The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hi, I was able to pick up a 1957 major last week. Engine #1427275. It starts up but when you give it some throttle it blows a big cloud of white smoke. And when it idles there is some faint white smoke. Anyway I checked the timing. I put the timing mark on 23 degrees and lines on the coupler dont match up. They are almost a inch apart. I loosend the bolts and it only gets about a half of a inch closer. Does that mean somebody took the pump off and put it back on wrong? Heres a picture of the coupler.

You have a quiet coupling on your engine, probably from a lorry or a skid unit; so the timing marks probably won't line up as an agricultural engine would. Does your engine number have an " S " at the beginning ?

I didn't see any S before the numbers. Those two punch marks couldn't be the "new" timing mark?

Whilst incorrect timing can give off some white smoke from the exhaust, the most common cause is that water is entering the combustion chambers -- frequently from a bad head gasket or corroded piston liners and/or their seals. Other possible causes are water vapour in the fuel and filters.

Pavel