First tractor - MF 135 Diesel (yay)

I need a tractor to clear brush and help me make my land usable again. Our old farmhouse on 5 acres burned in November, and we're building a new house there (should start any time now, but I've been hearing that for a couple months!) At first it seemed like the best tractor I could expect to afford ($2000 budget) was a Ford 8N or maybe an NAA, or possibly a Ferguson TO-35. My problem was that the more I learned about brush hogging, the more I wanted a live pto, and lower gears to crawl along while a cutter chops everything up. I kept searching Craigslist, and came upon this 1972 Massey Ferguson 135 diesel that had some sprayers all over it. Turns out there's an apple farm that's been using this tractor since 1978, but it isn't big enough to run the big flail mower they have (he kept calling it "the chipper".) It was probably 7 ft with big hammer knives on it, not the little "Y" shaped ones I usually see. Anyway, they're getting another tractor that can run the "chipper", so this one's for sale. He started it up for me, and ran the pto with a flail mower on it, so I could see it all work. From what I know about these (which isn't much) it doesn't have the dual clutch, it has independent pto, with a lever by your left heel to engage it. I had read that was an option. It is grimy and very banged up, but seems mostly there and operational. Many machines in this price range have been sitting a long time, or need something like a clutch or at least a battery, but this one is currently in use. They can't even let me take it because their new tractor isn't delivered yet, and they don't want to be without a backup, so I don't take delivery until that happens. Now I'm on the hunt for a sturdy brush hog (5 ft.), a 135 Operator's Manual. My main concern about the tractor is that while one of the tires is fairly new, the other, with OK tread, is OLD, and has serious sidewall issues. I'm actually wondering if there's something I can do to protect the exposed cord that's showing in multiple places - RTV? Some sort of super-silicone caulk? Can't make it worse, that's for sure! It seems they just figured run it until it goes, which is what I'll do, but brush hogging duty will be rougher than spraying Round-Up all day. What does an 11-28 AG tire go for, anyway? I guess I'll find out!

Looking forward to learning a lot here!

Scott in Brighton NY (while our house in Penfield NY sits boarded up)

Was it the one on craigslist in Victor NY?

A 135 with the diesel with ipto that's a steal for $2000. You will love the Perkins AD3.152 diesel in that tractor, a very fuel efficient engine. The 11.2x28 tire brand new around $250.00 and up (depends on where you live) + around $40.00 or so if you need a tube.

Yes, that's the one.

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm mistaken about the IPTO. I did push the clutch lever down with my hand, and didn't feel any "step" in the force required to push it, and when the seller engaged the PTO, he did it with a lever by his left heel, but I guess there's a lever in the same location on the models with the dual-clutch. I didn't have time to play around with it much (and I really didn't know what I was looking for at the time.) I'm OK with either type of PTO for what I'll be doing, so now I'm curious as to what I have. On the dual-clutch models, is there a lever by the left heel? There seem to be two different size levers.

Can someone let me know which is which? I have the large lever.





Thanks!
Scott in Brighton NY

Boo for me, the seller was supposed to let me know when he got
his other tractor fixed. Good for you though. Without seeing it I
think you got a good deal. There are two 135 gas jobs close by to
me and they're asking $4500 and $5500 for them. I was willing to
travel 3 hrs to get the one you bought. I think you have the 2
stage clutch as I don't see any hydraulic lines coming out the
cover.

Make sure you fid out exqactly about that left-hand lever by your left foot. My MF lever has three positions; one is neutral, one the PTO runs at engine speed, and all is well, one the PTO runs at ground speed, and you have to be very careful to NEVER run the tractor suddenly in reverse, or some such, it will destroy things.... I have it blocked off, so I never use it. For sure find out what you have.

The long lever is the IPTO, the short lever is the PTO with two-stage clutch that FBH44 is talking about.

I got a similar tractor about a year ago to replace an old J-D. The M-F will work circles around what my old 1010 would do. I would recommend you look for a six foot rotary mower. I have a five and the 135 hardly knows it is back there. A six foot one will cover your wheel tracks much better. Not sure I would try a seven footer, although it might handle it okay in lighter cutting.

If he has the long lever it's independent PTO. Not all tractors have lines through the cover with IPTO either, depends how the dealer ordered them in. I've seen 165s the same way.

Just because it has a long lever does not make it independent pto, some live pto tractors also had the long lever. On independent pto the pto can be engaged, and disengaged without having to depress the clutch pedal. Post some pictures of the tractor when you get it.

(quoted from post at 13:24:49 08/01/15) I got a similar tractor about a year ago to replace an old J-D. The M-F will work circles around what my old 1010 would do. I would recommend you look for a six foot rotary mower. I have a five and the 135 hardly knows it is back there. A six foot one will cover your wheel tracks much better. Not sure I would try a seven footer, although it might handle it okay in lighter cutting.

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I run a 3 point 7' Woods behind mine with the z134 gasser cutting mesquites up to 3' tall. With the same 7' Woods behind my brothers tractor with the Perkins AD3.152 diesel. The diesel doesn't work nearly as hard cutting mesquites up to 3' tall as my z134 gasser has to.

If you buy a rotary cutter (Bush hog) is a brand name.

You know the name game, all Bush hogs are rotary cutters, but not all rotary cutters are
Bush hogs.

I think a med duty 6 ft. Rotary Cutter would be a good size for you, it will cut out
your tractor treads and you will be able to pick it up without the tractor losing front
wheel steering control.

Some of these cutters are very heavy-duty and can be hard on your lift system.

My friend had a tractor like the one you are buying, it did fine with a 6ft. Medium duty
cutter.

I have a TO35 older gas model ferguson and a 5ft. Cutter, it's all my little tractor
wants in heavy weeds and grass.

Be safe and take your time as you learn to use your, new to you, tractor. They can be
fun, but at the same time dangerous.

I know that "Bush Hog" is a brand name, but around my area, rotary cutters are known generically as "brush hogs".

I've collected a LOT of pictures of 135s, and mine looks narrower (at least at the front) than all of them. I wonder if it is narrower at the rear, as well? Or is the front adjustable, and the rears are all the same? It just doesn't look very wide in the pics I have (but I didn't really stand behind the mower when I looked at it in person, as it had a flail mower attached to demonstrate the PTO operation.)









I'm wondering if I can get away with a 5 foot cutter, because they're much more common and affordable than a 6 foot around here. A larger one would be nice, but might be out of the budget for now. Once I get the land cleared out, I may prefer a flail mower to maintain it with in the long run. I just don't think a flail will deal with the saplings and bushes for the initial clearing.

Is my mower's front end this narrow for a reason? Or is it just adjusted to its smallest width, and most machines are not?

Scott in Brighton NY

Your 135 has the straight vineyard adjustable front axle, for their use having front narrow as possible was probably the best for their use. I like the straight front axles, its heavier, stronger, and it eliminates the radius rods that the swept back front axle tractors have. For 5 acres a 5' shredder will be fine, I use a 7' shredder because I have 6 individual pastures that equal 50 acres total.

On another note, around where I live in Texas we call them shredders, while other areas call them rotary mowers, while others call them bush hogs. It just depends on where you live as to what they call them, but rotary mower is what the manufacturers call them.

Thanks, I did wonder why my front axle was different than most. I guess I'll start looking for a 5 footer. As for the names, around here they're usually called brush hogs or bush hogs, but I know Bush Hog is a brand name. I had only seen the term shredder used a few times, but enough to know what it means. Since these MFs are British machines, my searching ended up in the UK and Australia a lot, where I noticed that they call them slashers.

I notice that most rear wheels have a pronounced outward "dish" shape, quite rounded. Then there are a few here and there that have a flatter shape - and mine look like the flatter kind, but "inside out", and yet they're still very close to the fenders, like the rear axle is narrower on mine. Is that a "vinyard" thing, too?

Notice the difference between this:



and mine:



Also, what size tires do I probably have on the back? TractorData says "12.4/11-28", but I wonder if there are variations. I'd like to know so I can check local prices.

Scott in Brighton NY

Slasher is what they are called down here Dweeb

Your wheels can be reconfigured to a much wider wheel base . The dish or centre disc can be unbolted from the rim and reversed , it will then resemble the others you have seen . The track can be altered by placing the disc on the outer side of the bolt loops in the rim . Depending on which way you orient the rim determines just how wide you can go .

(quoted from post at 06:28:28 08/03/15) Your wheels can be reconfigured to a much wider wheel base . The dish or centre disc can be unbolted from the rim and reversed , it will then resemble the others you have seen . The track can be altered by placing the disc on the outer side of the bolt loops in the rim . Depending on which way you orient the rim determines just how wide you can go .

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I understand that the wheels can be reconfigured for more or less width. What I wonder about is why mine look so much narrower than others I see online, even though the center disc is turned the wide way (and I haven't seen a single picture of one turned this way online, in hundreds of pictures.) I guess I won't really know how narrow it is until I see it in person again. I don't really want to bother the apple farm guys, they seemed really busy when I was there.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your experience and and opinions with me! I already love my "new" machine, can't wait to get it here.

Scott in Brighton NY

My suggestion on the rear tires, as long as they are both the same size. If the almost new one is a 12.4/28 get another 12.4/28. The 11/28 is a little shorter as well as a little narrower, also if you can find a good used matching pair of the same size that would be ok also. The rubber on used, older tires will be harder than when they are new (makes it a little harder to get flats).

Here is my MF2135 industrial gasser, pretty much the same a ag MF135, but with a non-adjustable orchard front axle, and shuttle shift (6 forward, and 6 reverse gears).


Fitting a old cab on it for a brush cab.


I couldn't stomach the MF industrial yellow so I painted it red, and grey. If you have about 10 minutes here's a video of it shredding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rudJBe2oZk4


My brothers 135 diesel when he bought it.


After re-bushing the front axle, re-building the steering box, changed the exhaust to vertical, and with brand new a UK style grill (maybe the only one in the US with the UK style grill). He ordered the grill from Ireland.

The rear axle trumpets are cut down versions of the standard . Your tractor will never be able to be set as wide as those you have been looking at . Examine photographs of Vineyard or Narrow models .

(quoted from post at 18:26:37 08/03/15) The rear axle trumpets are cut down versions of the standard . Your tractor will never be able to be set as wide as those you have been looking at . Examine photographs of Vineyard or Narrow models .

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Thanks, that gives me a direction to look. I haven't seen much mention of vineyard or narrow models so far in my searching.

I like the size of the tractor, and the width should work fine for my needs. I'm just interested to learn all I can about it.

Scott in Brighton NY

This will give you most of the information you require . Sorry I can't post a live link , just highlight and right click .


http://www.annatefka.nl/mf_folders/mf100/fol_mf135_04_00.htm

Most of the 135 Vineyard models were made in France , there were some put together in the UK , I don't know anything about US delivery models .
The maximum tyre track with factory supplied tyres is five feet so this should suit your slasher fairly well .

Thanks, that was helpful. I've figured out that I don't have a "Vineyard" model, just the narrow Vineyard front axle. Also, I suspect that my rear tires are 24 inches, since I found a very similar tractor in a thread on another site, with rears that look the same, and they're 12.4-24.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...69-massey-ferguson-135-vineyard-orchard.html?

Scott in Brighton NY

Both my 2135, and my brothers 135 have 24 inch rims in the rear. The ones with the 28 inch rear wheels are standard 135's.
There is also a MF2135 turf tractor that has 16 inch rear wheels, and 10 inch front wheels. Your front axle is adjustable in width. The MF150 has basically the same front axle that your tractor has. Here's a picture of my brothers MF150 row-crop with the front wheels moved out some.

I watched your YouTube video, I'd love to see more pics of your 2135, it really looked nice! The cab reminded me of the golf ball collector at the driving range! Seemed like a real workhorse, that was a huge field.

What size tires do the 24 inchers usually have? How wide are the 24 inch rims?

Scott in Brighton NY

The width of the tire depends on the width of the wheel. If you have a 12x24 inch wheel you can run 13.6x24, or 14.9x24 tire, both tractors (mine, and my brothers) has 12x24 wheels with 14.9x24 tires. A vineyard 135 may have a 10x24, or a 14x30 (or possibly a 12x24) wheel. Some 135's may have a 11x28 wheel. A 12.4x24 tire will usually be on a 10x24 wheel, but it's possible they may have put 12.4x24 tires on 12x24 wheels so you may want to measure the width of your wheels.

The cab on mine I went with the wire mesh on the sides to keep from getting whacked by limbs of the bigger mesquite trees when I'm shredding close by them (plus it would be a oven in there if it was all glass). For a gas tractor I surprised by how its been working so far. I'll put some more build pictures of mine soon.

(quoted from post at 03:43:58 08/04/15) For a gas tractor I surprised by how its been working so far.

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The Perkins diesel in these 135s is well thought of, and I was surprised to learn that the gas motor is built on the same block, same crank, etc. I would guess that if it's well-built for a diesel, then for gas it's overbuilt! It should take any abuse that comes its way, without breaking a sweat. My kind of tractor!

Scott in Brighton NY

A lot of the 135 gassers had the old school style Continental 4 cylinder (which mine has). It has only 3 main bearings instead of 5 main bearings with a crankshaft, and engine block that is not near as stout as the 3 cylinder Perkins. If had a 3 cylinder gas Perkins I would have converted it to diesel. The 3 cylinder Perkins diesel is probably the most fuel efficient engine of its size, and horsepower. The Perkins 3 cylinder diesel is a smoother running, and more quite engine than the Continental 4 cylinder gasser.