MF 180

[Spencer2598]

There is a 180 deisel that is coming up in an auction in about a week. I?ve never been around a 180 before so was wondering what some things to look at might be. I?m thinking of having it run a small round baler
and possibly a brush cutter. I know this is big enough for what I want but I was hoping to increase my hp a little (I currently have a Farmall 560 that does both of these things), is there any way to get a little more hp
out of a 180?

I?ve always thought they were good looking tractors and if this one goes for the right price, I might jump on it.

 

[Dieseltech]

The 560 and 180 are very close in PTO HP rating. Best way to increase the power of each is to add a turbo and increase the max fuel setting. Just increasing fuel only makes more smoke and heat with very little power increase..

 

[DavidP, South Wales]

Hi, I would agree with Dieseltech about adding a turbo to increase the power but only if the engine is quite low houred and in good shape to accept the power increase. If bearing shells and pistons have a considerable amount of wear present, the engine potentially running hotter and under extra load could well advance the failure of any related items.
DavidP, South Wales

 

[Spencer2598]

I probably won?t worry about a turbo so I might not get much more hp out of it. I was thinking about just turning it up to get an extra 10 hp or so. The 560 is a gas and I?ve never been around a deisel so I wasn?t sure. The other thing that I?m a little worried about with the 180 is parts availability, especially for the multipower and the hydraulics. I have a 65 for a while and I know the multipower was expensive to repair and I?ve looked at a Super 90 and found out the multipower and pto parts are hard to come by. Would i be able to get the parts for this one easier?

 

[Bob N.Y.]

The M-P on the Super 90 is totally different than any other model. The 180 drivetrain is basically the same as the 65. Parts shouldn't be a problem. The 180 is just a row crop version of the 175. They are mechanically the same, aside from the various options.

 

[Dieseltech]

My dad bought a 180 new in 1968 if I recall, and last I checked it has close to 9,000 hours on it. Has a loader on it too, and the outfit is getting tired. Neighbor also has an earlier 180 that I turned up to 72 PTO HP years ago, I WOULD NOT recommend doing it as his will get hot and smoke heavy when under full load. He got away with it as all he did was pull a seven foot mower for field clearing. The 236 has some of the same parts as the six cylinder 354 does, and some later MF models did add a turbo to the 3.152 and 4.236 engines, with some internal changes too.

 

[ptfarmer]

Even though both the 560, and 180 are close to same hp the 180 diesel has a bunch more torque. I have a MF2135 with a 4 cylinder gas (same tractor as MF135), and I have a MF135 diesel. I've had the same 7' wide rotary mower behind both of them, and the diesel doesn't struggle in the heavy stuff like the gasser did.

 

[tomstractorsandtoys]

If you need more power skip the 180 and get a 1080. Brother inlaw had one for years and was a good tractor. He added an aftermarket hyd filter update kit to filter the oil before the hyd pump.That perkins diesel was a very good engine but did leak and seep oil and fuel. Tom

 

[hearnc843]

I have a 175, and its a great tractor. They do have considerable PTO power- I have been running a Danuser Auger, hitting sticky heavy clay at times and it never bogs down. Has been easy to get parts for as well. Can't go wrong with the Perkins diesel.

 

[Hooked180]

My 180 pulled a four bottom plow, ground feed, bush hogged and pulled a corn planter or anything else that needed done on a grain and livestock farm. I wouldn't worry about power.