Anyone have a preference between the two?
I have a choice of sending the American Bosch magneto off my EHG68 for rebuild or getting a new Wico from Zimmermans.
Taking into account the price I can get on eBay for the old Bosch, the two will likely cost me about the same.
And while we are talking comparisons, any preferences between the original Tillotsen carb vs. later Zenith carbs and why? For same machine.
Many thanks in advance.
Chris,
I would use the American Bosch. The Bosch is built with more quality than the Wico. As far as carbs, Tillotsens are usually harder to adjust and more prone to problems, though I have the original one on my E and it has been very reliable. I don't really care for Tillotsen's idle mixture adjustment though.
Does your American Bosch mag have the external horseshoe magnet? I think those are the best.
Blake
Good morning Blake. Many thanks for your advice.
My Am Bosch is model MJC4C-103. It has two round 1 1/2 in. discs attached either side of the mag body. Are those the magnets? No, can't be they won't hold a paper clip! So, no I don't think I have any exterior magnets.
I think Zimmermans told me that the Wico was more reliable....I just wanted to get other opinions.
I will try the Zenith carb since I have one of each.
Thanks again.
My grandfather always said the Wicos were made really cheap. I know, when I was getting my General running back when I was about 12 years old, I had a chance to use a Wico or an Eiseman. He said use the Eiseman as the Wicos weren't so good.
Now if you have two good working mags and one is a Wico and one is a better one, I would use the better one. But if you have to find parts for both of them to make them work, you'll probably find the Wico parts much easier and for less money. In that case I would use the Wico.
I forget what brand mag is on my E - it is the original and has a horseshoe magnet over the top. They are easy to spot. I think it is probably a Bosch - either American or German. The points rotate with the shaft in those old mags. They are harder to find parts for, but they are really reliable and really hot when they are working right.
Blake
I am familiar with both mags. The Boschs seem to be good mags. I had one fixed up for my 20C and haven't had any problems with it. I think it is an MJC also. The only thing that is a pain about those are that the rotor is a gear and it is kinda tough to make sure it is timed properly when putting the cap on. I have a tractor with the Wico on and it seems to be fine too. The original Bosch mags are very expensive to rebuild, those are the type Blake is refering to. I think those are German style.
Landis said the Marvel Schebler carbs are really good for the OOC engines. I had one on my EN, but replaced it with a Tillotson. My 20C, and AG both have the Tillotson carbs and have never failed to work after I got all the crap cleaned out of them and the gas tanks. No experiences with the Zeniths.
Bob
HI folks. I juts looked at Blake's E series brochure on this site. It shows Wico for the Mag on all models.
I am now wondering whether I even have the right mag on my EG and EHGs.
The Am Bosch I have is model number MJC4C-103. Is this right for these 4 cyl. OOCs?
Any advice before I send the Bosch core off to swap for a rebuilt one?
Many thanks, Chris
Chis,
I believe those sheets were printed sometime in the 50s and show the replacement mags for those tractors available at the time. Not what they came with when new. The earlier E and AG's had horseshoe magnets on the mags and were not WICOs.
Thanks Blake. I looked at my E38 this morning and I see it has a Fairbanks Model FM, so altogether I have a confusing mix. Am Bosch on one OOC and Morse Fairbanks on the other. I just want to be sure I have suitable models fitted before I swap them for rebuilds.
Chris: I looked in my EG parts book. There is a serial number break when they went to the Wico from the Bosch mag.
Hi John.
My EG38 is a '37 Serial Number 2H578 and my '38 Cletrac EHG68 is Serial Number 7R14. I guess they'd be later models?
I'm not sure the MJC mag is original. My 20C had an American bosch horseshoe mag and the later AG I have has the Wico mag. I read in an operators book about those being original mags, or one was an option. I don't think any of the mags are junk, maybe a little better than others, just as long as you have good spark. If you were going for strictly original that would be different.
Bob
Thanks folks. There's place in Maine called Mainely Magnetos 207-834-7309 that seems to be able to well-beat all other prices I have seen on rebuilds - $220 for mine with core exchange - I have seen up to $400-odd from other shops, so I will try a new Wico from Landis and a Bosch rebuild and see what we get for my machines. Zimmerman's did tell me that you need a smaller shaft for the Wico's so that's an added cost if you change from the older ones.
So after John's comment I did some digging.
Noted here for future reference of others....
For E31 and non-streamlined E38 from serial number 1B00 to 7B01 Bosch type U4xED2
For E31 and non-streamlined E38 from serial number 7B02 to 1B443 Bosch type MJB-4-A-101
For streamlined E38 from serial number 2H000 to 2H613 Bosch type MJB-4-A-101
For E31 and non-streamlined E38 from serial number 1B442 to 1B499 Wico type AP-445
For streamlined E38 from serial number 2H614 to 2H649 Wico type AP-445
For E31 and non-streamlined E38 from serial number 1B500 and up 1B499 Wico type AP-445-B
For streamlined E38 from serial number 2H650 and up Wico type AP-445-A
In the EHG parts book it gives Bosch type MJB-4-A-101 and later Wico AP 445 but no exact indication of when it changed over....
Chris there are 2 Bosch mags. A Bosch UX4Ed-2 with 29 degree angle was used from the first Eg to tractor 7A33. Bosch MJB-4-A-101 was used on tractors 7A-34 to 3A 977. There are also 2 Wico Mags. Wico AP -445 was used from 3A 978 to 3A999. Wico type AP 445B was used from 4A000 and up.
Thanks Guys! This is great reference material! I would assume the AG mag usage roughly correlated to that of the E.
Blake