New Points on a Suffolk Punch mower?

[Ross365]

Can anyone tell me whether you can change the points on a Suffolk?

My recollection is that the points are mounted on a plate which also carries the coil assembly and their removal is not a planned maintenance step. That is to say, they could not be taken off very easily. Also, it appears that they are not commonly available as a single item?

I gather that there used to be some "special files" available to clean the surfaces, but I guess it's down to some fine wet or dry now?

 

[Migmac]

You can still get the files, Amazon will have them

 

[m_c]

As long as you can remove and split the points, some wet and dry on a flat surface will clean them up far better than a file in situ.
I've not done any small engine points for quite some time, but a few minutes with them removed would get them cleaned up nicely.

 

[Ross365]

While I've cleaned points in various ways in the past, the problem is that the are made with some kind of plating on the contacts, and that gets filed away, then things go downhill. On this very old Suffolk, the points have probably given many decades of service already, but I guess it is just a case of making the best of a bad job if they cannot be replaced. One advantage of the file is that they work well if you don't want to take off the flywheel, and just make use of the small window in the flywheel which is there for just this job.

 

[Robotstar5]

You can still get contact files

Gratuitous points window shot from when I was stripping mine.

 

[Ross365]

Yes, that shows nicely the size of that window, though getting the flywheel off is not normally a major task... but I did know one that was stuck!

 

[Robotstar5]

It may be worth a PM to member @wristpin as he knows a lot about these engines.

 

[Ross365]

Thanks for all your responses and the link to wristpin. I've ordered a file. I've owned a Suffolk for 30 years, 28 of which were free of any problems, but now it's all problems. I think the small Zenith carbs which they use may be getting problematic. When working, they are a pleasure to use!

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

The points can be changed, best chane the capacitor as well.
The Suffolk has a felt pad to hold oil.
Clean that and add fresh oil.
The flywheel needs to come off to access the point.
Can be difficult, but the manual will tell you how.

The fixings screws need to be nipped up a bit before removing, their heads are soft.

Fit the points, set the gap. The spade connection will need a clean as well.
Remove the plug, clean and re gap. Check the points gap again.

The only timei ever changed the points was when the coil pack or condesssor failed.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Yes, that shows nicely the size of that window, though getting the flywheel off is not normally a major task... but I did know one that was stuck!

In the playpen, Lost for years, is the genuine Suffolk fly wheel removal kit.

 

[Robotstar5]

My flywheel came off without resorting to an extractor.

The contact file in action

 

[Ross365]

Thanks for that info. Flywheel removal can be very easy or very hard, I guess it all depends on whether there was just a touch of lube on the surfaces. I worked on one machine where the FW refused completely to come off using the usual puller. I took it to my mate's garage who struggled, but finally got it off with a pneumatic hammer.