Buying Advice MF 65 Leak

[SirLafsalot]

I am looking very seriously at a MF 65 gas tractor with a mid-mount sickle bar mower that is for sale at a dealership. It seems to be in good shape, overall. There is a slight leak at what appears to be the steering box and I am hoping someone can, first of all, confirm that I am looking at the steering box and, second, help me to understand whether this is a problem that I should be concerned about, in terms of buying this tractor.

What is confusing about the drip from the steering box is that it looks like it is leaking hydraulic oil. At least, whatever it is appears to be far thinner than anything I would think would be put into a steering box. (This is my first Massey, so forgive me, if I wonder about things more than I should.)

The dealer told me that he figured the previous owner put something too thin into the box and it is leaking out through the gasket. I talked to the guy who traded the tractor on a new compact tractor and he told me that it never leaked there for him. There is a slight leak from the control box for the sickle bar mower, which is most likely the O-rings, and he told me that has leaked for years, but he just made sure to keep the level up and never worried about it. But he could offer no help in terms of what is leaking or why. He also said that he used whatever the manual told him to use for lubrication, except that he put 10w40 oil into the engine.

Anyway, I really like this tractor, overall, but I am wondering what to make of this leak. Or, whether I should be worrying about it at all. The dealer is going to see if the gasket is still available and replace it, if so.

I am attaching a photo with the area in question highlighted, just to be clear. It is not, however, a photo of the tractor I am interested in. (I never thought to take one while at the dealership.)

Any thoughts?

 

[claytonmesker]

I am looking very seriously at a MF 65 gas tractor with a mid-mount sickle bar mower that is for sale at a dealership. It seems to be in good shape, overall. There is a slight leak at what appears to be the steering box and I am hoping someone can, first of all, confirm that I am looking at the steering box and, second, help me to understand whether this is a problem that I should be concerned about, in terms of buying this tractor.

What is confusing about the drip from the steering box is that it looks like it is leaking hydraulic oil. At least, whatever it is appears to be far thinner than anything I would think would be put into a steering box. (This is my first Massey, so forgive me, if I wonder about things more than I should.)

The dealer told me that he figured the previous owner put something too thin into the box and it is leaking out through the gasket. I talked to the guy who traded the tractor on a new compact tractor and he told me that it never leaked there for him. There is a slight leak from the control box for the sickle bar mower, which is most likely the O-rings, and he told me that has leaked for years, but he just made sure to keep the level up and never worried about it. But he could offer no help in terms of what is leaking or why. He also said that he used whatever the manual told him to use for lubrication, except that he put 10w40 oil into the engine.

Anyway, I really like this tractor, overall, but I am wondering what to make of this leak. Or, whether I should be worrying about it at all. The dealer is going to see if the gasket is still available and replace it, if so.

I am attaching a photo with the area in question highlighted, just to be clear. It is not, however, a photo of the tractor I am interested in. (I never thought to take one while at the dealership.)

Any thoughts?

It could be water getting inside the gearbox and pushing out the oil my mf65 did that the reason mine did I left it outside and the seal under the steering wheel was bad and it allowed water to get in there the gearbox holds 80/90 and it has a hole in it to allow for overflows to get out

 

[sweettractors]

It is pretty normal for these old Masseys to leak somewhere. I wouldn't worry about that on a 60 year old tractor. Ken Sweet

 

[SirLafsalot]

It could be water getting inside the gearbox and pushing out the oil my mf65 did that the reason mine did I left it outside and the seal under the steering wheel was bad and it allowed water to get in there the gearbox holds 80/90 and it has a hole in it to allow for overflows to get out

This might be a dumb question, but how did you fix it? A new seal, of course, but, did you have to tear the whole box apart to drain out the water or is there some other way? And, were you able to get a new seal from the dealer or has that part been discontinued?