MF 85 Hydraulic cover/ram cylinder removal...need help!

Tophers_Farm

New User
I have a nice MF 85 1959 Diesel that needs the hydraulics/trans/power steering thoroughly cleaned.

I've done some research and spoken with a mechanic with experience in old massey's, but I could still use some pointers and any advice will help.

The short of it (the long version will follow):

I need to remove the hydraulic cover/ram cylinder (the big plate under the seat)
So far all I've found for visuals on the process is some videos for MF165:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayh-JK96YJY

And they all mention a barrel that needs to be removed from the side access before the cover comes over, but that's it.

My question is there anything else that needs to be disconnected?

The major difference in 65/165 is that there are 2 sections to the plate... do I take the whole thing off or do I leave the auxiliary plate (there is an auxiliary connection?

After manually cleaning what I can get access to can I run diesel through the system without putting the cover back on?

The long of it:

The 3 point hitch was sluggish and I noticed the trans oil was milky so I emptied the system and ran diesel through it. After replacing trans fluid I worked for about 10 hours with it before the 3 point hitch got stuck in the upright position.

I tried all the tricks I could with rollers and control valve that I found in the forums and nothing worked and now the trans fluid was white with a new sludgy white residue left over after draining it.

While familiarizing myself with the power steering system I found a custom plug on the access plate on the power steering cylinders at the front of the tractor (in front of the rad just above the front axle).

I removed the plug and out came a quart of prestine water! I removed the plate and found a gooey mix of grease and diesel!

I'm assuming that the previous owner filled the power steering cylinder housing with grease instead of replacing a seal and when I ran diesel through it it dissolved the grease and recirculated it through the whole system causing the blockage. Yikes!

So that's where I'm at...any advice would be appreciated!
 
Here's some pics of the Auxiliary plate:

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Why do you want to remove the cylinder? That's the least of your trouble, and the LAST thing I'd even think about tearing apart. Best way to clean the whole system is a trans-diff case split, and rear PTO cover removal. Look closely at the lower steering spindle in front too, when water settles there and freezes it WILL push out the lower oil seal. I've replaced two of those seals in the last four years, not a fun job. That plug in the front plate is not custom, I've seen several like that at the dealer I worked for, and on tractors I parted out in the past.
 
Am going through this right now myself. You have a PS return filter on the drivers side of the tractor near the fender /grill
panel.

Remove that and clear it. I filled mine with diesel and screwed it back in.

Underneath that plate you showed, is a screw in hydraulic filter that powers the aux hydraulic pump. Remove it and clean it out.

On the passenger side of the tractor, in front of brake pedal there is an access cover ( it has a weird "key" kind of shape on the
exterior of it), appx 6 bolts. Unbolt that and the power steering pump comes out. REmove (2 allen key screws) Check/clean the ps
pump screen, also powers the PTO.

Everything on mine was super filthy/slimy. Very slow 3 point and after the above I got it working, but am still working through
getting the PS and pto working correctly myself. I suspect the diesel flushed out a bunch of stuff and that is what you see as the
white slime.

Also, with the diesel I would probably try to filter it as you drain it and then run it through again. Then leave the drain plugs
out for a couple days to make sure it is 100% out before you put new hydraulic fluid in.

Good luck.
 
At this point it's about access. The trans area has very good access via the PS pump and opposite side access plate and I can clean that out with out splitting it.

The problem is access to the hydraulics area and on most models in that era it is relatively easy to remove the hydraulic cover to get better access.

In the case of the 85-super 90's the plate is quite different from the rest in the series and also a lot heavier. I am trying to get advice on the difference from other models for removing it and the shop manual can be somewhat cryptic.

I do not think that the PS plate plug is standard (it's not in the shop manual) however based on your logic of the freezing water it may have been standard dealer practice to install one back in the day. It's good to know that the freezing aspect is the probable reason as I live in a place where freezing is a problem.

I'm from USA north or "Canada" as some people call it.

Are you able to tell me what seals you replaced...that would give me more insight as to why they filled the PS unit with grease.

Also I'm going to try and remove the PTO cover as I did not realise that was an access point...I'll check it out and post pictures. Thanks for the advice!
 
I drove an 85 Diesel a few years on tractor rides, first year I had the PS pump off 5 time cleaning the floating crap off the screen to keep the PS working. If the system has lots of crud in the bottom, it really needs the top cover removed, trans-diff joint split, and hydraulic pump removed along with the rear PTO cover plate for complete access to all the floor areas for cleaning. Far as the plate plug, I've never seen one without it. Just went for a walk in my "parts" yard, one 85D and two 85 gas tractors all have the plate plug, even the 85 gas SN 41 I have does too. The PS top gearbox is supposed to have gear grease in it, most have a leaking spindle seal in the vertical casting. The very bottom gear box spindle shaft seal is the one that will push out when water freezes there. You will find the 85 to be the oddball far as MF parts support goes, dealer I worked for years ago only had two in our area, 35, 50, and 65s were much more common.
 

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