MF 35 Sticks In Gear

[Moxxie]

I have a 1958 MF 35 with the 3 cylinder Perkins engine and the 3/2 transmission. My problem is with the tractor "sticking" in gear, especially when you're shifting between first and reverse while doing loader work. Even with the clutch fully depressed, you can smack and smack the shift lever and if it does pop out out of reverse for example, it will invariably miss neutral and drop into first gear, whereupon the tractor will immediately start to move forward even though as I said, the clutch is fully depressed. I've read several posts on this site that briefly mentioned this problem as "well known" and hinted at "the trick to solve this", but no one seems to mention what exactly this "trick" is. Anyone out there have any ideas?

 

[bucktaker]

Are you stuck in forward or reverse?

Remove the oil fill caps and use a pry bar to "fiddle" with the sliding gears.
Sorry I dont know the proper terminology but i have done that with my mf35 many times to get it unstuck. The way to prevent it is to be at complete stop before shifting gears. Its frustrating but keep at it and they will move and free you back up

 

[Moxxie]

Hi bucktaker and thanks for the reply. It can stick in either forward or reverse and sorry, but coming to a complete stop seems to cement them in place. I've found that if you have room to keep moving, you can sometimes jerk the thing out of gear. Hope this clarifies the problem somewhat.

 

[Dieseltech]

If straightline 2-3 shift is OK but straightline 1st-reverse is hard trouble is with detent plunger/spring assembly that is held down by steering box assembly. If detent plunger is rusty it will not slide up and down in trans rail bore as it should causing hard rail movement, not a common problem. Most have trouble when shifting too fast on 1st-2nd shift, lever goes to 2-3 rail but 1st-reverse overshoots neutral detent and goes into reverse, is corrected with HI-LO placed in start position to relieve driveline tension, then using a bar through trans oil fill to place1st-reverse back to neutral so crossover is restored. Sounds like you may need to remove steering box that holds down all 3 rail detents and springs to free up or replace 1st-reverse detent assy.

 

[Moxxie]

Thanks Dieseltech! I will look into that and let you know what I find.
Most appreciative of the idea.

 

[JoeBuyer]

Does that tractor have the hi/lo engine brake? If so, is this in both positions of the hi/lo?

 

[Moxxie]

Hi JoeBuyer: I don't know what you mean by the term "engine brake". It does have a 3 speed main tranny and a hi/lo (2 speed) aux transmission. In answer to your question (on that basis) I don't think it's ever been in the "Low" position when this happens because 1 high is usually what I use for loader work. I'll have to try the other position next time I'm out and let you know. Much thanks!

 

[MasseyWV]

If straightline 2-3 shift is OK but straightline 1st-reverse is hard trouble is with detent plunger/spring assembly that is held down by steering box assembly. If detent plunger is rusty it will not slide up and down in trans rail bore as it should causing hard rail movement, not a common problem. Most have trouble when shifting too fast on 1st-2nd shift, lever goes to 2-3 rail but 1st-reverse overshoots neutral detent and goes into reverse, is corrected with HI-LO placed in start position to relieve driveline tension, then using a bar through trans oil fill to place1st-reverse back to neutral so crossover is restored. Sounds like you may need to remove steering box that holds down all 3 rail detents and springs to free up or replace 1st-reverse detent assy.

You may find the following images helpful while using the instructions provided above. They are from a Massey 135 tractor, but the transmission is nearly identical to your Massey 35 tractor.

 

[Dieseltech]

Thanks for posting pictures, Massey WV. Need to make a small correction, left side shift rail is 2nd-3rd and center is Reverse-1st. When shift knob moves left the fork ball moves right and vise-versa. Hi-LO is correct as it is straightline shift with no lever crossover. I wonder if his trouble is with rusty/sticking rail detent plungers under tension springs causing hard rail movement.

 

[shona13]

G.Day Moxxy
As dieseltech suggests it sounds like the detent plunger is tight in the hole or the spring is cactus which when fixed will reduce the tendency for the selector rail to overrun but not necessarily eliminate the posssibility of the gearbox finding two gears at the same time .
I do remember once ,long time ago this was on a new 135 and took a bit of time to find it was the interlock pin that was to short, that is the pin at the rear of the gearbox it fits in between the two selector rails and is there to eliminate the possibility of selecting two gears at once,in this case the pin was from memory about 1/16>1/8 th inch to short replaced the pin and no more gear problems.
incidentally this was repaired under warranty .
There tends to be a lot of discussion on this problem and i feel the permanent answer is to either change the pin or have it welded and reshape it to give mimimum clearance I would also whilst the tractor is in bits check the selector detent springs and plungers.
P.S.
MasseyWV .
Excellent pictures but the arrows are all wrong, Think where the gearstick would be?.:thumbsup:
Happy days
Hutch.