TDC flywheel mark on an AD3 152 in a 135

[gravzzy]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and to tractors as well. My brother in law dropped me an old MF 135 with a loader in front and a snowblower so I can clear my parking with it this winter. I'm a heavy road truck mechanic so he expects me to make this old thing run better when he gets it back at spring.

I have to admit that I think this tractor is an absolute pile of junk, for it looks like it has never been maintained at all in its whole life, except when something blew... Everything is loose and leaks and every hose looks like it will blow soon. I'd mostly like to have the engine working fine at first and that's why I'm here.

I'm trying to check the fuel pump timing (it is a Perkins AD3 152), because the engine is almost un-startable, it smokes badly when I give it throttle, it runs like crap (certainly not on all 3 or it is de-timed) and it sounds like it exhausts in the intake at low RPM (I can't say idle because it's too rough to be called so). Somebody cut a hole in the end of the air filter so it stops to be thrown out of its housing!! I've been told the fuel pump has recently been removed and supposedly the tractor runs bad since then.

I'd need advice to find the timing marks; I can't use the crank pulley key for reference since the hydraulic pump drive parts would need to be removed and to do so I need to dismantle the whole front of the tractor (parts are all welded together...!?) and I have to work on it outside in the snow bank... No crane, no cherry picker, no hoist... The manuals I have states there is a TDC mark on the flywheel but doesn't show an picture of it. I tried to find something by looking in the big hole under the flywheel housing but I can't find a mark...??? Am I looking at the right place? Is there another hole in the flywheel housing for timing? Does somebody have a picture of this timing mark? Does it really exist? Also, id there an intelligent way of turning the engine other than by the crank pulley?

Finding timing marks on the flywheel is my last chance to check if I can make this thing work "not too bad" so it can be used as a snowblower again. If I can't make it start in the winter and it's not powerful enough to use the snowblower I'll just send it back in the woods where it laid before it took space in my yard...

Thanks in advance for your help!!

 

[The kid]

There should be a small metal removalbe plug on the lower left side sitting on the tracket under the foot rest on thr front where thr engine block and tranny join. Snap the plug out and shine a flashight inside. Take a socket and rotate the engine till you see TDC. Assuming the flywheels and trannies are similar in design (Perkins vs Continental) you can search "static timing" that's about my limit of help. In fact I've got a few pictures in my Refurbish thread showing where that plug is and showing the marks.

 

[gravzzy]

There should be a small metal removalbe plug on the lower left side sitting on the tracket under the foot rest on thr front where thr engine block and tranny join. Snap the plug out and shine a flashight inside. Take a socket and rotate the engine till you see TDC. Assuming the flywheels and trannies are similar in design (Perkins vs Continental) you can search "static timing" that's about my limit of help. In fact I've got a few pictures in my Refurbish thread showing where that plug is and showing the marks.

Thanks a lot Kid! I've just quickly looked at your thread (there's a lot of stuff!) and this makes sense, I found it strange that the marks would be in the bottom opening where there is no pointer. The marks in the flywheel housing are made by the tractor's manufacturer's and not by Perkins or Continental so I should have the marks too. There are a few metal caps around the flywheel housing so I think I'll remove them all until I find one with a pointer. If I understand right it is supposed to be the same side as the starter...??? I'll try to check it tonight if I can get rid of the snow currently falling as I write...

 

[The kid]

On page 20 of my refurbish thread shows the timing peep hole. Just for clarification this is on a Continental tractor. The trannies and flywheels may or may not be the same. As you can see there are stamped marks and number visible on the flywheel. That is if yours is fairly clean. I first thought the timing mark was up front. On the crank pulley. There are visible marks but no reference marks on the pulley. I guess once you get the TDC showing in the peep hole. One could grind a mark on to the pulley.

There is a reference notch on the peep hole so as to get exact settings. -kid

 

[gravzzy]

On page 20 of my refurbish thread shows the timing peep hole. Just for clarification this is on a Continental tractor. The trannies and flywheels may or may not be the same. As you can see there are stamped marks and number visible on the flywheel. That is if yours is fairly clean. I first thought the timing mark was up front. On the crank pulley. There are visible marks but no reference marks on the pulley. I guess once you get the TDC showing in the peep hole. One could grind a mark on to the pulley.

There is a reference notch on the peep hole so as to get exact settings. -kid

The flywheel sure isn't the same; mine is the type with kind of "fins" all around. If the timing hole is in the flywheel housing and not in the engine block there are chances that the hole location will be the same or similar... The shop manual tells there is a hole and a mark but not where it is. Can you confirm the hole is tha same side as the starter?

 

[The kid]

On the Continental. Yes it is.

 

[gravzzy]

Oh well that's right, the starter is to the opposite side on the Z145... Then the timing hole must be the one near the clutch pedal pivot...

 

[The kid]

Oh well that's right, the starter is to the opposite side on the Z145... Then the timing hole must be the one near the clutch pedal pivot...

Here's where it's located on mine.

 

[gravzzy]

There is a rubber plug there on the Perkins engine: I'll start with this one... Wish me luck! If I find the mark I'll then just have to transfer the reference on the timing cover and pulley, calculate and position the engine to the timing advance point and check if the timing mark in the fuel pump matches... If it doesn't I'll undo the pump's gear and try to shift it to the proper tooth... I hope it works since it's a pain to work on there with the loader in the way!

 

[shona13]

G'day gravzzy.
To check the pump timing ,the timing mark is as you said under the rubber plug ,left hand side of the engine roughly straight back from the end of the injector pump,rotate the engine till number one cylinder is on compression check the timing mark on the flywheel and when you can see TDC ,turn the engine BACK one half revolution then slowly crank the engine forward again till you see 24 degrees BTDC.
Remove the small inspection cover on the injector pump ,it should have a sealing wire and lead seal remove the two small setscrews ,(5/16 a/f ring spanner ) and the cork gasket, look inside and you will see a large circlip if the pump timing is correct the letter B should be inline with the square end of the circlip, you can loosen the pump retaining bolts and rotate the pump about 4/5 degrees ,that is the only timing adjustment you can do apart from removing the front of the engine ,timing case etc to access the drive gears.

Going by how you describe how the engine is running I would say possibly a blown head gasket which for the ad3/152 engine is not all that common,they usually suffer from ring/liner wear and that is quite often caused by lack of maintenance or the air intake hose either not fitted properly usually at the manifold end ,or the hose is past it,s use by date especially when the inlet valves wear and the engine breathes back a little bit, best bet would be to rebulid the engine ,if you are a truck mechanic it would not take more than a couple of days fairly straight forward engine rebuild kit would cost around 6 to 8 hundred dollars this gives you everything you need.

just a foot note the perkins engines are amongst the best diesel engines ever made, they are simple and reliable ,use very little fuel and sometimes they leak a bit of oil but hey it stops them rusting!!
happy days.
Hutch