Great Grandfathers MF135

[Perdido]

Use your boom pole and a chain --pick up the tree about 2 inches off the ground with the boom pole and put your tractor in low range and in first gear. You should have no trouble moving these trees or even bigger ones. ***Go Slow***

 

[Kenfyoozed]

Thanks perdido, or should I say " deeder" like the locals did when I was a kid. I grew up not far from where your from. Outside of BayMinette... a little placed called Pine Grove. Ever heard of it? Man I miss living in the country. Life was a lot slower then!

 

[flusher]

My Great Grandfather passed away this year and his 1976 mf135 was given to me. Most Of my memories are of him and his tractor. I have used it in the past to bush hog his fields and pastures for him. So Im not a stranger to Tractors but I consider myself a newbie since its been a while. So I have a few questions.

I have a 1/2 acre of land i just had cleared, and all the trees pushed up. I planned on burning most of it. I thought about using the tracor to pull some of this pile back out and cut most of the trunks up bonefires latter and go ahead and burn all the limbs. We plan on building on the property soon, and its in a neighborhood. My tractor is strong enough to pull these trees back out to cut up right? Most of the trees are 12" or smaller in diameter. Also i have 3 pines that are at least 36" in diameter. Once cut down and into lengths 16'6" for the sawmill, will my tractor pull these at least 150' to the property edge?

The only implemets I know of is a bush hog and a boom pole. I know he had a box blade, plow and disc, but i cant find it anywheres on the farm.

Also would i be able to pull the stumps up from those large pine trees? I habe a friend who has a mini excavator who will dig around them. Would this work?

And finally where would i attach the chain? And what else should i look out for?

Thanks
Neil

Pull stumps with the drawbar and chain.

That's my son pulling an almond tree stump with the 1964 MF-135 diesel (still being restored, need to get the sheet metal on one of these days). It's an orchard tractor, hence the low profile/fat rear tires. All four tires are filled with water for extra traction. There are also wheel weights on the inside of the front wheels.

I dig around the stumps and cut the larger of the horizontal roots before trying to pull the stump. I also keep the chain short enough so I don't get smacked in the head when/if it breaks. You might want to use the TBN search function for "chinese chains". Some TBNers have had bad experiences with them.

 

[Kenfyoozed]

I have chains, there older ones but seem in good condition. Im sure some came off straight from the logging skidders, knowing my family. What size rear wheels are those on your tractor? I dont remember the ones on my Great grandfathers being that wide, and my rims seem to have been taller.

 

[flusher]

I have chains, there older ones but seem in good condition. Im sure some came off straight from the logging skidders, knowing my family. What size rear wheels are those on your tractor? I dont remember the ones on my Great grandfathers being that wide, and my rims seem to have been taller.

The rears are BF Goodrich Silvertown PowerGrip 18.4-16A (decoded as 16" diameter rims, 18.4" wide tread). The rears stand about 40" tall and are R-1 6-ply tires.

As I mentioned this 135 is an orchard tractor that is designed to be squat to fit under the low hanging branches. The previous owner used it to mow and disc his olive orchard.

I plan to use it for haying so I relocated the muffler/exhaust system which originally was hanging under the rear axle to avoid hot parts hitting tree branches. It's now vertical as shown in the photo.

Your 135 is set up as a field tractor probably with 28" rims and narrower tread. I may change my 135 to this configuration in the future. Besides replacing the rears I would have to replace the spindles on the front axle to raise the front of the tractor to keep it level when I use taller rears.

 

[Perdido]

Hey, Kenfyoozed - yeah I know where Pine Grove is and it is not in the Country anymore, it has really build up in the past couple of years. I actually live in Lottie. Where do you live now? Your in the same boat with tractors - I have my grandfather old 1958 fordson dexta. Those old tractor are a lot stronger than you would think. Due to the past couple of year with the hurricanes I have moved hugh pieces of trees. You should have no problem moving the trees and anything else. Use your boom pole and go slow.

 

[Kenfyoozed]

Right now i live in Satsuma, and I am building a house in Axis. Ill be using the tractor to help me clear my lot, which is a mere .875 acre. So once the house is built i dont know what use Ill have for the tractor other than hayrides and joyrides. I wish i could convert it to more of a mower. Some how add smaller wheels and lower it. I know that seesm crazy, but i would get more use out of it that way.

 

[sandman2234]

You guys are just outside my normal stomping grounds when I was living in Pensacola. I restored a couple of '55, '56 and '57 Chevy p/u's by roaming that area looking for old trucks sitting behind barns and such. Course this was back in the '70's and I am sure times have changed. I used to go as far as Flomaton, Bay Minnette on normal afternoon cruises looking for parts.
Wish I had kept that old Cameo...
I was a charter member of the Miracle Strip Corvette Club, and we used to have autocross races out at Bronson field which is right on the Perdido River. My Ford 1100 is still there, in Gulf Breeze.
David from jax

 

[Kenfyoozed]

OK I got the tractor home, all went well with the trip, other than the blow out on the trailer which was fun!

serial number is 9A I89905. Hope you can figure out what i have from that. There seems to be an electrical problem. I had a good deep cycle battery die on me over night while it was in the tractor. Seems grandpa knew there was problem, as most of all the electral wiring to the lights and such have been cut. So what could be draining the battery? Does the key need to be removed ?
Thanks,
Neil

 

[Farmwithjunk]

OK I got the tractor home, all went well with the trip, other than the blow out on the trailer which was fun!

serial number is 9A I89905. Hope you can figure out what i have from that. There seems to be an electrical problem. I had a good deep cycle battery die on me over night while it was in the tractor. Seems grandpa knew there was problem, as most of all the electral wiring to the lights and such have been cut. So what could be draining the battery? Does the key need to be removed ?
Thanks,
Neil

OK, first the serial #. I can tell you what year, but not which exact model. From 1966 on, Massey Ferguson numbered ALL the 100 series models from the same numerical sequence. 135's, 150's, 165's, 175's, and 180's shared the same 9AXXXXXX numbers. Yours is a 1974 model, about 1/3rd of the way through '74 production, so PROBABLY about March through May '74 build date.

To further identify, if there isn't a round "medalion" on the side of the hood identifying the exact model, next question is, 3-cylinder or 4-cylinder? (3 would be 135 or 150, 4 would be one of the bigger models) Obvious difference between the 135 and 150 is the air filter. On a 135 it's near the steering column. On a 150 the filter is behind the "150" medallion on the left front corner of the hood.

Now, the battery discharge issue. On a diesel specifically, no the key doesn't need to be removed when not running. There's a common problem with these tractors that has symptoms simular to yours. The 100 series tractors used an OIL PRESSURE SWITCH to (A) excite the alternator (B) provide power to the gauges, including fuel sending unit/gauge. The switch is directly attached to the under-side of the oil pressure gauge. When it's working correctly, as the oil pressure comes up once the engine is started, the switch completes a circuit that energizes the gauges and sends voltage to the field terminal of the alternator. (1974 models were equipped with alternators and not generators) These tractors use an external voltage regulator and do not have a "sensing wire" connected to the alternator. (typically the 3rd wire in a "3 wire alternator") This arraingment eliminates the problem of alternators not being "excited" at low rpms. They send a charge on to the voltage regulator as soon as the engine starts, even at idle speeds, as soon as there's oil pressure. That oil pressure sensing switch can go bad. NORMALLY, it will simply not complete the circuit. In that case, you won't get a charge from the alternator, nor will the fuel gauge work. In some cases, the oil switch will fail in a closed circuit mode. Then you have a constant discharge situation. Unplug one of the two wires connected to that pressure switch to see if that eleminates your discharge. If so, replace the switch. (Available through TISCO or MF/AGCO) Again, that switch is directly under the oil pressure gauge and will have an oil line (from the engine) connected to the bottom of the switch.

Also check the key switch itself, then start tracing wires....