MF135

Hello, I am a newby, just spoke with the sales team and they directed me to this forum and spoke very highly of the helpful members.

So, I am also new to tractoring... sure that's not a word, however I have some experience with other machinery. I have recently got a tractor and used in last weekend with a bush hog. Seems the tractor has some issues that I would like to address and I have some questions. Sorry for all the detail/questions

1st
PTO shaft, After using the tractor on Saturday I went back Sunday and started bush hogging again, about 1-2hr in I Noticed hydo oil pouring out the pto. So I loaded and took it home. I have since removed the pto and retainer plate. Turns out the retainer plate got beaten so bad from the vibration of the bush hog the plate bent and the o-ring was no longer in the transfercase. After further research I found 2 bolts missing in the center, left & right, directly next to the pto shaft and I'm fell like that caused the plate to fail. The bolts in the corners are still there. So my question, does anyone have any idea where I may find a replacement bolts or if they are standard/metric and the thread count so I could pick them up locally? I have replace the bearing, seal and o-ring and would like to replace the bolts so the retainer plate does not fail again.

Next, when engaging the PTO there are 2 settings, ground and engine. Engine works as expected but when putting on ground it didn't seem to work properly. Meaning it still seems to turn with the engine. Also it is hard to engage and I was having to play with the clutch location to get it to the correct position before it would click into place. Is that normal? Grind it till you find it... don't seem normal to me.

2nd
Lift pump, It works but drops when engine turns off. I'm guessing I need to replace the rings. I found a great video showing the process but would like to understand how the system works. The replacement parts seem to be a cylinder, piston and rings. I'm used to a car and the piston having a crank to ride up and down on to build compression but not sure how this system works. Should I replace everything or just the rings if the cylinder walls don't show scaring? Is there something else I should try first? I have replaced the fluids as the tractor sat for years without use, it was really bad but all good now.

3rd
Serial number, I have tried to find the serial number so that I can determine the year but I have not been able to find anything. I have read some of these are near the battery and some are near the key but I have not been able to locate anything. There are all kinds of numbers on the castings I have no idea if they can help.

4th
Hard startup, The tractor after sitting over night requires starter fluid, a 2 sec squirt in the air filer next to the batter to start up. Once running and warmed up it will start thought out the day. Any idea if this is normal or what it may be a symptom of?

5th
Depth/Drift control, First off the screw is missing to hold the drift in place so it stays in the same position(up or down not sure). I have only used this tractor/any tractor for a day and half so I'm very new to this. Since I was bush hogging it didn't seem to impact what I was doing so I ran with it but would like to understand how it should work on this tractor. When playing with it I got different results so i'm not sure if it is working properly or not.

6th
Clutch, After using the bush hog my left leg was having a hard time operating due the how hard the clutch is to press. I was not able to find a grease fitting or any way to reduce the pressure needed to push the clutch down. This clutch has two settings, press half way and it will disengage the transmission, all the way down and it would disengage the pto. Are they typically hard to press?

Thank you

Lift WILL go down with engine off, that's normal. Serial number on some are behind the air filter can. Cold start, do you see white exhaust smoke when cranking? Could be
engine has low compression, white smoke means fuel is getting into the chamber but compression heat is too low to burn, ether helps with starting tired engines. Clutch
pedal has always pushed down hard on 35/135 models, and is made even worse if 165 or 175 model clutch pressure plate springs have been installed by mistake.

A tip for engaging the PTO. Idle the engine down. Depress the clutch pedal all the way. Apply upward pressure on the PTO lever and ease up on the clutch pedal. The PTO will quite often slip into gear doing this. Engine drive is the correct choice for most implements, especially those requiring momentum like a bush hog. It is normal for the 3 point hitch to sag over time on those tractors. There is NO check valve in the system. If it drops quickly, there is an excessive leak. It could be leaking from either end of the stand pipe, the o-ring where the cylinder is attached to the top cover, the piston rings in the hydraulic cylinder or back thru the pump itself. Best way to check is to drain the tranny oil below the round cover by your right heel as you sit on the tractor and look in there for the leak with a light while the 3ph is in the up position with an implement attached.

There's a link to the parts book:
https://parts.agcocorp.com/en_US/apbsearch?q=masseyferguson/651199/l&name=135+TRACTOR

You can still get some parts from the dealer- mainly gaskets. You can find many parts for the 135 on ebay, right here on this site and many
other sites. The schematics will help you take apart your clutch pedal assembly and grease it. There probably is a grease fitting somewhere.

I got a hard copy of the parts book for my 175, I just prefer that, its easier to read. and you can flip through it a lot better, mark it up
with partmarks, notes. Its good for record keeping of things you fixed.

(quoted from post at 13:27:45 05/12/22) Lift WILL go down with engine off, that's normal. Serial number on some are behind the air filter can. Cold start, do you see white exhaust smoke when cranking? Could be
engine has low compression, white smoke means fuel is getting into the chamber but compression heat is too low to burn, ether helps with starting tired engines. Clutch
pedal has always pushed down hard on 35/135 models, and is made even worse if 165 or 175 model clutch pressure plate springs have been installed by mistake.

Click to expand...

First off, thank you for the response.

Thanks, I will look later today. Cold start, I'd say no white smoke but plenty of black smoke after initial start up then clears up, but not entirely.

Thanks for the tip.
It drops quickly. I currently have it drained due to the pto seal replacement(this is the transmission oil you are referring to correct). I was going to fill back up but it sounds like I should check the system for leaks. So I'm guessing I'll need to fill it back up, just below the round cover and then look for a leak... how will I know it's leaking? Is it really obvious, sorry, don't know much about how this pump works. I'll search for a video.

Thank you

(quoted from post at 12:50:05 05/12/22)

1st
PTO shaft, After using the tractor on Saturday I went back Sunday and started bush hogging again, about 1-2hr in I Noticed hydo oil pouring out the pto. So I loaded and took it home. I have since removed the pto and retainer plate. Turns out the retainer plate got beaten so bad from the vibration of the bush hog the plate bent and the o-ring was no longer in the transfercase. [color=blue:c7f44f2f7b]After further research I found 2 bolts missing in the center, left & right, directly next to the pto shaft and I fell like that caused the plate to fail. The bolts in the corners are still there. So my question, does anyone have any idea where I may find a replacement bolts or if they are standard/metric and the thread count so I could pick them up locally?[/color:c7f44f2f7b] I have replace the bearing, seal and o-ring and would like to replace the bolts so the retainer plate does not fail again.

Click to expand...

I believe I have the OE Part number for the bolts "358380X1", unfortunately I have not had any luck on google. I wanted to pass along incase it could help with my question about finding replacement bolts and/or standard/metric and the thread count.

Thank you



This post was edited by rphillips on 05/13/2022 at 11:45 am.

Yes, you will need to refill up to the lowest bolt of the round cover. The leak should be obvious.

In case anyone ever needs the 2 bolts are 7/16-14. Napa didn't have the countersunk bolts heads but a few flat wasters and lock waster did the trick. I used the bush hog yesterday and not leaks out the pto and now I don't believe the retainer plate will fail again.

Oil question, I have been using the tractor and noticed oil coming from the dipstick. Can someone help me diagnose this?

[video play=false:7316fa8711]https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/videos/mvvideo92700.mp4[/video:7316fa8711]

Lift pump question, I can't figure out if I have a leak or not. I don't see anything extremely obvious when viewing. Since I am very new to tractors I am not sure if the operation is normal or not. That said, it feels like the lift pump is weak, maybe not...

[video play=false:7316fa8711]https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/videos/mvvideo92701.mp4[/video:7316fa8711]

Drift control, Can someone explain to me how this should work? I would like to fix so that I can use a box blade without it digging in the dirt. I am thinking something is not operating as it should. When I have the drift up, the position lever will move the hitch up/down as it should but when I move the drift down, the position lever does not work.

[video play=false:7316fa8711]https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/videos/mvvideo92702.mp4[/video:7316fa8711]

Thank you

This post was edited by rphillips on 05/31/2022 at 07:34 am.

I think the fingers from draft and main control lever need to both be in front of that pump lever pin you showed in the first video.
Check the service manual for position for your specific model (I only have the TO35 and MF35 models).

These might help some. Not the same model you have but there are many similarities as the 'Ferguson System' was quite a good product for end-users.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKxj06Hatlo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ig8LBwlOsk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDsW47Up-jU