Excuse My Tractor Repair Rant

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

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Staff member
but I am tired of trying to get it repaired.

Twelve weeks ago I took my MF 135 to a mechanic to rebuild the steering box, replace the three point lift shaft bushings and any other part badly worn, and adjust the hydraulic linkage. The lift arms were sloppy, thus the new bushings (shaft ended up being replaced too) and were not moving through their full range. The position control lever had no effect until the last couple inches at the top of the quadrant. The three point arms were only coming up about 2/3rds as far as they should so I am thinking a simple linkage adjusment will fix it.

The mechanic rebuilt the steering box. Steering shaft and bearings were shot. He then started on the three point and hydraulic adjustments. He rebuilt the pump saying "while I was in there I figured I should rebuild it." which was fine by me since it could save me headaches down the road. After seven weeks he begins telling me he can't figure out the hydraulic linkage issue. This goes on for a week and when I see it is hopeless I tell him to put it together the best he can and I'll pick it up, as is. Exactly 8 weeks had gone by. I paid him for the steering repair and he did not charge me for the hydraulic work other than parts. Fair enough. The guy has close to 30 years experience (former JD repairman at a local dealer) and said he had repaired numerous 135 hydraulics over the years but didn't know what to do with mine. He never was able to put into words the issue. Nice guy but his communication skills were lacking.

So I go straight from his place to the local Agco dealer. Tractor sits there for over three weeks before they put a wrench on it. No biggie, bushhogging can wait. Today I get a call saying they are having trouble with the hydraulics.

I leave work and drive over there to see what is going on and talk to them about the repair. I'm tired of being in the dark about what is wrong. The service rep says some parts are missing and it will take some effort to get it working. He goes on to say he's located three salvaged lift covers and he can put one of them on. When I ask him what parts are missing he can't answer other than "some parts are missing."

I'm real confused at this point because I don't see the lift cover having anything to do with the problem, it's internal linkages. Further I don't like the sound of it because I just put new bushings in the old lift cover. I asked him why can't he pull the missing parts off the salvaged unit and stick with my original cover and associated parts. He goes on to say if the salvaged unit works it is better to replace the until as a whole because they are dificult to adjust and the original might not work anyway with a few different parts. I dislike his suggested fix but didn't want to argue or press (he's supposed to be the expert) so I told him to do what he thought was best because I wanted it working and am tired of waiting. But I am wondering if it's so difficult to adjust what is he going to do if the salvaged unit needs adjusting.

At this point I wish I had just tackled the job myself three months ago. Time is in very short supply but I know I could fix the thing without chucking perfectly good parts and making the tractor look like it is cobbled together with mismatched castings.

What really gripes me is after the shadetree mechanic threw in the towel I took it to the dealer. Now they are taking a shadetree approach, i.e., just buy a unit off a junked tractor and bolt it on. What ever happened to close inspection, troubleshooting, and replacing missing/worn with new parts. Why is it they are hesitant to use the original and fix it and keep hinting that there is some sort of elusive black magic to getting older MF hydraulics to work properly?

To anyone that made it this far thanks for listening to me vent. I really like to old tractor and am willing to see the repair made, but I am perplexed that the dealer service center is taking such an approach. Did they lose their parts diagrams and factory service manuals? Do they not like using their own parts and prefer salvaged ones? Seems really weird to me. I hate to say it but maybe they want to simply bolt on a salvaged unit because they don't have the expertise to repair what is there.
 
Wow Eric, Seems like you need to find a GOOD technician. Can't help with your tractor problem because I left the farm decades ago but I would check the local guys out to find someone that you can trust. I have this "I can fix it myself to a fault" so I would have dug in but that is past for you so I would look for some ol retired guy with time on his hands, too bad you live so far away. Good legit rant, good luck.
 
Eric,

My supervisor is restoring an old MF 135 that his dad had on the farm when he was a kid. I think he told me it's a 1969. He's having PTO clutch adjustment issues. It's a 2 stage system with a 9" disc operating with a Bellevue Spring and a 11" disc operatored by coil springs. Seems you have to split the tractor to adjust the 11" disk. I don't know if that's any part of your problem but here is a place he went that has repair dvd's that might help.

http://farmtractorrepair.com/dvds-massey-ferguson.html
 
Eric, I think the Internet will be you friend. I Installed a number of large hydraulic systems but trouble shooting is a whole other animal. My son and I were going build a lifting clam and needed information on designing the hydraulic system for the machine.

I ran across hydraulic trouble shooting by someone who did it for a living. His information was free. Others want to sell the same information for the price of a new tractor. Evidently there isn't school that teaches trouble shooting you have to pick it up on your own.

I am surprised that you are having trouble with MF. Ferguson was the hydraulic guy. When he left Ford he made them discontinue using his patent. We had a Ford after that and it had lousy hydraulics and were told there was nothing we could do.

From what I remember it could be a lot of other things other than parts. I think you are going to trouble shoot it yourself and eliminate things one at a time.
 
Thanks for the advice and encouragement.

Had I known it was going to take this long I would have done the repairs myself. I have the factory parts diagrams and service manual. The steps are outlined and illustrated. I don't have some of the factory tools but could probably manage to come up with something. Seems straightforward to go though the diagrams and ID missing parts, replace them, and then follow the manuals on how to adjust. I strongly suspect the dealer doesn't have mechanics who are that versed with the inner workings of this 50 year old tractor (most popular tractor ever built) and would rather replace the unit. I don't like that answer but am getting in a pinch for time. I need to do some clearing at the hunting property and doubt I can do the work before the season starts given all the other stuff going on. The other problem is I don't have a place to work on it. I wouldn't be able to leave it uncovered over the next x weeks in the driveway or yard. Yet another reason to get my shop built. I could work on it as time permitted and not worry about it being left out uncovered with the lift cover off and parts everywhere.
 
Ed

You do have to split the tractor to work on the clutch or replace the main seal. The hydraulics don't require splitting the tractor to service, fortunately. Ask your superviser if he has adjusted the hydraulics and what kind of a job it was if you don't mind.

Eric
 
One other problem with telling them to stop is I'd be bringing a portion of the tractor home in buckets. They have it torn down completely. Like I said before if I had known this ordeal months ago I'd gone a different route.
 
Eric,

He's OoO for training. He'll be back on Monday. I'll see what he has to say when he gets back.
 
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I strongly suspect the dealer doesn't have mechanics who are that versed with the inner workings of this 50 year old tractor (most popular tractor ever built) and would rather replace the unit.
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Eric,

I would tend to agree with your assessment. I wish there was something more I could do for you but about all I can offer is hope. Yes you have the smarts to fix it yourself but as you say time is an issue. Working on something like this needs to be in a controlled environment and not rushed. It is too easy to make a mistake or overlook somthing that will later be hard to diagnose.

If the dealer is able to locate and install another used unit as a fix, I would insist on getting back your original unit. (even if it is incomplete or in a basket) You may end up needing to do a rebuild yourself sometime down the road. Extra parts could come in handy. :>)
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Eric,

CraigsList - Eau Claire, WI

Downing Tractor Parts - All States Ag Parts
Call 877-530-1010

My son restores tractors, and this site has whatever you need. He's used it many times!

Art
 
Dave, Excellent advice on the old parts. I have found though that if spare parts are left in a dark corner they can multiply at a rate that would make a rabbit envious. ;-)
 
I know all about old tractor troubles, the problem is, I'm not old enough to remember how they were ran when they were working property. I own a 1959 farmall 560 and a 1939 ford 9n, neither of which are show room quality. I am constantly trying to piece them back together, coax them into running, and keep them going long enough to get a job done. mostly, they plow gardens, brush hog fields, and pull firewood. A website called yesterdaystractor.com has a good selection of parts for these older rigs. Like a duck boat, I think that the task of tinkering with old tractors is worth while for those times when everything goes like it should and you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
Good luck with the hydraulics, hope you don't have to split the tractor!

Mike
 
Thanks for the input guys. It is appreciated.

Mike, I am a member over there and no I don't need to split the tractor. I would love to do a complete tear down and restoration but right now I just don't have the time nor the space. I will be building a dedicated workshop soon which will provide the ideal location to do the work myself but I'm just not there yet. Like Dave mentioned I'll keep the parts for the future project.
 
Eric,

If you need tractor repairs in the future let me know. I've got several friends who have gotten out of the tractor repair business to start their own farms, but still do mechanic work on the side. One is the best mechanic I've ever seen, and can get the job done in a timely manner.
 
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