MF 135 only lift if pushing on draft control rod

[bhooper]

MF 135 - arms won't lift. Only will lift if I put postion and draft controls fully up postion, then (with draft control spring removed) reach in with a rod and push on the end of the draft control rod. Arms will raise then when I release the pressure on the rod, the arms lower. I replaced the draft spring assembly since the old one was loose and corroded. I am not familiar with hydrolic mechanics and not sure how to trouble shoot. Any ideas/help appreciated, thanks.

 

[JWR]

Not sure I can help but the old MF system of 2 levers -- one for position control and the other for draft control -- is old as the hills and still in use on MF tractors today. When it is operating correctly, the draft lever needs to be at one extreme or the other (up I think) which in effect disables draft control. Only then will the position control work correctly and predictably. If you can push on the end of the draft control rod and get the 3pt to lift, it sounds like your linkage from the draft lever to that rod has become disconnected (??) I would check that first. If you do not need draft control (not plowing or tilling) then you should be able to disable the draft control entirely by disconnecting the connection to the top of that fat heavy spring underneath the rear of the seat. That means needing a way to attach the top link to the tractor chassis without it being attached to the draft control spring. MF sells a kit for doing that (at least for later models; I use one myself) and I do not know about the 135. You can probably fabricate one yourself since all it does is provide a solid place for the top link to anchor to rather than to the spring.
Still would need to have the draft control rod stabilized in the "disable" position somehow. I can't exactly picture your linkage and have no drawings. They are here on the web somewhere I'm sure. Hopefully it has just come disconnected & easy to fix. Good luck.

 

[Dmacleo]

seems to me very late last year or beginning this year this issue for same model was talked about here.
maybe try few different search terms?

 

[Dmacleo]

MF 135 3 point link wont lift with weight on

Hi all, I have a massey 135 which I put a new hydraulic pump on about 4 months ago, she will work fine on the log splitter but will not lift weight on the 3 point linkage. It will lift my link box empty but as soon as I add weight it drops to the ground. So far I have checked the following and...

www.tractorbynet.com

in all honesty this was prob the post I was thinking of, not sure it will help you

 

[bhooper]

Thanks JWR for your reply. The draft control knob has to be pulled all the way up (towards the back of the tractor) for the lift to work. In that position, the draft control rod I described sticks out about 1/2" (hard to see, viewing down the draft spring shaft under the seat) and I can push it in with a rod manually and the arms will lift (position control knob is all the way up too). When I move the draft control knob all the way down, the control rod moves in and I can no longer push it it. This tells me the connection between the control knob and that rod is working. But the lift will not work with the draft control all the way down. Doesn't make sense to me since pushing the rod in manually makes the arms lift.

 

[bhooper]

Thanks Dmacleo I'll check out that post/thread.

 

[jaxs]

This is a common occurrence easily corrected by adjusting draft control spring and/or fingers inside housing. The finger adjustment is simple but access isn't as simple. IT Manual sold at Tractor Supply Company has clear instructions with pictures. You can do it by removing side cover and working through the hole but it's a head stander. I suggest using an engine hoist to lift top cover which gives good access to fingers. Draft control spring is adjusted by the nut you removed when removing spring. If you remove top cover,have 2 o-rings on hand for stand-pipe because they eventually get hard and crack. I "THINK" o-rings are size 12.

 

[jaxs]

Thanks JWR for your reply. The draft control knob has to be pulled all the way up (towards the back of the tractor) for the lift to work. In that position, the draft control rod I described sticks out about 1/2" (hard to see, viewing down the draft spring shaft under the seat) and I can push it in with a rod manually and the arms will lift (position control knob is all the way up too). When I move the draft control knob all the way down, the control rod moves in and I can no longer push it it. This tells me the connection between the control knob and that rod is working. But the lift will not work with the draft control all the way down. Doesn't make sense to me since pushing the rod in manually makes the arms lift.

Lazy hounds have been known to put a disk "bushing" between spring and rod to duplicate what you did with spring removed.

 

[bhooper]

Thanks jaxs. Adjusting those fingers and that washer with offset hole is my next step. I've heard same thing - manual says you can adjust through the side opening but in reality impossible, meaning I'll have to pull the top off to adjust it.

I did have the thought about putting a bushing or something to keep the rod pressed in, but figured that might break something elsewhere.

 

[jaxs]

Thanks jaxs. Adjusting those fingers and that washer with offset hole is my next step. I've heard same thing - manual says you can adjust through the side opening but in reality impossible, meaning I'll have to pull the top off to adjust it.

I did have the thought about putting a bushing or something to keep the rod pressed in, but figured that might break something elsewhere.

Bushing won't cause any damage but depending on how far fingers are out of adjustment lift can be touchy as in overshooting when trying to set implement height. If tractor is mostly used with a rotery cutter,bushing is viable even if lift overshoots. Make sure max lift doesn't cause pto shaft to bind on front edge of deck. If no binding,use a "rooster comb" top link and cutter works pretty well.