Confused about draft controls

[Dabrowski]

Hi guys.
I'm new to the tractor scene and have recently purchased an mf35. Unfortunately I cracked the ram cylinder and damaged the piston losing all lift on the lower links. I have Another thread on this if anyone is interested...with pics...

It happened to blow when I was playing with the hydraulic levers when the tractor was turned on. I'm afraid I set the controls incorrectly. Can someone explain the two controls and what position they should be in for the following;
1) I have a 4ft Bush hog (we call them slashers here in Australia)
2) harrows with a steel frame around them

I'm particularly confused about the response section of the quadrant and were the draft control's should be for the things I want to tow mentioned above. The operators manual which I found online is very confusing. I'm not planning on ploughing at all btw.


Love this site. Thanks guys.

 

[JWR]

Sorry to hear about the cracked ram cylinder. You are into major repairs there & no way around it. On the other hand there were so many MF35's made that there should be a lot of used parts available.

Now to the question of the controls: Ferguson for many decades has used a 2 lever system with one for Draft control and the other for Position control. They are intended to work as follows:

With the draft control all the way to one end (ones I've worked with it was the top end) the Draft Control is intentionally taken out of the picture. Disabled. In that mode, the other (Position Control) lever just does exactly what it sounds like -- controls the vertical position of your 3pt implements. Set it at any level and it stays there. Unless you are plowing or doing something similar you normally have no use for the Draft Control. In the more complicated mode (primarily used for plowing) use the Draft control. Draft control requires some means of sensing vertical load. Most of the Ferguson systems have a big heavy spring behind the top link. When that spring is overcome by top link tension (e.g. downward force of the plow trying to dig even deeper) the rod through the center of the big spring is pulled outward which affects the internal ram that controls the 3pt lower arms. The end result of the Draft Control is that the plow is kept at a much more constant depth or "draft" in spite of the up and down of the land and that is why it is called Draft Control. In use, you lower the position control lever to set the plow about where you want it in depth in the soil. Then as you begin to plow you move the Draft Control lever forward to adjust how much effect is put in by the draft sensor. You have to play with that some (both how far down you lower the plow using the Position Control initially AND how much Draft Control you introduce with the other lever) to get the action you want. A bit of cut and try to it.

All that lengthy explanation out of the way, you said you are not planning to do plowing. In that case you will run all the time with the Draft Control in the "out of the picture" position. I suppose it is possible that pulling the harrow it MIGHT not dig in as much as you wish and it MIGHT dig deeper due to the curve of the tangs if the lift allowed it. In that case you could use the Draft Control to adjust how deep the harrow is allowed to dig. Most harrow work I am familiar with just lets gravity control the depth of cut and maybe load some ballast or concrete blocks on top of the harrow if a deeper cut is desired. That's what we always did when the harrow was horse-drawn and there was no lift.

One last comment which probably is NOT relevant in your case at all: With the Ferguson system most people do not know that the extreme end "out of the picture" position of the Draft lever does not really totally disable the Draft control -- it does for almost all circumstances but not ALL. In reality that "disable" lever location only desensitizes the Draft control. Specifically when there is a very large abnormal downward force on the lift arms and your 3pt hitch system (e.g. some huge load) the forces overcome the "desensitized" Draft control and it goes into effect again and can even disable all lifting. In fact MF makes a Draft bypass kit that takes the Draft sensing out of the picture entirely. That is very obscure and you are unlikely to ever see that condition.

Good luck !

 

[jeff9366]

Google search:

tractor draft and position control adjustment - Google Search

 

[Dabrowski]

Thanks so much jwr!!!!

U mentioned the out of the way position for draft....but where exactly is that on the quadrant??

& how do I avoid it being in constant pumping mode?

 

[Mulligancreek]

When I bought a MF 135 the pump cylinder blew twice after I first got it. I doubt you did anything wrong. I suspect the cylinder was scored or the piston had a problem. The controls should not cause this if the pressure control valve is working.
The parts here in the US are fairly inexpensive. Probably 150 US at Yesterdaystractors.com.
The problem is removing the lift cover. I got good at it by the third time. You can do it easily yourself if you have some help.

 

[Dabrowski]

Did you.work out why it blew so many times?

 

[JWR]

Thanks so much jwr!!!!

U mentioned the out of the way position for draft....but where exactly is that on the quadrant??

& how do I avoid it being in constant pumping mode?

I do not know the layout on your MF35. On my 2660 (newer larger machine) the "out of the way" position for the Draft lever is all the way toward the rear (up). The "Constant Pumping position" refers to the Position control, not the Draft control, and that lever position is also to far rear (up). At least on mine you hear a whine which is the hydraulic fluid overridding the pressure relief valve and going back to the sump when you are in the Constant Pumping position. You do not want to do that for very long as it is hard on the pump and valves. On mine there is a small adjustable bolt arrangement to stop the position lever from going back into the Constant Pumping spot.

Really I am very hesitant to say anything for sure about your Model 35 because I do not have the personal experience using a 35 (nor do I own one.)
Surely some of the others reading this will have direct personal experience and be able to answer with certainty. I'd be surprised if the Operator's Manual you find on-line did not illustrate it.

I am fairly confident to say (looking at pictures of a MF35 set of controls) that your larger lever is the position control and the smaller one is the Draft control. The "all the way up" position of the Position control should be the constant pumping spot. Backing off from that just slightly (to where the pump no longer whines) should be where you want to tighten a stop and avoid going into constant pumping in the future. Then one end or the other of the travel of the Draft control will be the "out of the picture" spot. If it is not marked I would think the Owner's Manual should describe that.

Sorry I can't be of more help than this.

 

[Agvg]

If things is in working condition you can't make any damages by setting things wrong. If you set it at constant pumping you will hear it.

 

[JWR]

If things is in working condition you can't make any damages by setting things wrong. If you set it at constant pumping you will hear it.

Agree.

 

[J R F]

Thanks so much jwr!!!!

U mentioned the out of the way position for draft....but where exactly is that on the quadrant??

& how do I avoid it being in constant pumping mode?