Massey Ferg 1660 no drive power or high range

[clubsprint]

Hi - new member, long time reader - this forum has been very useful when researching and buying my first 2 tractors.

I just upgraded to the 1660 Massey Ferguson, as we are about to scale up - got burnt by local auction though - my own fault too, I didn't check high range on the 12x12 power shuttle - i only checked the first two crawl ratios and everything was "normal"

the tractor will move in L & M (Snail & turtle) however when selecting High (rabbit) there is no power to the wheels. also in the first 2 crawl ratios, it doesn't seem to be getting full power to the wheels in 2wd OR 4wd

I'm wondering how much we may be up for to repair, or if there is a common part that fails to cause this?

thank you for your help

 

[eray1066]

If the tractor was working well in the two lowest ranges, I would suspect the roll pin on the range shifting lever. Ours works itself out over time making turtle range sketchy to engage. We just tap it back in. However if there is not full power in the lower ranges and none in high the clutch becomes a suspect

 

[clubsprint]

thanks for the tip above- definitely doesn't have full power in the first 2 ranges though, the tractor doesn't have enough power at the wheels to turn itself around at full steering lock. what you've suggested would make sense as after selecting high it tries to roll forward but just doesn't take off.

is there anything else that typically causes this? low /bad fluid or faulty transmission control module/s ?

what would the worst case scenario be? stripped gears in transmission ?

 

[eray1066]

Well there is the hydraulic shuttle clutch which is dependent on good fluid levels and pressure. There is a sight glass on the rear of the tractor near the PTO that is the oil level. It is hard to read. Oddly for such a great machine there is no dipstick for the hydraulic fluid. An oil and filter change would answer that. There is a powerful magnet where the hydraulic filter mounts that collects metal. But it seems that shuttle and transmission problems are less likely than a slipping clutch. All power to the transmission goes through the clutch.