Thread for MF 1529

[tmajor]

I was successful in re-working the drive and now I am just waiting on gravel and then to stack stones around the edges. Love that tractor.

I wanted to come back and comment on the driveway project. I've found, what i think, is the best for an unpaved driveway.

I use "1/2 minus" (might be called something else, in your neck of the woods .. '1A-modified') for the top coat. It's 1/2" or smaller stone and sand. And I always, put a crown in the drive to prevent puddling. It gets as hard as concrete (nearly) and lasts for over a year without going over it, and even then, it's just regrading. Plus, when plowing snow, it stays put (you'll probably, not have to worry about the snow plowing).

 

[1stDeuce]

I received, modified and installed the box leveler, today. There was a bit more to the fitment process, than I had planned on.

My 3pt also has a turnbuckle there, and the crank style looks so much faster and easier to use... Is this a universal part you bought somewhere, or was it off another tractor?
<edit> Was it the one off Flea-bay for about $70?

As for your cold start, that's exactly how the landlords 1533 starts w/o glows. Took me a few starts to discover that you have to turn the key the opposite direction and hold it to get the glow plugs to heat. That brings it down to the initial puff of smoke, and it's fairly clean after that. I'm guessing the clean tractor you reference is a Common Rail engine. They're quieter, and they start w/o much smoke at all.

If you are doing the glows correctly, it wouldn't be a bad idea to put a test light on them and be sure they're getting power. Also, raising the engine speed just a bit after starting will help it clean up. (only to 900-1000rpm) The idle speed on my 1455 is supposed to be 950rpm. It started fine that way, but seemed pretty high once it was warmed up, so I lowered it to about 750rpm's. At that speed, it's much quieter, and I let it sit and idle all day without using a lot of fuel. But I still bump it to about 1000RPM's when it's cold so it clears up and warms up faster.

 

[tmajor]

My 3pt also has a turnbuckle there, and the crank style looks so much faster and easier to use... Is this a universal part you bought somewhere, or was it off another tractor?
<edit> Was it the one off Flea-bay for about $70?

The leveling box, I purchased, was after market, Ford/Massey P/N 180854M91 .. All States Ag Parts #113624 @ $49.00 +shipping. However, there are compact tractor leveling boxes available, which probably, wouldn't need modification, for $70 - $150 +.

 

[tmajor]

The leveling box, I purchased, was after market, Ford/Massey P/N 180854M91 .. All States Ag Parts #113624 @ $49.00 +shipping. However, there are compact tractor leveling boxes available, which probably, wouldn't need modification, for $70 - $150 +.

In retrospect, I probably should have gone with the aftermarket "compact tractor" leveling box. As I said, "it turned out to be more work, than I had planned". Drilling the top hole out to 3/4" was no big deal. When I inquired about the dimensions of the unit, as an after thought, I asked, "if the top knuckle was about the width of the top CAT 1 ball joint", and he said "close". Also, at that point, it escaped me to ask about the yoke width.

 

[tmajor]

As for your cold start, that's exactly how the landlords 1533 starts w/o glows.

I know, my 1529 starts much better WITH glow plugs, but, as you say, about the 1533 starting W/O glow plugs, I keep wondering, "If at least one G/P isn't working?"

 

[tmajor]

Well folks, I guess, we can put the "Glow-Plug" issue to bed. I managed to "see" with difficulty and "get to" (with more difficulty) the G/Ps, by removing the air cleaner hose. Let me tell you, they couldn't have made it anymore difficult to get to them, if they tried! I loosened the nuts, removed the buss-bar and measured their resistance ... all were about the same, at 2 ohms. I cleaned up the buss-bar and wire connections and put it back together, with even more words, than I used getting it apart.

I did another video, just in case, but the results were nearly the same. So, "It is, what it is".

 

[1stDeuce]

Yup. 2 Ohms is good. Did you verify you're getting voltage to the bus bar with the glows all connected too? You could have a bad relay or connection somewhere else...

If it's all good, then there's nothing to worry about. Bring the idle up a tad after it starts to help it clear up/warm up, and get to work!

Thanks for the info on the leveler box. There's a gray MF one on ebay for ~$100 that might work better for me... or might just hold off and put the money into top and tilt instead... I've been thinking about two diverters wired to one SPDT switch labeled "loader" and "TnT". I need to run new lines to the loader anyway, so I could put the diverters inline, with feeds going forward for the loader, and rearward for TnT, or whatever else I might want to plug in back there. Switch to "TnT" to power both diverters, use the loader control, up-down for top and curl-dump for tilt, switch back to "loader" to lock the settings and restore hydraulics to the loader.

Seems pretty straightforward, aside from all the hose routing.
??

 

[1stDeuce]

It occurs to me to ask, does it start differently (more smoke?) if you don't use the glows... If it does, then they're working. If it's the same, then they're likely not working...

 

[tmajor]

It occurs to me to ask, does it start differently (more smoke?) if you don't use the glows... If it does, then they're working. If it's the same, then they're likely not working...

Yes, before learning the glow plugs were controlled by the ignition switch position, I was starting it with no G/Ps. It is much better using G/Ps, but made me wonder, if maybe, one was defective.

 

[tmajor]

Did you verify you're getting voltage to the bus bar with the glows all connected too? You could have a bad relay or connection somewhere else...

I did check for voltage at the G/Ps, when I was trying to figure out how they worked, but I didn't really pay attention to "how much voltage" was there. It could have been lower than battery voltage ... I'll have to verify that. Also, I was thinking, I might put a temporary jumper from battery to glow plugs and leave it in place for a few seconds, after the engine fires, to see it's effect.