Hello all,
My neighboring business has decided to purchase a forklift for our small business park to share. All fine and dandy except I'm the only mechanically inclined person around so guess who gets to fix the old thing up haha. I can't seem to find a serial number anywhere or any numbers other than what is stamped on the engine block and head. The forklift has been painted a number of colors over the years. It has a flat head inline 4 cyl water cooled engine and the distributor is on the top center of the cylinder head. It also seems to be a high low manual transmission. The forklift is propane fueled and this is where I believe the problem is as it seems to run rich. I have ruled out ignition, timing, or mechanical problems. I have pictures but not sure how to attach as this is my first time posting to the forum. If I had to swing a guess I would date it late 40's to late 50's as the engine and wiring reminds me a lot of the ford 9n,2n,8n tractors I've worked on in the past.
Showing items 1 - 2 of 2 results.
Sounds as though could be an old L51c
With a 162 continental engine.
The carb is an updraft style. you can adjust
The carb and see if that helps.some had an adjustment for the vaporizer as well
It is possibly mid sixties 1967-69
Is this a Continental engine?
Such an older machine some things to consider if you haven't already: vacuum gauge reading should be 18-22 inches at idle, compression test, cylinder leak-down test, ignition system, LPG components.
Compression should be above 165 psi (fully charged battery, all plugs removed, throttle held wide open).
Tune up: points, plugs, condenser, cap, rotor, wires. Spark plugs can be gapped at.025" - 0.28" since propane is more difficult to ignite. If the distributor has a vacuum advance test it and the breaker plate movement.
LPG system: rebuild or replace.
Valve adjustment.
Timing. Set at part throttle while stalling the tilt function to put a load on the engine. Set for highest rpm then check for easy starting, no pinging under a load, good power, etc. After setting the timing adjust the fuel mixture.
If the engine is tired (low compression) you can try one- or two-step hotter spark plugs to see if that helps.
Good luck.
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