Oil Bath Filter

As a recent first time Ferguson owner there is always something to learn about these old machines.

Since rebuilding my Tea 2085 engine earlier on in the year the tractor has run like a dream and all oil leaks have been corrected bar one.

When ever I finish working the tractor I store it in an enclosed shed and due to habit I place a oil drip tray just in case of an oil leak.

While there have been no engine/transmission/pto leaks I did notice recently an oil leak coming out of the felt plug underneath the carburetor. Since the leak is only a teaspoon or so I was not worried but it did make me think as to where it could be coming from.

It can't be coming from the engine as it can't suck the oil from the engine via the carburetor. I assumed that the oil was the trapped vapor left in the tube coming from the rocker cover in to the valve that screws into the inlet manifold when switched off.

The other day I noticed that the bottom of the oil bath filter sump had an oil leak where it fits on to the main body via the hand screw clamp and was leaking on to the radius arm.
I undid the clamp and the oil was well and truly over the level indicator mark inside. I clearly remember filling the level to the correct mark and could not work out how the oil level had gone up let alone as to where it could come from.

I emptied the oil to the correct level and went off to do other things.
I have found through the passing of time that usually I work things out when I am not thinking about them and that the answers just suddenly come to me (generally speaking).

I find sleep to be very helpful and often any problems I may have are usually answered when I am asleep.

In this instance my mind must have gone back to my school days and "Archimedes Principle of Displacement" came to mind and I realised that the Oil bath filter is sucking in unfiltered air and that the debris filtered out is dropping into the oil sump, causing displacement hence the oil level goes up and the engine sucks a little oil into the rubber air tube and this runs down to the carby. Removal of the rubber inlet hose confirmed this and now the leak has stopped.

My point is that I have only used my tractor for perhaps 10 hours or so since the rebuild in what I consider a very dust free environment but was surprised to see how much debris was trapped at the bottom of the oil bath sump.

No wonder the manual says check and refill each day after use.
Just my experience.
Regards Brad

(quoted from post at 10:34:48 11/29/11)
No wonder the manual says check and refill each day after use.
Just my experience.
Regards Brad

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That reminds me - it's been a few months since I've checked mine! Maybe it's about time I cleaned that air filter out...

- TS

Toora, if you keep putting that right front wheel in those big holes the air cleaner may keep itself cleaned out with the sudden stop.

Ha ha, considering the rough terrain I run on, all the jolting must be keeping the cleaner very clear!

...but here I am using the old girl a bit more sedately:



(Sorry to hijack the thread, Brad!)

- TS

when cleaning the air cleaner.

did you take the air cleaner housing off and run gas or kerosene inside the cleaner to clean the wire mesh inside the air cleaner.

the air cleaner wire mesh on my to-35 was very dirty, had to soak it in a 5 gal bucket of kerosene overnight then wash it with gas unitl it ran clean

then let it drip and air dry for a day.

the pan at the bottom of my air cleaner will have a small pile of dirt that has to be cleaned, but i clean it 2 or 3 times a year,

do not use tractor that much.

your tractor must be sucking oil from somewhere else

as my air filter has never been overfull of oil.

You should check that the Suction pipe from the Valve Cover to the Manifold is clean and clear and also the valve in the manifold end of this pipe is not too restricted. It would appear from your description that you could have a build up of back pressure that should be sucked out of the crankcase via this pipe. If the pressure can't get away it will then go the only other way that it can go and that is through the Crankcase Breather pipe and into the Air Cleaner and that maybe the cause of it filling up like you say. We have had this in the past but it is a long time ago now.The pipe on the Air Cleaner needs to be kept in position and connected as it aids upper cylinder lubrication and prevents the valves from sticking..John(UK)[email protected]

Hi John,
Thanks once again for your input.
When I rebuilt the engine every part of the motor was cleaned out thoroughly including all the tubes/pipes.
My original view on the leak was that the oil must be leaking into the carburetor via the valve cover tube and valve in the manifold,but the extra oil in the oilbath I only just discovered the other day and it must have been going on from day one but I didn't notice.
Your view on back pressure makes sense to me and the extra oil must be coming from the crankcase vent pipe and refilling the oilbath sump.
This may explain why after usage (approx 2.5hr stints) I have been topping up the sump oil (approx 1 tea cup of oil) as there are no engine leaks and the motor does not blow any blue smoke at all.
The valve in the intake manifold quite possibly is as you say restricted and most likely is the cause.
I will have a look at it this week end and hopefully cure the ill.
Thanks once again.
Regards Brad

(quoted from post at 11:47:43 11/29/11) You should check that the Suction pipe from the Valve Cover to the Manifold is clean and clear and also the valve in the manifold end of this pipe is not too restricted. It would appear from your description that you could have a build up of back pressure that should be sucked out of the crankcase via this pipe. If the pressure can't get away it will then go the only other way that it can go and that is through the Crankcase Breather pipe and into the Air Cleaner and that maybe the cause of it filling up like you say. We have had this in the past but it is a long time ago now.The pipe on the Air Cleaner needs to be kept in position and connected as it aids upper cylinder lubrication and prevents the valves from sticking..John(UK)[email protected]

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Good Morning/ Evening fellow Ferguson enthusiasts/users.
Over the week end I looked into the oil leak problem from the carburettor and once again John (UK) was correct is his diagnosis.
I checked the pipe from the Oil bath venting into the crankcase as being clear, then it was onto the valve cover pipe venting into the intake manifold via a valve.
Here is where things look different as the valve I have, is nothing like the valve shown in the factory manual. I have attached photos of it and I hope they come out as I have not posted photos before. My so called valve is different and when I tested flow through this pipe when it is connected I could not get it to flow into the manifold or out. This is the reason the oil was rising in the oil bath filter as the crankcase pressure was venting back into the oil bath along with oil and this in turn forced oil into the intake tube connected to the carburettor. This valve setup to me appears as if it could be factory but I am inclined to think that perhaps a porous brass filter or something is missing. I was wondering if John (UK) recalls if this valve may have been changed on later models as my tractor is a late 1954 model.
My solution was to drill a 2mm hole in the head of this valve to allow the pressure to vent into the intake manifold. I then used the tractor for 2+ hours cutting grass and it ran like a dream. The oil bath filter level did not go up, the previously vanishing sump oil was still where it should be and the carburettor oil leak stopped.
I did notice that the tractor seemed to run longer on the small quantity of fuel I filled it with as the previous oil problem may have made the tractor run richer.
Next time I use it I will adjust the mixtures and see if there is any change.
Many thanks
Regards Brad