| Tim Daley (MI) |
Posted 02-04-2024 at 14:39:48 [URL] [DELETE]
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Re: Am I dreaming?
You're not dreaming Stumps. Anything is possible. Here is my story on carbs. Part of the beauty of these old FORDS is that they were designed to be rebuilt over and over. Both Henry’s were calculating men of thinking and knew that owners had to do a lot of their own repairs which included using parts again and again to be efficient economically. They really created the whole recycling era.
The Marvel-Schebler TSX Carb is one these parts that is best to rebuild the original than to get a new, made in Cheena, aftermarket piece of junk that was cloned from a clone from a clone. I’ve rebuilt over 300 M/S carbs in my days and never had any bad ones or performance issues.
See what can be accomplished here. For example, I once was given a 9N Tractor that had been setting in a field for at least 10 years uncovered and exposed to the elements. It was a mess, all rusty and weathered badly but the engine was not frozen so I took it on as a side project. One of the first things I did was to remove the TSX-33 carb. After much soaking in Mineral Spirits for a few months and much cleaning later, I was able to begin the process of fine tuning the internal details on it. Attached are pix of that carb before and after. Unit was set to OEM Specs and fired right up with only minor tweaking at final test on a different 9N.
You must realize that these devices were designed to perform a certain way and that means that the fine passages and orifices used for air and fuel flow had to be just right. Any deviation could and would cause performance issues. That being said, you should never use drills, reamers, or any other type of tool to attempt to open up these passages and risk wallowing out the hole. They are not needed. Here is my proven method of Carb Cleaning and the tools I use.
Use a good cleaning solvent like Mineral Spirits, Carb Cleaner (new stuff not same as the old stuff), a 50/50 mix of UTF and Acetone, or Lacquer Thinner. A small air compressor is also needed. Blowing out the passages is crucial. Put dismantled carb halves and parts in a coffee can and submerge with solution. Let set and soak for weeks, even months. Invest in a good carb rebuild kit. I prefer the TISCO CV-546V, the one made for the (FORD N-SERIES) complete kit, not the cheaper, less parts in it, kit sold. The complete kit has most of parts. If you need a new float or Venturi, those are not included in the kit but new ones can be bought today at about $20 each. You will also want to buy a new brass Fuel Inlet Elbow with affixed screen at about $6 each. You want to take parts to a tumbler and/or media blaster and get outside and in free of old grime and paint. You probably plan on painting your unit after rebuild.
Observe the carb and use your MPC and manuals with exploded parts views and part numbers. You may want to take some good pictures too for reference at rebuild. Familiarize the part names and how they are attached. Once everything is disassembled it may be hard to determine what is what.
MY TOOLS:
I use pipe cleaners and my old guitar strings to chase passages with. I advise not to use a tap on any thread holes as you risk bottoming it out and snapping the tap off. Lessons Learned. A good soaking in cleaner and chasing this way ensures you get a fully debris free unit. After you are satisfied your carb halves are all clean and ready to assemble, I do one final cleaning. This is something I learned from my late old gunny buddy Farmer Dan Howe. He used plain PINE-SOL Cleaning Solution to wash his parts with. This will remove the oily film from any soaking. Air blow and completely let dry before assembling internal parts.
I also use and advise a chisel device for installing the Needle & Float Valve Seat with. It has a wide blade tip and a regular screwdriver will likely booger up the seat slot when it slips as the seat is brass. I also use a 3/8” 6-PT DEEP WELL SOCKET with a screwdriver handle and a ¼” ratchet drive wrench for installing the Main Needle Jet with. The seat has a fiber gasket under it so clean off old one before assembling new one. Know too that there are different and special thread sizes on the carb as well. The brass Fuel Inlet Elbow has a male 1/8 NPT thread size that screws into carb base. This has the fine mesh filter screen attached. The elbow also has a female thread size that the fuel line is inserted into. Brake and Fuel Lines use an industry standard special thread size on fittings. It is 7/16-24 UNS; Unified National Special. The bottom half of the unit has a drain plug that is a 1/8 NPT size. Always start any fastener thread by hand to ensure you don’t cross-thread the part. If you do, there’s no way to fix it.
The M/S TSX 33 carb was first used in 1939 on the 9N and used up until the 8N 1948. Then M/S revamped the carb and it now had the model number TSX-241. This was an improved version that now used a new Main Nozzle Jet with a screwdriver slot for adjusting rather than the old TSX 33 that had a knurled knob you had to reach in by hand to adjust with thus risking getting burned by a hot engine. Also changed at this time was the Throttle Control Screw. The TSX 33 unit used a 10-32 Thumbscrew that also required you reach in by hand to adjust and risk burning your hand too. The new 241 Throttle adjustment screw had screwdriver slot so you could make settings with a long handled screwdriver. These were two major changes to the new style carb and the third was adding an economizer jet. The older TSX 33 parts are no longer made/serviced and the new TISCO kits only come with the newer style ones and will work on the 33 and 241 Carbs. MY CARB TOOLS:
 TSX 33 AS FOUND IN WEATHERED 9N, BEFORE:
 AFTER CLEANING:
 AFTER REBUILD:
 Tim Daley (MI)
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