last time as it only shorted when it was just starting to run and the vibration would do it in!). What's is puzzling, to me, is that it goes from running very well, to chugging and dying. I did get it started long enough to lift the stabilizers and pull the backhoe boom in, but that was all she wrote. 