Looking at yet another MF135. Straight Front Axle. True P/S.

Going to go look at another MF135, Perkins gas. This one is supposedly a 1970 and has a straight front axle and power steering with cylinders on the front axle. I haven't seen this yet on a 135, straight axle with true power steering. ??? It includes a 6' grader blade and a 7' front plow which I will take off because I have a Davis 102 loader to put on it. The frame was never painted and looks pretty clean. He did paint the red because he said it was faded pretty bad. Per telephone conversation, he tells me everything works including the lights. Tires and wheels are in good shape. Holds fluids well. Gear drive. No smoke or blow by. Tight steering. Hyd aux in back. Tin is straight and not rusted.

Here are my concerns.

1. He says he had the 3pt hydraulics rebuilt by a professional. Did not take the tractor to the guy but took the pump and lifting mechanism, I think. They work well as far as lifting but they are jerky. What causes this?

2. The tractor has almost 6,000 hours. He bought it from a golf course. He had it for 4 years and is selling because he bought a bigger newer tractor and doesn't use this one anymore. What are the common issues you run into with a gas tractor with this many hours? With no smoke or blow by (and I will check fluids well) I would assume the engine should be good now but with that many hours may need an overhaul in the near future.

His bottom line is $3,800.

The power steering will still have the two tie rods going from the steering box. The steering box has a control valve on the top for the power steering. I have a straight axle MF2135 (pretty much the same as a 135 but painted yellow with a few different things that didn't come on agricultural tractors). I like the straight axle better because you don't have the radius rods to hold the axle in place like the ones with the swept back axle. The Perkins g3.152 is the same engine as the ad3.152 diesel except for the pistons, cylinder head, and a few other things (you could convert the engine to a diesel with different pistons, cylinder head, injector pump, etc). The jerking of the 3 point is usually caused by the control valve in the hydraulic pump sticking a little so it shouldn't be a deal killer, but you should be able to chew him down on the price some because of it. Make sure the engine oil doesn't smell like gas. 6000 hrs is not really that bad. If you can jack up the front end, and check the front axle pivot, and spindles for any play, if any of it is loose that can drop the price some. Since the sheet metal is good I'd offer him 3250 to 3500 cash. I paid 1500 cash for my 2135 (gas) not running with some beat up sheet metal with a missing grill door, and a loose front axle pivot, and spindles.

Hello,
The hydraulic system might have been rebuilt away from the rest of the tractor but the fact that the final
adjustments presumably were not done concerns me. Carrying the final adjustments out accurately will mean whether
the system works as it should. If the maximum lift setting is out there is a real danger of breaking the lift
cylinder. Exaggerated maybe, but a lot of people on here have had cylinder or hydraulic covers break.

DavidP, South Wales