MF-165 three point hitch not working

Hi, this is my first post although I've been a frequent visitor for quite a while.

I have a MF165, perkins diesel, not sure what year. I have a very long driveway and I use it for blowing snow off my driveway. My property also has some fields that I keep mowed with the bush hog. I was blowing snow today and the three point hitch stopped working suddenly. The power takeoff is still turning but it wont lift the blower. One minute it was fine, next .... nothing. I dropped the snowblower off and tried the arms again but nothing. It doesn't seem to be even trying. It was cold today, but no more than normal for sure.

I have the seat off and I have also figured out how to take everything apart above the arms that aren't working. I haven't done that yet because I really don't know what I'm looking for.

I'd be grateful for anyone willing to talk me through repairs / troubleshooting.

The following might sound silly:

Check the position of the quadrant levers. Also check your fluid. If its milky, it means you have water in the system...could have frozen. If you oil looks like cake batter, drain it and replace it.

Aside from that, I would recommend referencing the OEM service manual and the I&T manual if you have access to one.

Also do you control the hitch linkage with a auxiliary hydraulic control box? If so, and this happened to me, the draft control lever must be up and the Position/Pressure Control lever in Constant Pumping.

If you have to change the oil, I recommend getting the oil from the Massey dealer. It costs a pretty penny (expect to pay around 150 for 8gal but the oil is a heavier viscosity than the TSC stuff.

I had the same problem when it was really cold around New Year's Day last month. Drained the oil and voila I have hydraulics again.

Christos

"Christos", I did check the fluid level but didn't really look at the texture. I'll have look and see what the fluid looks like.

The three point is controlled by two levers on my right when driving. One is up and down, the other is the drift or float. It was the first thing I checked to make sure the drift lever was all the way up.

Thanks,
J

The 165 that I had years ago did the same thing one day when my father was blowing snow with it. The control valve had stuck in the down position. I would suggest draining the rear end, removing the round cover by your right heel as you sit on the tractor and check out the the valve.

Do what Bob suggested, but you don't need to drain all the fluid. Pull the lowest bolt out of cover, drain to that level, then pull cover.

My 150 did that once, the spool was stuck.

Do you have a diverter valve on the lift cover? You would not have kicked it by mistake? Other than than I go with the stuck or broken valve....maybe the little roller has fallen out from between the control forks inside? or even frozen 'oil'
Sam

I still haven't found anything wrong. I have the lift arms stripped to the shaft and I can hear "clicking" when I turn by hand. I want to take the cover off to have a look. I have all the bolts out around the flange and can wiggle the cover. I am going to need to rig something to lift with as its very heavy. Anything I need to know? Are there parts that are going to fall apart when I lift cover or is it all pretty simple? There are four large nuts in the center of the cover. I haven't touched them. From other posts I am thinking there is hydraulic control mechanism bolted here from underneath. I want to make sure that there isn't anything less obvious that is going to screw me up. The cover is so heavy that there won't be any opportunity to feel any slight resistance if something is stuck or if there is anything tying the cover down from inside. I think I'm smart, but I am an amateur mechanic at best so don't assume I know anything. LOL. Thanks, you guys are great.

I"m thinking it"s time for you to purchase a
manual. But I"ll try to help before you break
something.

1. I hope you have removed the round cover on the
right side to inspect the spool valve, right? Now
there is a roller that is captive within the
linkage, tie a tag wire to it, so you don"t drop
it in the belly. Now spread the linkage and remove
the roller.

2. Remove the square cover, just under your right
leg while sitting on the tractor, two bolts. This
is the stand pipe cover from the lift pump.

3. Now, DON"T remove the four large nuts under the
seat, they hold the lift cylinder. Install a
eyebolt or something to attach your lifting system
to the front seat bolt female thread. Lift the
cover just up and forward a little while you
observe the linkage thru the right side round
cover to clear internals. I"m thinking you will
need around 20 inches of lift to clear housing,
been six years since I worked on my 150, so I
might be off some.

BTW, the rattle you are hearing, I believe is the
dog bone that is attached to the rocker shaft and
goes into the lift cylinder piston, there is NO
direct connection to the piston, ONE way cylinder.

I hope I have you in the right direction, others
forum members will correct me, if I have pointed
you in the wrong direction.

Tom

Sounds like I"m on the right track so far.

I agree with you on the manual. I got all tee"d up to buy it last night until I got to the part were they won"t ship to Canada. Anyway, at this point I am working with an exploded parts view that I got from a supplier website and instructions that I"ve received from good folks like you.

At this point I"ve done everything you"ve described except I haven"t separated the linkage yet. I"m not impatient when it comes to stuff like this so I stop when I am not sure. I haven"t pulled on the cover or anything yet so I"m pretty sure I haven"t broken anything.... (yet). I genuinely appreciate the help and I"m taking a few pictures as I go so I can post progress or mistakes for others.

Like I said, I"m not a mechanic but I"ve got tools, patience, and I can follow instructions so hopefully things will work out.

I"ve got the local Massey Dealer checking to see if he can get me the shop manual. Expecting a call this afternoon.

Tom / Bob,

Here's a picture of the hydraulic control cover removed. I believe I see the roller you are telling me to tie up. Also, the spool valve is right there to the right..... right????.

Still not seeing anything odd although I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for.

I pushed the plunger down and it slid right back up nice and smooth.

I am going to follow up with a post of a few more pictures of the tear down to this point in case it may help others.

Here's a couple pics getting to this point. Had to get the differential lock lever out of the way.



I marked the spline and pedal with fine black sharpie so I can put it back right where it was originally on the splines.



Draining to the lowest bolt like Bob said....



Cover off!



You might have noticed I had started to take the three point hitch controls apart before I realized I didn't need to. It's back together in the last pictures.

Jamie

Your oil doesn"t look right to me. What
color is it? Your photos make it look like
a golden yellow/egg yolk color. It should
be more of a green-amber color fresh
out of the container.

Christos

(quoted from post at 17:10:24 02/13/13) Your oil doesn"t look right to me. What
color is it? Your photos make it look like
a golden yellow/egg yolk color. It should
be more of a green-amber color fresh
out of the container.

Christos

Click to expand...

Hummmm??? Not sure what to say. I don't have a whole lot of experience. I guess it looks a bit "milkier" than whats left in the jug.

I've done some research although I don't have all the history. I bought the tractor with my property and started using it about a year ago to mow and blow snow. I haven't done any major maintenance yet. I check the fluids, grease ect. but I haven't changed transmission oil or anything like that. I was planning the 100hr maintenance this spring after maple sugaring is done.

I haven't bought hydraulic oil. What I found in the garage (and I assume is in the hydraulics of my tractor) is Multi G134 from New Holland. From a bit of looking, it seems it's compatable with M1129 or M1129A which is called for in my Owner's manual.

Jamie

Another picture.

Looks like you are pulling the lift cover BEFORE pulling the
right cover to check for a stuck valve spool. If so, you could
have ran the tractor while shifting the spool with pliers, NOT
hands to see if unit would lift.

Respectfully, if so, put stand pipe cover back, a few bolts back,
into lift cover, start tractor in neutral, try moving spool, that is
against roller with needle nose pliers to see if rocker shaft will
rotate since lift arms are off.

Well I did "wrongly" start to pull the cover first, but went to the side cover after you guys said.

I've got the bolts out of the cover and the stand pipe pulled but I haven't tried to lift the cover, just because I was headed that way before you guys straightened me out.

I'll do what you suggest.

Jamie

(quoted from post at 19:16:50 02/13/13) Looks like you are pulling the lift cover BEFORE pulling the
right cover to check for a stuck valve spool. If so, you could
have ran the tractor while shifting the spool with pliers, NOT
hands to see if unit would lift.

Respectfully, if so, put stand pipe cover back, a few bolts back,
into lift cover, start tractor in neutral, try moving spool, that is
against roller with needle nose pliers to see if rocker shaft will
rotate since lift arms are off.

Click to expand...

I did like you said and it just spit and sputtered oil. The oil bubbled and foamed right up. I guess this confirms contaminated oil, right??

The rocker shaft never moved.

PS. - The multipower has never functioned since I've had the tractor either so might be another symptom of bad oil??? I hadn't thought about it but having read so much online in the last day or two, it seems it doesn't tolorate underspec oil very well either.



Jamie

Well, we have another log on the fire. Didn't know we were dealing with Muti-Power also. At this point, I would continue to pull the lift cover after you drain ALL the fluids. There are two plugs to pull. One under the cavity we are working with and one rearward toward axle. If you have an Arco dealer (Massey) purchase Permatran-3 fluid. This works well for this application and is what I have used on my 150 complete rebuild.

There are two pumps under all that oil. One for the lift pump and the other for the Muti-power. Also two filters, one for each pump. Mine were damn near completely plugged at rebuild. I've found one picture, and will try to post. Have more, just need to find them. In the picture, IPTO pump is the same as the Muti-power pump.

Might be time to ask David "from Wales" to jump into the question. He's the Man.

Well, I did not lift the hydraulic lift cover. I did however drain the oil completely and refilled with the oil suggested by the Massey dealer (per the advise here). The lift pump came right back into service.

I ended up taking quite a bit of oil back out. 8 gallons as shown in the manual end up being a bit too much. The book said 8 gallons, I had 7.6 so I didn't bother checking, I just dumped it in.... anyway, rookie mistake... I learned.

I had tried the hydraulics in the garage and then I wanted to test to see if the multipower came back as well (although it has never worked since I've had the tractor). I headed out to my driveway which is slightly down hill to see if I had any engine compression. As I get on the slope the tractor starts smoking and losing power. I shut it off and let it cool down, I can hear the coolant boiling......

Anyway after it cools for a bit, I get it back to the garage.........

Coincidence???? It has to be right????

I checked a few things.....

Engine oil level is fine. It feels fine as well.
I checked the level in the radiator.... it looks fine....

I'm heading out to take the thermostat out as soon as it cools down completely..... hopefully thats the problem, after that I guess it is the water pump.... and the start of another thread.