Just bought a mf 135!

[fieldman12]

I know on the little bigger MF tractors and I assume the 135 is the same way you can buy without the MulitiPower option. We have a 165 without it and had a 255 without it.

Again, excuse my ignorance.

If I was buying one of these tractors, what's the things I should focus on to determine quality of the tractor??

I'm wanting to purchase an older 2wd tractor in this size range and the Masseys are near the top of my list.

 

[Kenneth S]

You can get a 135 without MultiPower, don't know why people are so afraid of the MP. My brother still has his 150 row crop with MP with a Perkins AD3.152 that he bought used in 1975 (it's a 1965 year model), never had any problems with the MP. The MP stays in high range most of the time but it's sure nice to have the extra gears should you need it. I clocked his 150 at 23 mph in 3-H-H (when your driving it, it sure feels like you are going faster than that).

 

[redman135]

Multipowers are usually very reliable. Thier drawback is they can be expensive to repair (usually neglect). See my post on page 3, that mf135 had done about 11300 (no, not a misprint) hours since new in 1965 and the repair was done in 1998/99. It was sold at about 12400 hours.
Tip :Get the gearbox dipstick and make a mark about 1/2 an inch above the "max" line and fill to that. This extends the life of the multipower, especially if you are running a loader. This tip was told to us by an MF mechanic back in the 70's. It seemed to work as the only problems were due to wear and tear and old age.

 

[hd5]

I have 67 135 regulAr transmission, wouldn't part with it. My father in law had 68 165 with multi and it worked perfectly til he sold it. It was really nice disking if the tractor started to lug down, just slide a lever..

 

[Brum]

Dear klancf51, Thank you for the good info.

 

[The kid]

I'm not that up on Multi-Power tranny's but if it shares the same sump as the hydro fluid. Overfilling will cause leakage in places it wasn't. I've be told by more than one too much oil in the tranny can lead to rear wheel bearing leakage if those bearing have wear. I personally would only fill to recommended marks and that's all. Problems that Multi-Power users induce failure by applying it at the wrong time. Just my opinion. Sent via Ipad2

 

[Kenneth S]

The main killer of multi power's IMHO is water getting into the oil, not changing the oil on a regular basis, and not changing the strainer. They should have made the strainer external because if most people don't see a filter, or stariner they figure it must not have one.