165 gas multi power opinion

[Farmer76]

I am looking at a 165 gas multi-power? What is so bad about the multi-power? How do I check to see if it is bad? Any help is appreciated..

 

[Anonymous-0]

I've had a 135 with multi power for nearly 20 years. I think its mostly good. It is destructible and these days parts may be more than hard to get. But it gives one gear shift without stopping, nice for use on the road, starting out 3rd high range and low on the multipower gets it up to 15 or 16, then back off on the throttle and shift the multipower up to high range and run it up to 22. Sure makes for easier starts when hauling an implement on the road.

And its handy when plowing in say 4th low range, high multipower when encountering stickier dirt to drop the multipower to low (it effectively splits the gears) to pull through the tougher pull without having to stop and shift gears. Remember the transmission is not synchromesh, its sliding gears and so is not designed for shifting when moving.

In low range the tractor does free wheel going forward. And because it takes hydraulic pressure to put the multipower in high range, you can't pull start the tractor. And in high range the multipower acts as a "hill holder" so if you are stopped with the nose uphill, that push back will make it very hard to shift transmission gears until you shift the multipower to low.

When planting, spraying, plowing, or baling it sure is nice to have the 12 speeds forward that the multipower gives.

When going down hill where the multipower has no engine braking in low, its not hard to back off on the engine speed and shift the multipower to high and have instant engine braking since the multipower is made to be shifted on the go.

I suppose that if I broke my multipower and couldn't find repair parts that my attitude towards it might be different. For now its a useful accessory that makes the tractor more functional.

Gerald J.

 

[maxwell99]

I think this is true.

If the multipower system goes out normally you only have the low range.

The transmission will not whole the tractor back in low range, only in high range.

So if you only have low range the tractor will free wheel down a hill and all stopping must be done with the brakes.

However, I may be wrong about this. But have had 3 neighbors with tractors that had this transmission and all had only the low range working. The tractors would free wheel.

If you could find one, try to buy a later model diesel 165 with square rear axles and a 4 speed transmission with hi/lo. I understand they were the most desirable 165 model made just before MF changed the body style.

 

[Farmer76]

So no matter what I could not pull start the tractor? Also if the multipower does go bad, will I still be able to use the tractor? Does it have a clutch or just a hydraulic valve like the case o matics?

 

[Anonymous-0]

The multipower in a MF is not a lot different from the Torque Amplifier in an IH, at least in function. Its a planetary gear set with overruning clutches, and a hydraulically operated clutch that locks the gears. It takes hydraulic pressure to operate that clutch. That hydraulic pressure comes from an auxiliary pump driven by the transmission input shaft. That pump only turns when the engine is running. So you can pull the tractor all week and the engine won't turn over.

I suppose the multipower could break so that no power is transferred in high or low or so that it was locked up. I've heard of it being bolted together to lock it up so its in high all the time. I'd want to take out the hill holding clutch, because its really hard to shift when its holding on a hill. That hill holding holds it from backing down a hill, even a small slope puts a considerable load on the transmission. Its always easier to shift the other two transmissions when the multipower is in low than in high.

While the multipower can be shifted when moving, its easier on it to back off on the throttle to reduce the load on it while its shifting. There is nothing in it to soften the shift, its "thunk" and its shifted which is probably how its most often broken, shifting at full throttle with a plow dug 10" into the ground.

Gerald J.

 

[Bob N.Y.]

The Multi-Power in a 165 is not a planetary. It is 2 alternate sets of gears. The hill holding feature is the result of the 2 gear sets trying to turn the input shaft at 2 different speeds at the same time.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I'd never dug that deep. Sure enough, the multipower clutch determines which of two gears on the inlet shaft drives the secondary shaft in the transmission and there's a jaw type overrunning clutch that takes the drive from the two driven gears to the secondary shaft.

What is it that fails and is hard to fix? The jaw clutch or the hydraulic clutch?

I saw the drum of the hydraulic clutch in the parts book and I&T manual and mistook that for also enclosing a planetary gear set. I was wrong.

Gerald J.

 

[Bob N.Y.]

The hydraulic clutch is the one that fails. That is why there is no engine braking when the M-P doesn't work.

 

[mikeinont]

I have multipower on my 255, I like it and use it always. If it broke I would fix it.