MF 2135 gas to diesel engine switch

WI Andy

New User
I recently bought a Massey Ferguson 2135 Turf Special with a gas engine. The tractor matches up very well with my Woods 90" finish mower and is almost the perfect tractor for my needs. However, the engine has issues and likely needs a major overhaul.

The reason I consider this "almost" perfect is that I would prefer a diesel tractor. Since I am going to need to put some $'s into the engine, I looked for a diesel engine and found a used one from a 2135 at a local ag equipment bone yard. The cost of the engine is close to the same as an overhaul of the gas engine that is currently in the tractor, paying someone to do the work since I am already over-blessed with opportunities and can't do it myself.

My question; is it feasible to make such a switch, or would it be more of a project than it would be worth?
 
Does the boneyard run or need fixin too?Don't know about the swap but the 90" finish mower, is that a belly mower?
 
What engines? If they're both 3 cylinder Perkins, is probably a fairly easy swap. You'll have to swap fuel tanks among other things. Does the tractor have power steering? If the gas is a Continental might not be so easy.
 
If the engine is not a Perkins then bring the front cradle with you. plus the diesel tank and rad. You might just want the battery tray also........Sam
 
My thought would be . If its the same money i would rebuild what i had. Only because what you get from the boneyard you know nothing about (how it runs engine hours how well the engine was serviced.Remember its in a boneyard for a reason..
Or just sell what you have and buy you a diesel tractor.
 
Personally I would do neither. It sounds like you haven't tried too much to sort out the engine you have. Burns oil? leaks heaps of oil? Noises? Compressions? Even then, a valve job is minor compare to a swap out. An in frame as a couple people are doing in threads below, although I don't care for in frames, can buy you decades for a couple hundred bucks- and then, that's only if it even needs an in frame rebuild.
Mowing lawns takes so little stress, even a good tune up might buy you a lot of summer mowing. Speaking of buying, in my recent travels, diesel is a buck more than regular in some places...
 
A little more history: I bought the tractor at an auction. A role of the dice, and it would have been a good one if the engine was decent. I could tell by the exhaust that it liked a little oil, but it didn't appear to leak any. The wide turf tires are worth over half what I paid for it, and the price was low enough that I though I could deal with the inconvenience of running into town with gas tanks to fuel it.

It was doing it's job real well until last week when I put it to a test mowing some pretty heavy stuff. After about three hours of mowing, the engine developed a nasty knock and the oil pressure dropped dramatically. Time to quit.

A mechanic friend has it now to help determine the next step. I could be lucky and it's not as bad as I think it is, but if it is, I'm willing to spend the bucks to do a quality rebuild or swap out for a diesel, (which from the comments below might not be such a good option). I'll probably have more into it than I could sell it for, but if it can do it's job and handle the occasional abuse I'd put it through, then I can live with it

I bought it primarily to mow the grass in an orchard and the lanes between trees on a choose-and-cut Christmas tree plantation that I am getting established to keep me busy when I retire. It covers a little over 6 acres now and could be as much as 4 more acres of future planting.

As far as the diesel preference, all my other equipment runs on diesel. I buy bulk, delivered off-road diesel at a price that is usually the same or less than gas at the gas stations.
 
Valid point. I'm trying to find some reliable history on the boneyard engine, but may be giving up on the option if the switch out isn't feasible.

Keeping my eyes open for the right diesel tractor, but they are not easy to find in our area without spending big bucks. Could be I'll have too much into this one, but that's the 20-20 hindsight view.
 
Good question about the boneyard engine, could be another role of the dice.

The mower is a 3 point that is a couple inches wider than the tractor wheel base. Perfect fit.
 
Well you could look at it also how big of an inconvenience ( as in what your time is worth)is it going to be and cost factor to run to the station to get gas for it every time you need gas. Then again you could send the wife after it. but the cost factor goes way up because you know shes going to stop and go shoping (new cloths ,shoes,purse,get hair done. and then theres the please do this for me because remember all the times ive gone to get gas for the only 1 out of 5 tractors you own thats gas. and by the way my car smells like gas now i need a new car. Or you could send one of the kids and i dont even need to say much more there cause we both know the cost factor of that scenario. So in saying all that looks like the gas is going to cost around $ 175.00 a gallon, so the diesel swap dont sound so bad after all.
LMAO..... Hope you smiled , and good luck
 
I would smile if what you wrote wasn't so close to the truth. I can tell that you understand my situation, almost sound like you've been there, done that.
 
Good question about the boneyard engine, could be another role of the dice.

The mower is a 3 point that is a couple inches wider than the tractor wheel base. Perfect fit.
 

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