The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hello Fordson members - I a newbie J18T - July 18 1952 New Major (4 cyl Petrol) owner - with bucket and Sherman 54E100 HOE - have a couple issues (one is that someone painted old Blue - JD yellow - ouch) - fuel bowl - when pump the primer or when the Major is running I am getting air bubbles (normal ?)

she ran fine when I bought her - but when took it off the trailer would run for 30 seconds and stall out, primed it - ran again , had to keep playing with the choke
halled it 3 hours on a trailer and think 60 yrs of dirt came free and clogged up the fuel bowl (cleaned the filter in the glass bowl also has a after market in line fuel filter) - running a little better - but the air bubbles has me concerned - looking at making a new set of gaskets to see if it is sucking air

also took the Zenith carb apart - looks a little worse for wear (but then 60 yrs old) - I did download the user manual from your web page 94/95 for the carb (2 adjustments idle and throttle stop)

the governer may not be working properly (but then have not put her to a real test to see how hard she will push)

the other question is related to the PTO - driving the Sherman 54E100 HOE (with the Hydreco 3X20X7 pump) - the PTO worked fine when I bought it, and unloaded from the trailer (had to lift the leveling pads) but the fellow I bought it from said he never moved the PTO lever on the left hand side - always had it on) but I read in the manual (page 96/97) that you just de-clutch and dis-engage when not in use

well - now I can not get the Hoe to work - but the Hydr fluid was low in the Hoe reserve in the rear, and wonder with the PTO engaged and going up a hill caused air to get into the line - and now need to bleed them to get the pump to kick in (could not find a free manual online for the Sherman 54E100 - everyone wants $30) idea's ? we topped up the Hoe tank, but being a newbie - I do not think I engaged the clutch when moving the PTO lever - the New Major is stored 2 hr's from where I am - so can not go test till the weekend - also I parked it on a hill so should run it on level ground to see if the PTO pump will engage

thank you for your time - FYI I am in Central Canada - Winnipeg MB

Welcome Aboard Matey. I would agree that your fuel line is clogged or greatly restricted. You may also have a leak somewhere. Most of the time if the fuel flow is sufficient, the fuel pump will not pull air, but you need a good down hill flow to the pump first, and foremost.

The hydraulics, You should beable to just top it off and it will bleed itself. Sounds like you do not have the pto fully engaged. Sometimes you need to jog the clutch a little to get it to go in. Dandy Dave!

I had air bubbles on the fuel bowl on our major. I changed out the fuel pump with the glass bowl, problem solved. The seal gets a bit tired after 50 years.

Hi Ian

thank you and Dandy Dave - Ian when you say you swaped out the fuel pump with the glass bowl - did you change to a electric fuel pump ? or did you find a fuel pump with the glass bowl used on the market ?
I was going to make a new set of gaskets for the orginal one first - to see if the bubbles go away

Dandy Dave - will try the clutch jog several times to get the pump to engage - when you say "good down hill flow" on the fuel line - do you mean "make sure the fuel line has a slope from the tank to the fuel pump

I should add - the prior owner did not have pipe clamps on the fuel line when he added the in line fuel filter - it may be sucking air from that area - but then I see bubbles when I use the manual fuel pump primer on the fuel pump - which leads me to beleive it is sucking air from a bad gasket

Agriline sell a replacement one. They also sell a repair kit. The seal on ours went and was leaking a bit, air was getting into the system and the tractor was stalling. Replacing the whole unit fixed it, but I am sure the repair kit would be just as good.

WinterPegJ18T wrote:Hi Ian


Dandy Dave - will try the clutch jog several times to get the pump to engage - when you say "good down hill flow" on the fuel line - do you mean "make sure the fuel line has a slope from the tank to the fuel pump

I should add - the prior owner did not have pipe clamps on the fuel line when he added the in line fuel filter - it may be sucking air from that area - but then I see bubbles when I use the manual fuel pump primer on the fuel pump - which leads me to beleive it is sucking air from a bad gasket

1. You will not have to bend the line. It should just have a natural gravity feed as the fuel level in the tank should be higher than the pump.

2.If it is the pump, most likely the diaphram has gone bad. After a time the laminated sections start to crack and separate and you end up with a pin hole. All connections should be clamped tightly as the pump will always try to move air before it it will move fuel. Also. most of the pumps have a vent hole toward the bottom. If there is any fuel dripping or leaking out of the vent, That is a very good sign that there is a hole in the diaphram. Also it can leak fuel in the engine oil. if the oil is thin and smelling like petrol/ gasoline, You definatly have a bad pump.

That early Petrol Fordson is a very rare Bird. Treat it kindly. Dandy Dave!

Hi Winterpeg
Was just reading you post on the old digger I would love one of those in my collection the guys round here charge a fortune for back hoe work . Hope ya get her fixed up
I am located at a place called Minto which is half hour south of Brandon MB. roughly 3 hrs from you so not that far away as MB`s so big
Regards Robert

Thank you again Dandy Dave - will check the diaphram for crack's etc - as Ian pointed me to Agriline - they do not seem to be very expensive for parts - however shipping to Canada maybe a issue - will check

Robert (super6954) - will keep your info on file - I only plan on using old J18T blue (painted yellow today) for a couple years for some work around the cottage in Lac Lu ON - then may part with her - if you are still interested at that time I will contact you via the forum (not sure if I am allowed to give you my email address on post's)

with our recent May snow fall - did not get a chance last weekend to look at the PTO or start her up - still to wet to move her around in the yard with out making more work for me - so still have a month before I start digging any holes with the HOE

take care

I've used Agriline and shipping here to the USA was not that bad. They also ship fast. I've gotten small parts as soon as three days. Larger stuff, like a seat pan took a little longer. Your best bet is to just buy a whole new pump. Dave!