New to me Fordson Major Diesel

Over the weekend I picked up a decent running '55 Fordson Major Diesel with a bunch of little issues. Injection pump is out of time enough to make is start hard and smoke ALOT, brakes are mechanically good but do NOTHING, charging system seems nonfunctional, and the starter is iffy (bendix lever seems sloppy and rarely engages the starter to the flywheel). In time I'll need to invest in new rubber and rims for the rear as calcium has been unkind to the steel and the tires are checked really bad. Might also find a decent power steering kit to install, though the manual box is tight and easy to control while in motion.

Anybody have any experience tinkering on these old beasts?

Thanks,

Rob

With all the issues the tractor has, you might want to think about lifting the radiator cap up and driving a different tractor under it.

Hi
If it needs tires and rims, and it don't run
right i hope it was cheap. Those old girls have
a bad habit of starting and running pretty
good, but the motors totally shot, and you find
it was a miracle it ran, when a guy tears the
motor down when restoring them. Low oil
pressure is a good starting clue to motor
condition. Cranks wore for fun in those motors
with a few 0000 hours on if not looked after.
Many I have seen the cranks are at 30 thou for
re grinds and can't be done again. I have 2
junk cranks on the floor now in my shop.

It Doesn't have 2 stage clutch for the pto/ hyds,
if it's a 55 thats another downside to if your going
to use it.
unless you get lucky or build your
own, power steering kits are very expensive to
for originals as guys want them. aftermarket
can be around the 700 to $1000+ mark by the time you
get it shipped.

I been round these old girls that i own/ sold
or have repaired for others, enough to know how
to spell "Money pit".starting it could be pump injector
issues/ Timing, valves.
check for water in the motor oil, and oil in the rad to.
They are bad for mixing oil and water in the motors.
The motor could just be plain worn out to!.

you might find the gear box oil and hyd oil leak between the gearbox and axle to. they are separate systems, and the seals go in the top shaft or pto box, sometimes both.
usualy the hyd and gearbox oil is full of water to, check that as well if it's sat a long while.

Brakes will either be lack of adjustment or
seized cables. sounds like you had it apart to
know nothings missing, worn out or got oil
contamination on if they are" mechanically"
good.
really you need a service manual for it, either
an I&T or genuine, from an online auction.
There are so many things your going to ask
about, it will make things easier for you in
the long run. As we can't really see what your
working with only guessing the fixes all the
time.
Do you have any pictures so we can see what
this tractors really like. you could get lucky
or have more money in it than you'll ever get
out of it, if you had to sell it.
Sorry to be negative about the comments, I just see what these old girls are really like It's not often a guy comes along with a "1 careful lady owner" Fordson Major thats real sharp, and worth big money for a totally original good condition tractor .

Regards Robert

you may want to try

fordsontractorpages.nl

good info on english fords
select bulletin board
select fordson new major
enjoy

WOAH! I don't think it's that bad off. To begin with, the tires and rims are holding up for now and it will likely be years before one blows out and I need to replace anything. And the brakes, no I haven't had them apart but I can feel them engage and they have very little effect. Something to look at. As for the smoke and starting issue, the seller pointed out that when he bought it 12 years ago it smoked just like this. A friend who was a Diesel mechanic dropped by with and with a wrench and a few minutes time he adjusted the inj. pump coupler to re-time the injection and the smoke was totally gone. Recently it slipped out of time again and he didn't want to mess with it. I too have seen diesels smoke like this before when they are out of time.

As far as price goes I got it for a grand, and recently I have seen them in very nice condition painted up going for 4k and more.

Water/oil mixing I'll check it out in all cases and the radiator tomorrow and get back to you all.

I won't pay much more than a grand for them
unless they run decent, have very nice tin and
don't need new tires, or have rarer options
fitted that can be worth as much as a tractor
depending whats on it.

Tires are getting expensive to replace. I just
paid $500 for 2 worn matched 16x30's for a
project here, as I didn't want new ones on it.
other parts/ machine shop aren't cheap either
if you need a specialist to do anything.

I know what can go into a $4000 tractor to get
it there sometimes it's$5000+. Thats why i quit
doing them for resale! some you could make $500
if you got lucky, so it don't cover the time it
can be just a fun factor with saving them most
of the time.

The Last super I sold was $3000 it was
experienced and looked real sharp with new
paint the profit on that deal was the snow
blower the guy brought from me with it.

if you can see rust damage from the fluid
outside be careful with the rims. I have had
them not look to bad, until the tires off, then
the rim is paper thin on the inside, you can
poke a chipping hammer right through them
without hitting hard in some cases.

I have had over 30 of them in my time so speak
from a good batting average of what i have
found with them!. last year I had 15 in the
yard together 5 were just plain parts
tractors,with no hope of getting them running.
the good stuff is in the shed and the rest is
off to China from them.
If you got a good mechanic friend and a
service/ operator/ parts manual, you will do
just fine. its all in the books or general
mechanical experience.

I got my first one at 14 Im now 41 so been
doing them and collecting a while. My Dad
farmed with them in the day to so he knows a
lot from doing his own repairs.
Good luck with your project you might be lucky
with it. you might not like my answers but you
could end up with surprises in a few places

To be honest from what you said first it
sounded worse than it might actually be. Can
you post a picture, I'm real curious to see
what you have got for a tractor.
The image if it posts is the last one i sold
Regards Robert

I do appreciate your input and will get to the pics tomorrow. It has decent tinwork, though the paint is giving way to surface rust. No bubbles or cancer yet as I recall. I'm an electrician by trade so anything wrong with wiring I'll get straightened out quick, and I have had several 4x4 truck projects in my time so I'm well versed in making up ways to get things (like the brakes) to work the way I want.

When I tried to start the engine to take it off the trailer it turned slow. Bad starter, depleted battery, loose cable, incorrect timing, maybe something else. But I'll figure it out. There's LOTS of power in that old beast I'm sure of that, I won't be concerned with engine rebuilds for a while unless there are mixing fluids or no oil pressure.

Heading out in the morning to tinker for a bit, I'll get back to you with pics and update afterward. I do have a manual that came with, covers Ford and Fordson tractors up to the late sixties. I'll get the name of it in the next post.

Rob

Update to the condition of my new toy - I'd post a picture or two but I can't get them to load from my phone to email. I'll figure it out eventually.

Went out last Saturday for a bit to tinker on the old beast and learn what I can.

Started first try with minimal cranking, after setting the timing where it belongs. Starter has plenty of oomph, but bendix clutch mechanism is goofy and I'll need to investigate that later.

After proper time was set (26 DEG) there's still plenty of white-gray smoke which I believe to be fuel. Injection still may be out of time on an intermittent basis due to a drive coupling that allows lots of slack between the crank driven timing gear and the input drive of the injection pump. Results in a CHICK-a-CHICK-a-CHICK-a as the engine idles, there are several "crank degrees" of slop between the pump and the drive if the engine is rotated by hand.

Tires, though having plenty of tread, may not last long under load. Have been used as is for years by PO in horse arena dragging and have not given up yet. Rims are indeed at their limit. As my dad put it, "ya hook on to somethin' big with that tractor and you might spin one of those rims right apart!"
I'll be looking for rims to suit 14-30 tires soon. Also, there's a tire shop local to me that always has a pile of old ag tire casings for free to use in playgrounds. This same shop and one other nearby are in the business of retreading ag and industrial tires.

Brakes are plenty out of adjustment, enough to warrant taking the rear tires off for a proper look over. I'll save that for the day I have tires and wheels lined up. In the mean time I'll be looking to get the cables freed up and moving well again, they are stiff but not completely frozen.

Tinwork is in fine condition though lacking paint in some areas. No sign of cancer, PO claimed this tractor was bought 12y ago in Eastern WA, a land known to us coasties to have old vehicles without much rust to begin with.

With the engine idling the ammeter shows charge/discharge properly and oil pressure rises to 35~40psi in a cold engine. Temp was never shown as the engine was not run for more than a few minutes at a time; avoiding possible damage due to sloppy injection timing. Engine oil is dark, but without moisture, transmission was very clean and also without moisture. Cooling system is in desperate need of a flush as the radiator neck has a rusty buildup in it. No oil was found in the coolant system.

PTO engagement lever next to clutch is functional, as is PTO. All gears work properly in HIGH and LOW ranges.

Electrical is lacking some function, though starter and generator systems are working properly. Tractor has been at least partially converted to 12v NEG ground, and came with a 1000CCA NAPA battery which was marked as new last summer.

The service manual provided with the tractor is an I&T.

That's a lot of info to remember!
What does your tractor sense tell you now?

Hi
Yes that is a lot to digest at 1am L.O.L. It does sound better than i figured, guess i >was right on the rear wheels and tires.

when you looked at the gear box oil ( plug on the plate where the pto lever bolts to) was the level up to the high/low mark there or was it way down. if it was up near the top and stays there the seals aren't leaking through. if the oil level drops, and the hyd oil on the dipstick for the Rear axle/ hyd system rises. you need to find the leaking seals in the gearbox or pto drive box under the gearbox.
when i check for water in the trans I undo the drain plugs carefully!!!! and see what comes out if you didn't try it that way. if mine sits all winter, I can get a coffee can full out the bottom before i move it. That oil looks fine until the water mixes in if it's settled at the bottom.
between the axle and gearbox thats about 60 liters if you got to replace it .
The oil pressure sounds good, if it has 10 psi when hot it's still drive able many are worse than that, and have been for years. they can drop off pretty quick if there is any wear in the bearings when they warm up, low is not great, but some guys will drive on rather than spend 500 plus fixing them.
Brakes you won't know the picture until you get there so can't say much on them still,
could be simple or new linings seals and such.
I think i'd buy the new pump drive disc, if it's that bad. most old style majors have the little click sound, yours sounds real bad with wear. clean the air filter out properly to make sure it's good and re set the timing and see what she does , it might benefit from a can of injector cleaner and new filter to .
You never said if the 3 point hitch is complete on the rear either? as the guy was dragging harrows, many up here in Canada are missing all the linkage arms and sway chains.
I'll just drop a safety warning in for the fluid tires if you change them or remove to do brakes,and have never worked with them before. They are real heavy, and will squash you in a heart beat, if they get away on you, and are even worse if you got wheel weights fitted to. I either drain them or remove with a front loader if I have to.

The pictures might not load here if you are a new member without enough posts on the forum either.
Regards Robert

Ok... one piece at a time here. Still working on uploading a picture, I might have to email it to you.

Gear box oil as measured on the dipstick next to the steering column was shown near the high mark, and all the oil was clean. The rear axle dipstick is either missing or I'm blind, haven't seen one.

Three point is complete and according to PO it all worked fine, though I keep forgetting to check it out. Sounded like he used the three point for a rear mounted arena harrow, not a chain attached drag. Also has a Hyd. remote with quick disconnects for running a side mower and what-not.

As for tires, yes I'm aware of their weight. They also have three round weights bolted in each rim. I have dealt with tires like this on a Ford 6000 before, used a 580C to take off and remove. My dad has a 680K that will come in handy when the time comes, as the tractor is parked at his place.

I'll get a coupler piece coming and run some Diesel Purge, change the Inj. pump oil and check other things next. Maybe in a week or two I can get a chance to go do some more tinkering.

Hi
The dipstick you found is the rear axle/ hyd
oil level. the gearbox and rear axle are
separate compartments. To fill rear end oil use
the plug in the housing that pokes out the back
of the lift arm housing/ behind the seat. The
plug might of been replaced with a return hose
for the spool block, depending whats fitted.

The gear box oil level/fill is the plug on the
housing by the clutch pedal linkage. its on
that round plate bolted to the side of the
gearbox by the steering arm. just under the
plug lip on the outside casting is written
high/or full and low oil level. for the gearbox
to be full the oil level will be probably 1/2"
lower than the oil filler hole top edge. The
oil level in the gear box is way higher than
the high mark on the dipstick you found. Check
that gearbox level now. if it's low top up and
check after use. thats when the leak may show
up.
Glad you know about the tires and weight those
3 cast weights on there own weigh 50 odd kgs
each I believe. A tire guy round here was
squashed by a fluid wheel, and his wife became
a widow pretty quick!!!!.
If you want to email me a picture my email
should be open.
Regards Robert

I'll get to looking at things closer tomorrow hopefully. Two things come to mind right now.

#1 As an easy indication of a leak, would it be helpful if I put a quart of red ATF in the gearbox and watch for red in the rear axle dip?


#2 Up the road from me, covered in berry briars, there's what looks like a Roadless tractor. All I can see is the tops of four large tires, top of the hood, and a post driver mounted on the back. Would this have parts I can use for my Major? Things like the wheels and tires, maybe power steering, and obviously the post driver if it's any good.
Or would I be better off getting it cheap and flipping it as a complete antique and using the proceeds to buy things I want for my own machine?

I dropped by my dad's place on Saturday and had a minute to check oils again. The Hyd/rear axle dipstick shows right at full and the fill plug on the side of the transmission has very little oil in it.

Using a dipstick to measure shows the level between the two systems to be very close. Also the oils there seem to be the same. Color, smell, and feel are close enough to say they are the same mix.

I'll drain water from each system and add a quart of red ATF to the transmission before I run it next, see if that shows a leak.