New to Massey Ferguson

Caryc

Well-known Member
Hello guys. While driving home the other day I saw that my neighbor had 4 or 5 old tractors on his property. The latest one looked like my 8N with a FEL on it.

I stopped by and talked to the girl friend, the guy wasn't home. Anyway I gave it a once over. She said it was a Massey Ferguson. I later got the guy on the phone and he wasn't too sure about what year it was. He guessed about 1963. He said he thought he had a book on it that he would have to dig out somewhere.

From what I could remember, the hood looked square in the front with round holes in each top corner where I assumed headlights would have been. It had fenders that looked like my 8N with the horizontal rib on them. Don't remember any script on them or the hood. I didn't examine it real good because I figured I would do that when the guy was there.

On the phone, he said it did have power steering. And from what I remember it had gauges on the top of the dash unlike my 8N with them on the front. On the loader, it had a regular forklift set up. He said he also had the bucket for it.

He said it ran fine and the FEL worked fine. He said the 3 point lift did not work but the PTO did work.

I will give the guy a few days to maybe find that book on it. Also when I go back, I will take lots of pictures to try to identify it. Even with the 3 point not lifting he said he wants $2000 for it.

Any idea what this tractor might be from the meager facts I've given so far? It did have a gas engine. And if I remember right it might have been an OHV engine.

I know I haven't really given you guys much to work on but any things I should look out for in identifying this thing? I'm not going to buy anything unless I know exactly what it is.

Thanks guys
 
Look at the column to the left. You will see a heading that says "Galleries". The first listing under that is "Tractor Photos". Click on that, then enter Massey Ferguson in the search bar and see if you can find a tractor that looks like the one you saw. Then go to tractordata.com and look up the specifications for that model.
 
I was looking under MF35 parts on this site and saw a pic of the hyd. pump. I looks like it contains the PTO shaft right in it.

I know on my 8N, to get the pump out one has to remove the PTO shaft then drop the pump from the bottom. I purchased a CD on rebuilding the pump.

What is actually involved in removing the MF35 pump, just in generalities of course? I'm just trying to find out what I'm in for before buying this thing, that is if he'll come down on the price.

Of course if I do buy this thing, the first thing I'll do is buy the manual on it like the F04 I have for my 8N.
 
If it comes with a FEL for $2000 that's not a bad deal at all. Where I live you can't touch a used FEL without it being attached to a tractor for $2000. The 3 point is not that big of a deal to fix.
 
(quoted from post at 21:20:55 07/27/16) If it comes with a FEL for $2000 that's not a bad deal at all. Where I live you can't touch a used FEL without it being attached to a tractor for $2000. The 3 point is not that big of a deal to fix.

Yeah, it all depends on ones location. Here is Southern California where not everyone has an old tractor sitting in some old barn, tractors are not that easy to come by.

Ten years ago, I paid $4000 for an 8N. It has a Davis FEL and an M5 Woods rotary mower along with a a Gannon rollover box blade. I've been using it to maintain my 5 acres and my dirt roads for ten years with no repairs to speak of. Just regular maintenance. Coming home from work one day I saw it sitting on a guy's property with a for sale sign. What really sealed the deal for me was that it was about a mile from my place so all I had to do was drive it home.

It's been a good tractor but I'd like to have one without an FEL on it for using the mower and box blade. The 8N handles like a water buffalo compared to a gazelle with that FEL on it.

If the MF35 works out well, I'd probably remove the loader from my 8N.
 

Question? If the FEL works, wouldn't that mean the pump is ok? Then the 3 point issue would be something else. I sold my Ford 641, it had an over head valve engine, so a couple more HP than the N. Then a friend got a new tractor and sold me his Massey 135. Never looked back, no comparison. The Ford was hard to steer, the 135 with NO power steering turns one hand easy. The 135 will lift twice what the Ford will. If I had of kept my old ford and got the Massey too, I wouldn't get on the poor old Ford very often, Joe.
 
Sounds like a MF 35, as an owner and a fan of the 8n, we also have a couple of 35s,so if you like the
8n, chances are you will love the 35. I would buy it for that price,even if I had to replace or
rebuild the hyd pump.
 
As much as I like the little Ford 8n, the MF35 is a superior tractor. The 4 cylinder gas engine in the 35 is a Continental Z134 with over head valves, it works pretty good for a gasser (I ran a 84" shredder behind one).
 
(quoted from post at 04:10:17 07/28/16)
Question? If the FEL works, wouldn't that mean the pump is ok? Then the 3 point issue would be something else. I sold my Ford 641, it had an over head valve engine, so a couple more HP than the N. Then a friend got a new tractor and sold me his Massey 135. Never looked back, no comparison. The Ford was hard to steer, the 135 with NO power steering turns one hand easy. The 135 will lift twice what the Ford will. [b:74185aade8][color=red:74185aade8]If I had of kept my old ford and got the Massey too, I wouldn't get on the poor old Ford very often, Joe.[/color:74185aade8][/b:74185aade8]

I don't know about the MF35, as I said I didn't really look at it that close yet but on my 8N, the FEL works from a pump mounted on the front of it.

About the sentence in red, that could possibly be true, but I'd still like to drive my little 8N without that big loader on it to see how it feels. As it is now, with only the one tractor, I can't take the loader off of it. It comes in too handy.
 
(quoted from post at 05:29:01 07/28/16) Sounds like a MF 35, as an owner and a fan of the 8n, we also have a couple of 35s,so if you like the
8n, chances are you will love the 35. I would buy it for that price,even if I had to replace or
rebuild the hyd pump.

Thanks, I forgot to add, it looked like it had good rubber all around, even light truck tires on the front like my 8N has. I kind of like that fork lift it has on the FEL plus like I said, he also has the regular bucket for it.
 
Ok, so if it's a MF35 can someone please tell me where to look for the serial number so I can find it on my next visit there ?

It's a four cylinder gas engine.
 
(quoted from post at 14:41:38 07/28/16) Ok, so if it's a MF35 can someone please tell me where to look for the serial number so I can find it on my next visit there ? I'll be sure to take a small wire brush with me.

It's a four cylinder gas engine.
..
 
The tag is usually on the dash, you should be able to see it when you sit in the seat. Sometimes the tag gets removed from the dash (and don't get put back on) if the tractor is repainted
 
(quoted from post at 16:49:50 07/28/16) The tag is usually on the dash, you should be able to see it when you sit in the seat. Sometimes the tag gets removed from the dash (and don't get put back on) if the tractor is repainted

I just called the guy and he said there is no tag on the dash. Is there another way to ID it like an engine number or anything else?

It's been like 105 degrees here during the day so I don't want to go over there. It's supposed to cool down on Sunday so I plan to go there then and look it over good and take pictures.
 

I don't know if it was moved or not, but, my tag is on the left side, sitting in the seat, kind of in the area of the starter, battery box, Joe.
 
(quoted from post at 19:30:08 07/28/16)
I don't know if it was moved or not, but, my tag is on the left side, sitting in the seat, kind of in the area of the starter, battery box, Joe.

Thanks, I'll look when I go there on Sunday, but this tractor and the loader have been painted orange so I'm guessing any tag was removed when they did that.
 

Here's a couple pictures of my tags. The tractor tag is just below the battery box, and the engine tag is on the block, farther forward, Joe.





 
(quoted from post at 06:18:06 07/29/16)
Here's a couple pictures of my tags. The tractor tag is just below the battery box, and the engine tag is on the block, farther forward, Joe.

Thank you so much. When I had the guy on the phone, he may have missed the tags because the loader frame was in the way. It has what looks like a Davis loader on it just like my 8N. The frame basically block any view of the top of the engine.

tractor.jpg
 

Just a quick question. I see that with the hi/lo transmission, the MF35 actually has 6 forward speeds and 2 reverse speeds.

Does this transmission have syncromesh between the gears. I mean can you shift gears while moving? In the 8N if you want to drive in third gear you have to start out in third gear.
 
(quoted from post at 20:29:12 07/29/16) It's just like a 8n non-syncro.

Hmmm...why do you suppose they're like that? Why not put syncro transmissions in them?

I've had my 8N for ten years and have never driven it in 4th gear. One must really have to ride the clutch to start out in 4th gear.
 
You don't have to ride it very much, as you let up on the clutch give it more throttle, with practice you can take off pretty smooth, and not slip the clutch all that much if any. Back when these tractors were built I don't think they thought about them getting driven on roads a lot.
 


If I had to take my 1957 Ford 641 out on the road, I'd start off in 2nd and shift to 4th. I'd start off just over an idle, get four or five full rotations of the rear tires, still at a low idle, shift to 4th, then increase throttle. Didn't try to shift fast, get rolling, push clutch in, take out of 2nd, Let Clutch Out Before going into 4th, give it a second, push the clutch back in and shift. I guess it's like double clutching our old 50's dump trucks. But it shifts smooth and never grinds. My neighbor bought the Ford back in the early 70's and I put a clutch in it for him then. He gave me the tractor about 5 years ago and that clutch is still fine, Joe.
 
(quoted from post at 05:38:06 07/30/16)

If I had to take my 1957 Ford 641 out on the road, I'd start off in 2nd and shift to 4th. I'd start off just over an idle, get four or five full rotations of the rear tires, still at a low idle, shift to 4th, then increase throttle. Didn't try to shift fast, get rolling, push clutch in, take out of 2nd, Let Clutch Out Before going into 4th, give it a second, push the clutch back in and shift. I guess it's like double clutching our old 50's dump trucks. But it shifts smooth and never grinds. My neighbor bought the Ford back in the early 70's and I put a clutch in it for him then. He gave me the tractor about 5 years ago and that clutch is still fine, Joe.

I remember back when my Dad had a 1962 Austin Healy Sprite. With a little practice you could actually shift through all gears without using the clutch and without grinding any gears.

Of course it was a lot faster going through four gears using the clutch. :wink:
 
(quoted from post at 22:28:17 07/29/16) You don't have to ride it very much, as you let up on the clutch give it more throttle, with practice you can take off pretty smooth, and not slip the clutch all that much if any. Back when these tractors were built I don't think they thought about them getting driven on roads a lot.

Then why bother with 4th gear? What the heck were you supposed to use it for? As I said I've never used fourth gear in my 8N. I guess I really don't even know if it works. :mrgreen:
 
Ok, one more dumb question. The owner doesn't seem like he knows very much about this tractor so I'd better ask here.

It has the HI / Lo trans. The markings are H S L on it. Not to hard to figure out what the H and L are for but what does the S stand for?

Does it have to be in Hi or Lo to drive it? I get that you get 6 different forward speeds like that so what does the S position do?
 
I'm going to make a quick guess before someone that knows answers. Safe. It has to be in the middle position for the neutral safety switch to work. It won't crank over if in gear, Joe.
 
(quoted from post at 12:20:34 07/30/16) I'm going to make a quick guess before someone that knows answers. Safe. It has to be in the middle position for the neutral safety switch to work. It won't crank over if in gear, Joe.

That's a great guess. I hope you're correct since it makes good sense.
 
One more thing guys. Since there is no battery in this tractor, I'll probably have to buy one. I know it's 12 volt negative ground, but what size battery does it take. Don't they go by (type#) sizes?
 
I think a "Group 24" battery will go in. I take some measurements of the battery box, then go measure some new
batteries, and buy the one that's a little bit smaller than the battery box.
 
(quoted from post at 18:41:27 07/30/16) I think a "Group 24" battery will go in. I take some measurements of the battery box, then go measure some new
batteries, and buy the one that's a little bit smaller than the battery box.

Thanks. If no one had an answer, I planned to measure the battery box and get the biggest one that will fit in there. It's like my 8N though, because of the loader frame the battery has to go in from the opening in the hood. You can't slide it in from the side.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top