135 - MF/Davis Loader - Beyond Disaster

I recently bought a MF 135 and separately bought a MF/Davis 102 loader. It has a MF tag on it. Borrowed a hoist and a chain fall and all looked good. Loader lifted up very easily and it looked like I could just drive under and drop it in place. Boy was I wrong.

After removing all kinds of stuff (many hose fitting, foot rests, fenders, loader arm cylinders, loader front mounting plate and more) and scratching a lot of nice paint I tried to pull it under for probably the third time and the frame of the loader is not wide enough and the alternator is in the way. My tractor hood is 22 inches wide and the loader frame is 21 1/2" wide. In addition, the alternator sticks past the side of the hood/bonnet which is already too wide for the loader frame.

What am I missing here? This loader came off a MF 35 and everything bolts up exactly the same. Hood/bonnet too wide and alternator in the way!!!!!!

I'm losing my mind.

Main question if you don't want to read through - can the alternator on my MF 135 be mounted lower?

Let me ask another question that may be a little more straight forward than OP. Is anyone here familiar with how a MF/Davis 100 Series loader goes on a MF 135?

My research this morning has brought up 2 things. I was mainly looking at pictures of the MF 2135 for comparison.

1. Tractors this loader are mounted to have an alternator/generator that is mounted much lower than my 135, keeping it below the loader frame. Is it possible to remount the alternator lower?

2. The front bumper assembly for the loader may have less width than what I need, so I think if I can figure out a way to shim this out it will work. Alternator would still be in way though unless I can move it.

Nothing new. Go to a dealer, tell them to mount a brand new loader on a brand new tractor, they will tell you to come back next week. Never as easier as it is suppose to be.
In my book, the tin on a 100 series tend to bow out over time, but if you bend it all back, rain will get into even more engine parts. Some people seen as hillbillies- take the tin off a loader tractor- or you may never get to certain pieces again. One of them things...
Any changes or 'customizing' a previous owner did- will haunt you even more. As for the alternator- you gotta do what ya gotta do... be patient, take your time- good luck!!

Is it possible there was different mounting hardware to put that loader on a 135?

No MF/Davis 102 loader in the MF parts book, there is a MF 100 loader which is very similar to the MF/Davis 99 loader. But looking at the 100 loader in the parts book the only thing different between the mounting on a 35 vs a 135 is the front support bracket that bolts to the front axle support. Any pictures of the problem areas? and the alternator can be moved down, and inwards some if you don't have a Perkins 3.152 engine with a power steering pump.

The 102 loader is a series 100 loader with 2 bucket cylinders. The 101 would have 1 cylinder.

The mounting points for the 135 are exactly the same as the 35, which is what it came off.

My conclusion is either the 35 hood is not as wide as the 135 or it was extremely tight on the previous owners 35. The front bumper/grille of the loader that has the pump mounted to it could be wider. I am going to loosen the bumper bolts slightly and shim with some washers so I can widen the loader frame about an inch, that way it should fit down over the hood. It will be tight but it should work.

My 135 does have the power steering pump. I am going to try and rig up a bracket to bring the alternator out 2 inches and down 3 inches. Obviously I would then need to get a longer belt to fit. This should sit the alternator about half an inch off each the ps pump and the tie rod while keeping it below the loader frame. The belt is going to have to be exact though since I am somewhat tight, which could be a problem. I really don't know what else to do here. Now that I've had a couple days to think and look on it, this is my main problem at this point.

A 135 hood is atleast 4/maybe 6 inches wider than a 35's, and opening either one in a loader frame is awkward if not impossible- that's why some people take off all the tin work.
But the mounting bolt holes should be the same... 202's, 50's and 150's would be different animals... bolt holes on the sides under the rad...

(quoted from post at 13:05:59 10/10/16)
My 135 does have the power steering pump. I am going to try and rig up a bracket to bring the alternator out 2 inches and down 3 inches. Obviously I would then need to get a longer belt to fit. This should sit the alternator about half an inch off each the ps pump and the tie rod while keeping it below the loader frame. The belt is going to have to be exact though since I am somewhat tight, which could be a problem. I really don't know what else to do here. Now that I've had a couple days to think and look on it, this is my main problem at this point.

Click to expand...

My brother did pretty much what you are going to try, but his 135 doesn't have a fel, or a power steering pump. My brother just wanted to tuck the alternator down, and in so it wouldn't stick out so far (he just didn't like the look of the alternator hanging so far out). He modified the original upper bracket, I thought I had picture of what he did (I would have posted it up).

Not a close up but here's how it came out.

I have a 102 loader on my MF203. I also own a 1967 MF135. The two machines are virtually identical, both have the perkins diesel. Last year I removed the loader from the 203 so I could rebuild the engine. Using a chain fall above the loader I was able to remove it with no problems. Nothing was in the way. When I installed it same thing, nothing was in the way, not even alternator or power steering pump. I think I have some pictures on my home computer if you want me to send them to you. Send me your email if you want.

Ever since I joined here it tells me Private Messaging is disabled when I try to do it. Anybody know why it does this?

I really think the front grill and front mounting support is not wide enough. It bolts right to the tractor but where the front of the loader frame comes down and bolts to the front grill/support mount it is not wide enough. The grill is not one you see in the Series 100 Loader parts book.

Can you tell me what the measurement is between the bolt mounting holes where the loader frame attaches to the front grill/support mount at the very bottom?

Pictures may not be needed if you can give me that measurement but you can post them if you don't mind.

Yes, I can get you measurements but not until tonight when I get home from work. If you give me an email address I can also take
a few pics and send them to you. I am almost positive I have a manual for the 102 loader at home. Not sure what it tell you
though, haven't looked at in quite a long time.

email is [email protected]

The 102 loader mounts to my 1961 MF203 at the top/side of the front grill. It is a big heavy piece of cast iron that makes up the nose of the 203. MF135 and it measures roughly 21 inches in the same location. I am not even sure how you would mount the 102 to a 135 because the front end is essentially a radiator and some tin work, there is nothing that the loader could possibly bolt onto. I was going to take a few pics but of course the battery in my phone died literally as I was about to take the first pic. I can still get you pics but it will have to be tomorrow.

The first picture (no tin on) is the front mount that I took off the loader frame and attached to the front support on the tractor. This is where I think the loader mounting bolt holes you see may not be wide enough for my tractor.

The second picture is the loader. You can see the round part at the very bottom of the front of the loader frame where it attached to the mount in the first picture. I can shim the loader frame out from the bumper with bushings/spacers to get width but then the loader frame won't line up with the holes in the first picture.

The mounting is a bit different on mine.

The last picture you can see what I had to do to the alternator to get it out of the way. Made things tight but it doesn't touch the ps pump and the tie rod raises over the alternator without touching if I put the tire on a dirt mound.