Massey 135 lower lift arm length

Pacer204

Member
I recently had a bit of a head rush and went out and purchased two new lower link arms for my 135. I have recently purchased a 6ft topper (bush hog to guys in the US of A) and found that I could only lift the bugger no more than a foot off the ground before it jammed on the rear tyres.

I did a bit if research and noticed that original arms were 32 inches centre to centre and I could get some heavy duty ones via Sparex for vast expense which are 35inches from centre to centre.

Problem solved! No. After a lot swearing this evening I now have the old ones back on. The new ones went on ok - BUT they have the holes in a different place, they are further out. This means that when fully lowered they aren't low enough to pick up any of my implements. Fat load of use that is!

My question to you lovely people (and DavidP if he's listening) is, do i get the arms drilled so that the distance from the point under the axle to where the levelling box attaches is the same as the old arms, or is there some magic part that I've missed? I don't really want to have to buy longer lift arms, plus I can find any. What have I done wrong???????

Thanks in advance guys.
 
Hello Richard,
What make of topper have you bought? Generally the lift arms will pick up most implements. Are the brackets on the topper adjustable. What size tyres are on your 135? Anything bigger than the standard 12.4/11-28 and that could be where your problem is. What is the Sparex number on the arms that you have bought. Do they have fixed cat 1 or 2 ends or cat 1 front with an interchangeable rear end?

The 32" lower links were fitted to the earlier (swept axle) 135s etc. When they upgraded in late 1970 they changed to the longer 35" links with the adjustable lift rod. It becomes interesting here because the MF 148 with 11x32 tyres comes into the picture.

Drilling the new arms is not something that I would do because the material used is normally difficult to drill and you will change the hydraulic lift capacity and geometry.

Let us know your tyre size first and check the relative position of the mounting pins on your topper in relation to the topper body. Compare this to other topper makes if you can.

Cheers

DavidP
 
Hi David,

Thanks for coming back to me. The topper is a Bomford BS18 (Picture attached). It a chain guard the is at the front which its the bit that snags. It's not obvious that I can adjust the mounting pins on the topper.

As far as I can tell (looking at a bad photo) the rear tyres are 12.4 something but will check later. My tractor is a 1972. The link arms it came with are both different. One is a Cat 2 and the other is interchangeable. Both cat 1 at the axle end. The Sparex part number of the new ones is S.41001. They have Cat2 front and interchangeable rears.

I assumed incorrectly that as the Sparex ones were just longer that they'd fit. I'm not sure if the lift rods are adjustable. I think the left one has a grease nipple so it must be.

THe issue seems to be that the first hole on the new ones is further from the tractor, only about 2 inches but its enough to be a problem.

Your expert advice would be very welcome.

THanks

Richard
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What is that piece that is mounted to the front of the bed of your hog, looks like it sticks out about 4".

Take that off,

if possible, ask a buddy with same tractor, measure his lower arms, you may have the wrong length lower arms.

You Do not want to lift up the cutter and have it catch on a rear tire, ask my buddy what happens when a cutter blade hits a rear tire, it shredded the tire.

Be safe, cutters and chainsaws are about the most dangerous things around the farm.
 
Hello Richard,
Thanks for the photo. This is a bit of a puzzle. The Sparex number S41001 corresponds to the MF 1869 289M91 which is correct for uprated MF 135 and 200 series tractors. The attached image (1) shows the original 35/135 arm and (2) the later type. The length is different although it does not show in the image. Note the different positions of the holes.
The next image from the 1972 135 brochure shows the arm which appears to protrude beyond the wheel line significantly.
The lift rods can be lengthened. The standard setting for the left rod is 20.25" (515mm) with the centre punch mark just showing. This can be extended to 21.75" (556mm) for tractors with 11-32 tyres. This will not help your problem much.
If you are happy that you have the correct arms fitted my next suggestion would be to contact Bomford's Service Dept at Evesham on 01789 773383
and tell them of your difficulty concerning the chain guard part number 00766539 fouling the rear wheels. Bomfords may have an alternative mounting bracket to resolve this problem.
If your tyres are 12.4???? then it would appear that they are 12.4/11-28 which is correct.
The operator's manual does not show the chain guard at all but it is shown in the parts manual.
Although not an ideal situation they may advise removal or a modification of the guard.
It is more important that the rear guards are in place.
Hope this is of some help.
DavidP
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Hi David,
Thanks for your help so far.

I have spoken to sparex who"s view was that they sell loads of the S.41001 arms for MF 135"s so what"s the problem! Contacting Bomford may well work but it would leave me with a pair of expensive link arms that I can"t send back as I have sprayed them! I"d like to work out how to make them work.

I have checked the tyres and they are the small ones you mentioned.

I guess the only way is to extend the link rods as much as possible and pop my implements on pallets! The measurements you mention for the lift rods are an inch or two longer than mine. What points are your measurements taken from?

Is there an adjustment that can be made to the lift arms? If they started a little lower then I maybe ok. I do wonder if maybe they aren"t right as the original short link arms are still a way off the ground when set to the lowest point. Are there some settings that I can check against?

I"m sorry to be a pain!

Richard
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Pacer204: Yes you should be able to make the lift arms longer so that the lower arms can go lower (the one in the picture you posted with the grease fitting). That one looks like it's screwed in pretty far.

Here are some of the measurements (center to center by eye balling them) from my 1965 MF 2135 Industrial (it's the same as a 135 but with a HD front axle, and shuttle shift) with 14.9 x 24 tires. The lower links are 5 1/2" off the ground to center of the link.
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"The original short link arms are still a way off the ground when set to the lowest point."
I remember on our old 135 ,( Which was one of the first ) The ends lift arms were quite close to the ground when they were at their lowest position. I think perhaps yours must have been screwed in a lot to make them so short.
 
Yes, I'd be very careful about operating that close to rear tires. I just went out and checked my MF-240-S with a "Howse" brand bush-hog, made in mid-USA. As it sits in the barn, the front of the unit is located sightly down and 12" away from the rear tires. If it were lifted directly straight up, it would be located 7" - 8" away from the rear tires.
Something's not right.
 
Thanks all for your help.

I put the longer arms on again this weekend having extended the lift rods. Problem solved! The arms now rest at the same lower level of the short ones.

Happy tractoring!
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