Auxilliary Hyd Pump for MF 2650/60/70/80 ?

[JWR]

I have interest in adding an auxiliary hydraulic pump and control valve to a MF2660LP tractor. I currently use a front-end-loader-mounted rotary cutter for brush, fence rows, and odd-ball places where I can't get the bush hog. There are two reasons for wanting to add an aux pump:

1) The tractor's remote hyd flow is not adequate to really run the cutter well. The cutter (even a "low flow" model) needs 14 to 20 gpm and the 2660 gives barely over 14 gpm, even with the combiner valve re-routing 3pt lift fluid to the remotes. So the performance is marginal.

2) Worse yet, on these tractors the remotes and front end loader hydraulics are totally "one track minded." You cannot do anything with one remote while using another one. For example you cannot lift the FEL or tilt it while cutting with the hydraulic motor driven cutter. These need to be independent.

Obviously an extra hyd reservoir becomes a nuisance besides just the pump but I don't see another way around this and neither did my dealer.

I am not going to put an aux pump in the PTO drive train in front of the bush hog. That's a worse mess than what I've already got. Hopefully one can be put on the front end of the crankshaft or some such location. I could only wish that one could add a pump to the two existing ones on the side of the engine ! Ideas ?

 

[DIRTROAD]

I would think that you could adapt some sort of auxillary hydraulic system using the crank as the power source. After all, that is the way all of the old Massey Industrial tractors were set up. I have even seen some of the larger ag tractors set up this way to run side arm mowers.

I would contact some of the side arm mower manufacturers (Alamo, Sidewinder, Ferri-America, etc.) and see what kind of setups that they use. Or start looking for an old municipal tractor set up that way that is on its way to auction. You could purchase the tractor and use the parts that are needed and resale what is left. I see side arm mowers all of the time on sites like govdeals and GSA. Usually they go for decent money.

I would say that you are wasting time visiting your local Massey dealer. They just want to sale new tractors and implements. Most don't get into retrofitting tractors. Some do however like Cobb County Tractor (woods boss), GR Manufacturing, HMTC in Alabama. There is just not a huge market for this type of modification, so only a select number of dealers participate.