Massey 135

[Texas Blues]

For those of you interested in more pictures, I finally got the motor of of the tractor today and took a few pics. The more I took apart, the more money I will apparently be spending! It seems that my bell housing oiling system is working great! lol. Clutch is shot, outer timing cover will have to be replaced, the water pump area of it is almost ate through. Pistons are pretty worn and will be replaced along with the sleeves. Not sure if you can tell by the picture of the side of the block, but there is a big patch of JB weld. I guess there is a crack in the block, I havent chipped it away yet to see for sure, but why else would it be there. I do have a question about the double clutch. I didnt think I had a live pto, is that the reason for a double clutch, or is that normal for any model without a live pto? Thanks!

 

[WilliamBos]

dual stage clutch = live PTO.

 

[schlen]

a word of advice about that double-clutch--make sure you know how to re-assemble--doa google search-- it's easy to screw up if you use too much force and then the repair is expensive.. sorry I don't remember the particulars but I almost bought one that was screwed up because they reasssembled it incorrectly.

good luck on a good model tractor

 

[Texas Blues]

Thanks Will, I wasnt sure about that. I wonder if the pressure plate can be resurfaced, or just have to be replaced. I havent looked at the inner disk yet, but they disks are oil soaked anyway and will be replaced. The rod bearings were in considerably good shape for a 70 model, only a little scaring on one bearing. Will be pulling the crank out soon, and will be inspecting the mains. Have any of you guys had to have a cracked block repaired? I have a feeling my block will need a crack repaired, or the block replaced if it cant be repaired. Thanks all.

 

[soulasphil]

Correct. You have a larger 11" disk for the gear box and a smaller 9" disk for the PTO.

 

[Texas Blues]

Pulled the crank out today. The mains were in good shape. Crank may need to be turned, or polished at least. No scaring on the crank main bearing journals, just on one of the crank rod journals. I will take it in and see what they say. I got away with only breaking three of the outer timing cover bolts. Applied heat to all of them, that helped with most of them. The steel bolts corroded inside of the aluminum timing cover, making it a pain to get them out. I dont think I will have a sealing problem with the three broken bolts. Will be taking the block in to get the sleeves pulled, didnt want to spend the money on a sleeve puller. The local massey dealer can pull them alot cheaper than buying the tool. Timing gears look ok with only slight wear. Dont think they will be a problem.

 

[jones6780]

Tex, Looks like you have your work all lined up. I would try removing the broken bolts. Patience and a steady hand and you can drill a small hole dead center through the steel bolt and insert penetration oil . Let it soak before trying an easy out. When you put it back together you might try some anti-sieze compound. Who knows 39 years from now you might have to rebuild it again.

 

[MFRED]

If your block is cracked, you may want to pric a new engine, you would be surprised how cheap one can be had for that tractor. And it will have all new accesories, just hook it up & go, plug & play so to speak. Take time to add up all the expenses, it usually figure out to be pretty close if you're doing head work and such. Same for the clutch, those kits are pretty cheap too.

 

[Texas Blues]

Yea MFRED, I may have to go that way. I did find a core good used block for 400.00. Havent looked very hard yet for a short block or a used block either. Im sure I will run across one if needed. Any suggestions on a source for those kind of parts? I have heard of repairs on these blocks, and that might still be an option. Guess I'll be chipping that jb weld off of there soon and find out. The one guy I did talk to said he thought the 3cyl gas block was the same block as the diesel version (and the crank). If so, that should make finding a good block easier. Thanks

 

[flusher]

Thanks Will, I wasnt sure about that. I wonder if the pressure plate can be resurfaced, or just have to be replaced. I havent looked at the inner disk yet, but they disks are oil soaked anyway and will be replaced. The rod bearings were in considerably good shape for a 70 model, only a little scaring on one bearing. Will be pulling the crank out soon, and will be inspecting the mains. Have any of you guys had to have a cracked block repaired? I have a feeling my block will need a crack repaired, or the block replaced if it cant be repaired. Thanks all.

Supposedly someone with decent stick welding skill can repair a cracked block using nickel welding rod. Never tried it myself, but probably will have to learn how to do this soon. I have several repairs to do on cast iron parts for my 1951 Farmall Super A.

My 1964 MF-135 diesel is holding together pretty well so far. Need to replace the rear seal on the pto shaft and see if I can adjust the 2-stage clutch so I can engage/disengage the pto without having to shut off the engine. If not, I'll be splitting my 135 in the near future for a clutch job.

 

[Jimmy Joe]

A friend of mine was overhauling his Massey and he said he was told to run several beads of weld vertically in the sleeves and they would pull out. Don't know if this works or not you may want to check into it.
JJ

 

[Texas Blues]

Thanks Jimmy, Im going to take the block to the local Massey dealer and let him pull the sleeves with a sleeve puller tool. I tried to find someone who rents them, but no luck. I also priced the tool itself, around 500.00, no luck there either lol. I would rather spend the 500.00 on a rebuild kit. I still need to chip away the jb weld on the block and see what its covering. Depending on what I see, the block may have to be repaired/replaced anyway, so thats putting a hold on the sleeve pulling for now. Will be inspecting the block this weekend.

 

[Texas Blues]

Well guys, this is what I found after chipping away the jb weld on the block. Looks like someone welded a bead at one time, and the center of the weld is now corroded and missing the bead. I think it was leaking, at least enough to corrode the weld in the center which I wire wheeled away and cleaned up some. Not sure what the screws and washers are. I guess need some opinions from a welder. What do ya'll think?

 

[flusher]

Well guys, this is what I found after chipping away the jb weld on the block. Looks like someone welded a bead at one time, and the center of the weld is now corroded and missing the bead. I think it was leaking, at least enough to corrode the weld in the center which I wire wheeled away and cleaned up some. Not sure what the screws and washers are. I guess need some opinions from a welder. What do ya'll think?

The crack, fortunately, is easily accessible. So if you don't want to try welding, maybe Lock n Stitch is the way to go.

LOCK-N-STITCH Inc. homepage: Cast iron crack repair, cast iron welding, thread repair inserts

 

[jones6780]

I really don't see a weld there. I can see the crack and I would only guess the the screws held on a data plate or something. One type of repair we did years ago in the Army was to stop drill the ends of the crack, that is to drill a hole that is centered on each end of the crack. That would stop the crack from growing longer. Thread the holes, apply sealer and bolt a cover plate over the crack. We would drill a hole every inch or so along the crack and add a bolt. Don't drill through water jackets or oil galleries that would really be a mess.

Russell

 

[Texas Blues]

Thanks jones, the first thing I am going to do is take it to a welder this sunday and see what he can do. This guy has been welding for 40 years, I would hope he knows how to weld cast by now. There wasnt any evidence of water leaking out of the crack, at least there wasnt any running down the block from the crack. The crack itself was pretty rusty. I wire wheeled it clean. The crack looks to be over the water jacket so I shouldnt drill if I dont have to. I will let ya'll know what the welder says/does. Thanks!

 

[Jimmy Joe]

Your project looks very interesting to me, I wouldn't mind having something like that to do during the long winters here in Wisconsin. If only I had a heated shop. Do you think you will have too much invested by the time you are done? It's still the fun of the project that counts and if you plan on keeping it or selling it to a close friend or relative it doesn't matter what you have invested time or money!
I hope you keep us posted as you have so far. When I am on this site I always make a point to check out this thread.
JJ

 

[Texas Blues]

No Jimmy, I dont think I will have too much invested. I paid next to nothing for the tractor. If I have to sink a couple of K into it, I will still come out ahead. I will be keeping the tractor, and it will be worked. I have no intentions of making it a showroom restore job, just need the motor to be solid. As time passes, I will paint it, but getting the motor finished and getting the tractor useable will be my first goal. Thanks!

 

[Texas Blues]

Slow going guys, the welder still has my block. Supposed to call him next week and check status. If he is able to weld the crack successfully, the next stop for the block will be the Massey dealer to get the sleeves pulled. I guess Im not in a huge hurry to spend money, but I sure would like to have this thing back together by summer.

 

[Texas Blues]

The welder ground down the cracked area only to find a few more hairline cracks coming off areas of the main crack. At this point I have already started looking for a good core block, and wont be trying to repair this block. Found a few core blocks in the area and might get one of those, but am still looking for a whole used motor. I found a diesel repair shop near here who has a core block he said he would sell for 300.00, and for another 150.00 he will boil it out and remove the sleeves, seems like a good price. I cant afford a rebuilt short block at this time (at least not the ones I have been seeing) and they wont take my block as a core because its cracked. Its still all good though, I bought the tractor for a song, and also with the intentions of rebuilding the motor. Putting a grand or so into the motor, I still have a good deal. Thanks TB