New to me MF 135

[jackfrost1031]

Hey Gang

Finally got a tractor to talk about. Got a MF 135 with the Continental engine. I didn't have the patience for finding something with the Perkins Diesel.

Mowed a little with it but have decided to do a little maintenance before I do much more with it. It starts easily. I plugged in the tach cable to the generator and it only shows about 1600 RPM at "full speed" so I am sure the governor is in need of some attention.

I changed the oil twice so far. I had plenty of extra oil and it was black as coal within an hour so why not.

It also came with a mower but it's pretty rough. it cuts but has been broken in about every place I think it can have been. Holes, welds, missing parts, etc. It pulls crooked.. but it cuts.

Progress to come.

So far I've pulled the fuel bowl apart since it wouldn't shut off. It works better now since I pulled it and cleaned it. There was some trash in the seat of the valve. The packing leaks a little around the stem but I can piddle with that later.

The front wheels were going all over the place while I was driving. I pulled the wheels off this morning and its got bad bearings on one side and a loose spindle on the other. Looks like it can be sleeved.

I swore I wouldn't "restore" this thing but I can't put things together with bad bearings!

 

[jackfrost1031]

We pulled the front wheels off this morning. Evidently, I have one fluid filled front tire and one without. Both tires are pretty rough but I'm not sure if I will replace them.

I got the wheel bearing apart and spindle dropped out easy enough. Without mik'ing the spindle shaft OD I don't know for certain but i didn't feel any appreciable wear. I went to remove the brass bushings but haven't been able to. I used a pilot bearing puller with slide hammer but just couldn't get them to budge. Time to clean up for the day.

Any tips for pulling these bushings? There isn't a lot of material there. The service manual recommends using MF 263 Bush Remover and the MF 263-1 adapter. I'll spend a little time on the internet looking for how to rig something up. I was surprised my pilot bearing puller wouldn't get it. This is my puller. I used it on my truck's pilot bearing and it worked well.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076CGD2KX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[John Deere D]

Thread bushing and pull.....(Fine Thread)

I assisted a friend to pull the bushings from his Fergusson TEA-20...

Bores had to be reamed to size....

Bob....Owner MF FE 35 X ...and other colored Tractors...

 

[jackfrost1031]

(quoted from post at 19:35:46 07/27/19)

Bores had to be reamed to size....

any idea what size that would be?

 

[John Deere D]

I have no idea of the measurements of the bushing you require...however, this site "YT" indicated they have spindle bushings for the MF 135:

Bob...

 

[John Deere D]

Possibly the new BUSHINGS do not require reaming..???


Bob....Owner operator MF FE 35 X....TEA-20 Ferguson..

 

[John Deere D]

I apologize...it was late...my math was INCORRECT...?

Should have been.1"5/16 =1".3125..

1"3125-1."2650 = .0475/2 = .02375 Bushing wall thickness

Every dog has their day...??.

Bob.....

 

[jackfrost1031]

(quoted from post at 02:43:09 07/28/19) I apologize...it was late...my math was INCORRECT...?

Should have been.1"5/16 =1".3125..

1"3125-1."2650 = .0475/2 = .02375 Bushing wall thickness

Every dog has their day...??.

Bob.....

Yeah I ve got most of the parts figured out from the YT catalog. Looks like the shaft will be a 1.245" OD. I would conclude from that I need a 1.250" reamer. I believe it has to be framed since the walls of the bushing are so thin it would probably distort when driven in.

The main axle pivot has a bunch of slop in it but honestly that s more than I want to chew off right now.

 

[jackfrost1031]

I meant to say reamed but my iPhone corrected that to framed.

Anyway, I have a front wheel drive wheel bearing puller I forgot to try. I m out of town till Thursday so maybe I can get back on it that way venting. Depends on how much interest my daughter has. She s my helper but she s also 3 years old.

 

[Jeff_G]

My daughter was my helper on outboard engines when she was 3. I found I needed a tub of Goop hand cleaner without pumice, worked the best at grease removal from her!

 

[jackfrost1031]

It s a hoot when she gets into it. Thanks for the tip on cleaner.

 

[jackfrost1031]

Well I'm back in town and caught up around the house. Let's see what I can get done this evening.

I need to buy some replacement bolts for the front axle. The ones that were on there are just way too far gone. I also took off the bumper and additional counterweight someone had added. I like the weight but didn't like the little "toolbox" part.

Also I ordered spindle bushings, wheel bearings, and a spin-on oil filter conversion.

I talked to at least 3 different shops - one automotive, one tractor-trailer, and one farm-tractor shop and none had any way to deal with bushings and reaming. I will try my wheelbearing press today. I've got a machine shop lined up to ream the bushings to size and press new ones if I can't get them.

 

[jackfrost1031]

The front end is looking kind of bare.

I took the outer axle ends off because I secured someone to press out the bushings, install new, and then bore them to size.

I need some tie-rod ends on the right side and plenty more bolts. All of the ones on the axle had to be beaten out and the threads are pretty rough now. Looks like one had been involved in a bit of an accident as the one holding the radius arm was partially sheared!

The radius rods mount onto the frame of the tractor seem a little worn. It doesn't look like there is any sort of bushing in there. Guess I'll just deal with it.

I'm in this far so I may just pull the axle pin too. I've drained the coolant because it was pretty nasty looking. Seems like I'm most of the way through getting the axle pin out so...

Picture of what it looks like right now.

 

[jackfrost1031]

The photos upload slow to this site. I apparently hadn't waited long enough before submitting the previous post.

 

[jackfrost1031]

I've started a YouTube channel for this tractor (and my other garage stuff). I don't know if this falls as promotional but the video is under the same title as this forum topic.

 

[ptfarmer]

(quoted from post at 21:11:56 08/04/19)
I've started a YouTube channel for this tractor (and my other garage stuff). I don't know if this falls as promotional but the video is under the same title as this forum topic.

The promotional part is about promoting other parts sellers since Yesterday's Tractor also sells parts.

 

[jackfrost1031]

Got the hubs cleaned up. The bearings were clearly toast. These wear sleeves came out but I don t quite understand their purpose. The bore they ride in had no grooves and it was just for the end seals. I need to see what the target bore size is for the seals to ride in.

https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/Massey-Ferguson-135_Wheel-Hub-Wear-Sleeve_194620M1.html

Got a shop press too so I can press in bearings without a hammer.

Not sure if it genuinely needs sleeves. I had a truck once where someone had sleeved the crankshaft with one of these and it was actually causing issues because it was larger than needed.

 

[jackfrost1031]

Well I should have just looked at the parts book. It comes with the hub. So i will replace them. I hate waiting on parts...

 

[M Carp]

The Sheetmetal looks really nice; good candidate for restoration. In case you don't already know, The hood comes off in one piece. Two bolts under each side panel and the two screws by the 135 badge. Took me awhile to figure that out on my 135.

 

[jackfrost1031]

Knowing me it will be painted at some point. I m trying to iron out the usability stuff first.

I ve got to keep working on these spindles. I ve got to sand down the little burrs I left when I drove out the wear sleeves. Once I ve got they done my machinist can take care of it.

I didn t get any footage with the spindles because my dad was helping me and he wasn t here all day to watch me play with a camera!