first time tractor owner MF 150

I've never owned a tractor, but have about 30 acres to maintain-- bush hogging field edges and long drive way. Also the guy cutting my fields for hay is getting along in years and says he might not do it much longer.

I bought a 1965 Massey Ferguson 150 with Continental gas engine. I've got a few questions for you experts. Forgive my "MF for dummies" questions.

1. What do you see as good places to start with maintenance/repairs?
2. I want to change the crankcase oil. I do this immediately for all used vehicles I purchase. Manual calls for 10w-30 and I've heard diesel engine oil is best, so I bought Rotella 10w-30 heavy duty for diesel. Is that good quality oil for this engine?
3. I'm tempted to change the transmission oil, too. 8 gallons. Can you give a brand and type for this purpose? Do you see this as a necessary step for a new tractor owner? I have absolutely no idea how well this tractor was maintained before I purchased it.
4. Throttle. The engine starts and purrs no worries, even in cold weather. I can put it in gear and drive around. However, when I try to give it more throttle, it dies. Why is this?
5. PTO housing. I would like to put a cap on it when PTO is not in use. I bought a cap, but it won't screw on. I'm guessing the threads are damaged on the housing. If I buy another housing, is this an easy or difficult part change? Looks like it comes straight off after loosening 3-4 bolts and the PTO bearing could also be replaced at the same time.
6. One rear tire is rough. I can see the inner tube through a couple of holes in the tread, but it is not leaking. I understand this would be a $500 repair for a new tire?

For peace of mind, change all fluids and filters if there is no known history. If
the engine is cold, you may need to run it with the choke partly out til it warms
up to eliminate stalling. If that does not help, there could be carb or ignition
issues. You can get a rubber sheath that will fit over and protect the pto shaft
stub...ask at most any farm equipment dealer. And yes another tire will be close
to that amount if you have the work done for you. They are a pretty good tractor,
with care it will last you a long time. Good luck! Ben

Find the main jet on carb and screw it in then come out 1 1/4 turns, check throttle response, if sputtering turn out till it takes throttle.

Congrats, that's a good tractor. Definitely
a get operator manual and study it. Change
all filters and oils now, and then follow
the maintenance schedules per manual. Can
likely clean the strainers for tranny and
PS. For tranny, power steering and
plantaries use hydraulic oil that meets
spec for MF Permantran, now its sold as
Permantran 821xl. I prefer to pay more and
use Agco brand Permatran 821xl, but can
also get cheaper universal tractor fluid
like from NAPA that meets those specs. If
you store tractor outdoors make sure your
shifter rubber boots are good or replace
them, cheap, to prevent rain water getting
in tranny, or place a 5 gal bucket over
shifters in interim. Get a spin on oil
filter type housing if not converted yet,
lot easier and better than original IMHO.
This website Archives searches will get you
on right path. Post back with questions.
Lots of experts here and good folks.

I see some leakage of hydraulic fluid from the bearing around the PTO shaft. Not like a drop a second, but accumulating enough to make the housing wet with a few drops over the last couple of days. I watched a YouTube video on pulling the shaft and replacing the bearing/seal. Seems do-able for me.

The transmission fluid on the dipstick looks like new oil and has "enough" although not quite to the fill line. It is yellowish-green and similar "look" to new motor oil except the color--translucent, not dirty. So maybe changed recently?

Looking at the PTO shaft, I see that the threads on the housing are worn off. Does this matter? Do the threads serve any purpose other than holding a cover to keep dust out? I suppose if I need to pull the shaft out and replace the seal, it would be worth it to replace the housing.

Pto cover is there for safety. You need to drain the tranny fluid to pull pto shaft or expect a big mess while doing so I'd strain the fluid and reuse since it looks good.

Yes, and I bought a pto cap for that safety reason, but when I went to screw is on, I see the threads are almost worn off. My thought is that this isn't enough by itself to make me replace the housing, but then the seal is leaking a small amount.

It's been my experience that the PTO cover can be a pain to get started, just takes time. Unless the previous owner allowed a PTO yoke to flail against the housing you may be able to dress the threads and get yours to fit. It has to be started nearly perfectly to get snug, don't get it cross-threaded. Good Luck with it.

(quoted from post at 09:24:31 12/16/18) Find the main jet on carb and screw it in then come out 1 1/4 turns, check throttle response, if sputtering turn out till it takes throttle.

Click to expand...

Hahaha. I'll keep this in mind, but can I confess to a dumb mistake? I was pushing the throttle lever the wrong way! Newbie!

(quoted from post at 13:36:36 12/17/18)
Yes, and I bought a pto cap for that safety reason, but when I went to screw is on, I see the threads are almost worn off. My thought is that this isn't enough by itself to make me replace the housing, but then the seal is leaking a small amount.

Click to expand...

Are you sure about those pto cap threads? I purchased a cap for my MF202 and it wouldn't go on either. Checking further I found that there was probably ten years of crud hardened into those threads. I had to soak the threads with penetrating oil and use a brass bristled brush to finally get it clean enough to accept the cap. It did take a while with soaking and brushing. But the threads were still there.