My Massey 135 won't start without having the cultch engaged

krduramax

New User
The only way I can start my Massey 135 Diesel tractor is to have the clutch fully pushed down. The hi/low is in neutral and the gears are also in neutral. Once I start the tractor and start letting off on the clutch the motor starts loading up. If I let the clutch out it will kill the motor. Need help in what could be wrong?
 
I do not own a MF 135. I own a MF FE-35 X.

When that happened to my FE 35 X the Transmission was in TWO GEARS or possibly a better choice of terminology "several gears were in-gauged"

Please share with the YT members the time frame up to the point of this mystery?

EG...Was the tractor operating properly?

What type of work was the Tractor performing at the time you shut it down last?

Bob...
 
I bought this tractor about a month ago. The owner said that he was pushing snow with it and the the next day he couldn't get it started. What is the fix if it's stuck in more than one gear?
 
Saw that happen two times years ago when I worked at the MF dealer, once on a 65, and once on a MH 50. Both times there was a shift fork broken, the gear was meshed and stayed there even though the rail would move. On the 50 the owner got mad, revved the engine wide open and popped the clutch. Still killed the engine, and did further damage when the sliding gear shaft twisted so bad it had to be torched out as the gears would not slide anymore. May not be your problem, but worth a look. I remember taking the 65 oil fill cap off, and could see the first-reverse gear would not move with the shift lever, confirming the broken fork as it was no longer hooked to the rail..
 
I have opened the fill port and have shifted the gears and verified that the shift fork is moving the first and reverse gears. I'm not able to see the second and third gears through the fill port. Would the next move be to take off the top of the transmission?
 
Not for just taking the cover off and looking around. Depending on the needed repair might be a different story.
 
Sounds like the transmission is trying to go into two gears at same time. I have taken a screw driver and popped the shifting forks back in alignment many times.
No need to remove top of trany if this is prob.. Remove the oil fill plug and look down into the trans at the shifting forks. If one is not in line with the others and the shifter is in neutral. (The speed shifter not the hi low. Then pry the shifting fork which ever way the other fork is to get is aligned up.

It is common, so don't sweat the small stuff.
Jim
 
It could be possible the shift fork for the high, and low range to be broken after it was put in high, or low range. The high low shifter will feel like it works because you feel the shift rail go into the detents for H-S-R.
 
(quoted from post at 13:19:37 03/15/17) It could be possible the shift fork for the high, and low range to be broken after it was put in high, or low range. The high low shifter will feel like it works because you feel the shift rail go into the detents for H-S-L.


H-S-L
 
I know it's not the shift fork for the high/low gears because i
have taken off the hydraulic cover and see that the high/ low is
working as it should. After taking off the hydraulic cover I did
find one thing that concerned me. Someone had welded the
splined end of the Planetary Pinion carrier assembly. Also
when they welded the the splined end to the carrier they didn't
get it straight. I'm having that fixed now but I don't think that is
my problem.
 
I have opened the fill port and shifted the gears and they seem to be working. When I look into the fill port the only shifting fork that I see is for 1st and reverse. Maybe I'm hung up in 3rd and 4th but just can't see it. Or not knowing what to be looking for.
 
When you shift the r-1 and 2-3 shifter, you can see the r-1 fork moving. Notice the "feel" as they go from one gear thru neutral into the other gear. Many times it will not go straight into one gear or the other until the trans or engine moves to allow line-up of splines/couplers.
Any way when you shift the 2-3 shifter, does it have the same "feel"? If not,you may have a broken shift fork.

When these go into two gears at same time it is just an issue of end of shift knob shaft not being fully in one fork or the other. Some times the end of the shift shaft will not go back into the forks without re-aligning the forks "with screwdriver etc." There is no necessary abuse that causes it. I have seen it happen with the tractor not moving and someone just tried to put in neu. to start without making sure to go through the "H" pattern fully.

Good Luck,
Jim
 
Jim,
So what do you suggest I do next? Should I remove the top of the transmission? Is my shift shaft worn out and that's why it may be stuck in two gears? What is going through the H pattern? Thanks for your advise.
 
Remove top of transmission as per picture:
a154505.jpg
 
the H pattern is the normal shifting pattern when looking down on the r-1-2-3 shifter. In order to go from one gear to the other you go thru the "H" to get the end of the shift shaft to slide from one fork to the other, then you push or pull the shifter to make the legs of the "H" to go into what gear you want..

The picture above the shiny two rods on the left are the shift rails for r,1,and 2,3. Notice the picture the two square notches are the tops of the two shifting forks. Also notice the square notches are not aligned with each other. This is the possible problem with yours and the end of the shift shaft (the piece that you put your hand on to change gears) on the bottom has came out of one of the forks and you can't get it to go back in unless you know what you are trying to accomplish. The picture above is an excellent resource to understand. as far as worn out,,,, not anymore than any of them. Like I said before,, that happens a lot. My dad sold fergusons for over 50 years and there was always one or two a month that it would happen to. And that was in the 60's and 70's. So the machines were not too old compared to today. I would only remove the top cover with steering etc. as a last resort. Using the picture above you should be able to comprehend what you need to do. You may have to do some heating and bending of a long screwdriver, all thread etc. to get to the outside fork. If the shift shaft is engaging one of the forks then all you need to do is get your pry "bar" to either move the other fork one way or other. Like I said if it does already move the other fork, that fork may be broken off down where it fits in the gear coupler??? Remember!!!THIS IS IMPORTANT,,Don't have the transmission in a bind by that I mean the wheels with load on them. For instance tie the clutch down to disengage and remove any binding as possible.

Good Luck
Jim
 
Thanks Jim for the information. To give you an update on my progress. Last night I removed the top of the transmission to see if there was anything wrong with the transmission. I found out the it's a eight speed transmission without multi-power in stead of a six speed transmission. Looks like someone just put a six speed shifting diagram on the tractor. After looking over each gear I have found five gears with a missingcracked tooth.So something has gone through this transmission and caused some damage. I have learned a life lesson and that is not to buy a tractor unless it's in running order. I'm starting to wonder if it's still worth fixing. I got a good deal on the tractor but every problem I find is starting to make it not such a good deal after all. The question is now do I continue and split the tractor and repair the transmission with new parts or salvage parts???? How far does one go before it's not worth the money to put into these little Massey 135 diesel's?? I guess I will decide over the next few days. Any advise on these old Massey 135 diesel tractors?
 

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