MF 135 Continental gas- losing power

   / MF 135 Continental gas- losing power #1  

nashvegas

New member
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
13
Location
Nashville TN
Tractor
New Holland T1510; Massey Ferguson 135 Continental gas
I've got a '68 (or maybe '67) MF 135 with a Continental 4 cylinder gas engine. Starts great, but after the engine warms up after 10 or 15 minutes, I lose power and it stalls/cuts out. I can re-start after full choke, but it cuts out again when I accelerate. Especially noticable with the PTO engaged finishing mower. Prior to it cutting out, the engine temp always operated in the normal range, never over heated. Any advice would be appreciated.

I inherited this iron maiden from my Dad about 20 years ago and up until this past April (bought a New Holland T1510), I used it to mow about 5 acres, pull an occasional stump and plow/disc a small garden plot. My grand pa bought the MF new back in the 60's. I have the original owners manual, plow, disc and blade. I've taken good care of it with routine maintenance, always stored in the barn, etc. I am ready to do a complete body and engine restore once I get motivated.

My plugs look good, haven't checked points and distributor yet although I am guessing I will need to rebuild the engine due to power loss- it's never been re-built to my knowledge. I'll post some pics soon. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
   / MF 135 Continental gas- losing power #2  
I suppose you have already checked intake air flow? What kinda oil pressure is it running? Ken Sweet
 
   / MF 135 Continental gas- losing power
  • Thread Starter
#3  
I checked the intake and the air is flowing good, clean filter. I'll need to buy me an oil pressure gauge and diagnose. In the meantime, I'll change the oil and filter and see if this helps.
 
   / MF 135 Continental gas- losing power #4  
My mechanic said check the carburetor function and also check for a leaky intake manifold gasket. Ken Sweet
 
   / MF 135 Continental gas- losing power
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Thanks a bunch Ken. I replaced the intake and exhaust manifold gaskets 2 years ago and they appear solid and tight, no leaks there. I'll give the carburetor a good cleaning and see if this helps.
 
   / MF 135 Continental gas- losing power #6  
I just thought of something else, The Fuel coming from the tank could be restricted around the tanks outlet or in the settling bulb area. Ken Sweet
 
   / MF 135 Continental gas- losing power #7  
Checking for fuel first (take the line off at the carb) is a good idea. If there is fuel but your not sure if it is enough flow take a look at the screen filter at the top of the glass bowl, mine has been fairly restricted with debris in the past.
 
   / MF 135 Continental gas- losing power #8  
Was wondering if you have had a chance to find your problem, might be something I have to deal with myself some day with my 135 continental.
 
   / MF 135 Continental gas- losing power
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks for all the advice. I've been out of town for the past week and traveling - I'll post an update once I get back into town later this month. I've got a bunch of stumps to pull out so I've got to get working on a fix quickly.

BTW, if anyone needs replacement blades for their finishing mower- check out www.mowpart.com...bought a set of 3 blades for my Befco "72 deck for less than $65.00:)
 
   / MF 135 Continental gas- losing power #10  
I have had a problem similar to this. After checking the tractor over I noticed that one of the plug wires was pulled from the distributor cap. Might have been doing some extreme bush hogging. ;) I put it back in, but the problem persisted. In the end the replacing of the distributor cap solved the problem. I am not technical enough to understand why that solved the problem, but it did.

Stuart
 
 
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