Massey Ferguson 135 Rebuild Journey (diesel)

[Rivendale]

Hi Folks,

I am taking the plunge headlong.

This tractor has been in our family since I was born. I remember being 3 years old and sitting on this thing so it has great sentimental value for me and I would like my son to have his first tractor experience on it as well.

It sat parked for years at a time since we weren't really farmers back in AL and basically used it to plow a garden and bushhog 7 or 8 acres every 2 or 3 years. About 6 years ago it went to my sister's house in GA and also weathered there.

I moved to central KY and then shortly after bought a farm and I raise cattle and hay now. My dad gave me the 135 and I went to GA to pick it up and brought it back and It is time to spruce it up.

I changed the tractor fluid, and the filter in the tranny (it was CAKED) so much sludge in there that it was the stuff of nightmares lol. I also replaced the rear PTO shaft seal and that took care of that leaking.
My Bro in law had recently changed the oil and fuel filters so that was good to go. The 3cyl Diesel cranked up with no problems.

None of the gauges work other than the tach. The hour meter has not worked since 2500 hours so not sure how many hours are on this thing.
Against my better judgement I operated the tractor without a temp gauge and subsequently ran it hot I think because I found water in the oil and also the slightly blue smoke in the exhaust turned to more whitish so im thinking blown head gasket.
I parked it last summer and now tis time to get to work.

I pulled it out of the barn and took the sheet metal off and scraped the engine and degreased it as best as I could to get to where I could see what was underneath
Problems :

Blown head gasket
Front crankshaft seal is leaking oil from the pulley
Fuel filter is leaking where the rectangle "cap" fits onto the cylindrical housing
Wiring is non existant( not connected to anything


Will also replace much of the sheet metal, seat, steering wheel, tires all around and paint job. I have to original owners manual and also ordered a service manual from jensales. I am pretty mechanical and I have a decent assortment of tools. I have never done something this involved though so it should be interesting. And one of my problems is that I will be working in one of my barns where I have no lights or power (extension chords from the housewhen absolutely needed) No shop :/

The pics below are from before I degreased and then after wards when I started tearing into it.

Advice, tips etc WELCOMED

[WilliamBos]

I look forward to threads like this, especially MF's. Welcome aboard.

[The kid]

Greetings Rivendale and a warm welcome to TractorByNet's Massey Ferguson Classic/Vintage forum. This is a relatively new sub forum but has a great following with a very knowledgeable folk here from all over the globe. You must be thrilled to get a heirloom passed down to you that you have fond childhood memories. What a thrill it would be to have your opportunity to resurrect the past and freshen memories.

May I suggest you get the AGCO Massey Ferguson official service manual. They are kind of pricy but well worth the money and would complement your Jensales manual which omits a few areas. The partsbook can be viewed only and printed. Goto: www.agocpartbook.com and use the QUEST loggin.

A couple of items I noticed missing. One is critical. That would be the fan shrowd which helps keep the tractor cool. There are available aftermarket. I've seen them on ebay right now. There is another member here that just finished up a rebuild of a AD3 Perkins. His was a barn find witha a stuck piston. His name is zsink . Send him a private message or email asking where he aquired genuine Perkins rebuild kit. You might as well go thru the whole engine.

The other item I noticed was the air filter pre-cleaner which is nothing but a screened cap covering the air filter cartridge. The air filter was mounted vertically as an option to be used in dusty areas. Most are mounted horizontally. They are difficult to find. Trust me, my gasser was missing one and it took a while calling numerous tractor salvage yards all over the country. Found one in Texas.

Check your sheet metal to see it it can be body shopped and reused if possible. Aftermarket sheet metal is not universal and seems to fit well mostly on perkins than gas continentals. So you may be in luck there. I have a few pieces (new) I could let go cheap.

You say your in central Kentucy. What city are you close to. I'm just south of Clarksville,TN off I-24. With spring just right around the corner, and no electricity in your barn it might be better to have it closer to the house and your tools. A total rebuild will not be cheap but well worth it. The Perkins diesel 135 is the gold standard of the 135's. Check your tranny fluid for a clear color. Coffee color is a good indication water is getting into the tranny fluid. Usually thru the shifter boots that go bad. It's not a bad a problem if the tractor has lived inside most it's life. But outside tractors are notorious for water contamination in the tranny fluid.

Again welcome to the forum. We are here to help each other enjoy the Fergies, Massey Fergeries, Massey Harris, Forson's TO20's to the 200 series tractors. We like them all. Take care. -robert

[MasseyWV]

I'm looking forward to following your progress.

[flusher]

Welcome to TBN--join the fun
My 1964 MF135 diesel deluxe with multipower is in my shop to repair engine leaks and a possible clutch replacement. Hope to get to it soon.

Good luck with your project.

[murphy1244]

Great I like tractor builds, I believe the air cleaner position would tell whether it was built before or after 1967. What is your serial#

[zslnk]

Hi,

I'm the guy that rebuilt the stuck 135 barn find. It was a gas Perkins but the guts of it are virtually the same. All my parts came from the local Agco dealer. I originally tried some aftermarket parts in various places but found them to all be junk of varying degrees. The aftermarket quality isn't good. I bought two sets of different pistons and the tolerances were all over the place. Perkins parts, pistons, rings and gaskets and mine runs like a new car. More $$$$ but in the end your not going back into the motor due to a $10 set of piston rings...

[The kid]

Hi,

I'm the guy that rebuilt the stuck 135 barn find. It was a gas Perkins but the guts of it are virtually the same. All my parts came from the local Agco dealer. I originally tried some aftermarket parts in various places but found them to all be junk of varying degrees. The aftermarket quality isn't good. I bought two sets of different pistons and the tolerances were all over the place. Perkins parts, pistons, rings and gaskets and mine runs like a new car. More $$$$ but in the end your not going back into the motor due to a $10 set of piston rings...

My bad, I thought yours was a diesel too. Perkins gas and Diesel use the same short block so I've heard. But I did remember you buying genuine Perkins parts for your repair. I sure would have liked to got my hands on the mower you sold. Take care. -robert

[Rivendale]

Ok, like I said before, I am working in a tobacco barn so I am at the mercy of weather or daylight. We had a nice day today so I continued the disassembly.

I got my Jensales manual in as well. It seems to have much more info on the Continental engines (gas) then the perkins diesels. Anyhow, I am to the point of taking the head off. The last thing in the way is the fuel injectors. I need HELP with this. The manual states, "remove injectors" in the step by step head removal process. Evidently this is supposed to be a very easy and minor task. Well I disconnected all fuel lines, and took the nut off of the threaded shaft. Now what? I dont want to force or do anything to it without knowing exactly how they are supposed to be removed.

I need the injectors out before I can reach all of the bolts holding the head.

Also, the manual states to remove thearm holding the rockers, but I would like to avoid that step unless I absolutely have too right now.

[DaButcher]

My injectors came out very easy, just a twist and pull. If they are stuck they're several tricks we can talk about then. PB Blaster is a good way to start. Worst case scenario they can be bought new for $49