New Member - First Time Tractor Owner - TO-30

zmichael84

New User
Hello everybody! Well, I'm completely new to this world of old tractors; never grew up around them, never worked on them, nothing. But, I loved the idea of owning an old Ford or Ferguson, and I enjoy working on cars and have owned my fair share of automotive projects over the years. So, when I was looking for my next project, my wife suggested an old tractor to fix up. We recently purchased 16 acres in CA, and having a tractor will be necessary for smoothing the gravel driveway, moving firewood and dirt around, brush hogging, and possibly some snow removal.

I found this old 50's Ferguson TO30 locally in town that seemed solid. It runs, drives, operates OK, so I hope to use it a little bit while I work on some of the immediate things, and then eventually overhaul and mild restoration next year.

I got the owner operator manual and started a list of things to fix. But, before I get too far into it, I thought it might be good to get some insights from others.

My concerns and questions:

The FEL is a Massey Ferguson, but I'm unable to read the model number. It looks like it was originally painted yellow, but I've been unable to match it up to anything. It's in need of new hydraulic hoses, the pump is leaking, and I don't like the bend in the red hose. So, I'd like to order replacements, but don't know where to start.

Also, how do I remove the FEL easily, and is it even possible with this model? There are two bolts under the front frame, two pins in the rear, and the coupler for the hydraulic pump, but the frame of the FEL won't clear the front tires for me to be able to back the tractor out of it. Is there something I'm missing, or is this loader not meant to come off very often?

I have a bad oil leak from the bellhousing, and other leaks from different areas. I was going to order a gasket and seal kit for whenever I have to split this thing. Will a kit like that give me everything I need, or is it possible I could have other internal damage (cracks, something broken, etc.)? I know tough to diagnose at this stage, but maybe there's something known for being problematic that I should be planning for.

On the topic of splitting this thing...where can I find proper stands or dolleys? Do I need specialized tools or equipment for this? I have a pretty heavy duty 3 Ton floor jack, and floor stands... will that be enough?

It's obviously been converted to 12V alternator system. The belt alignment looks terrible; the mount look like I should be able to replace it with something better. The belt is also pretty chewed up, but does not look to be easy to replace especially with the front hydraulic pump.

The 3 point lift drops slowly when I push in the clutch? And, this may just be how the 3 point works, but is it either all the way up, or all the way down? I can't seem to position it anywhere in the middle.

Super newbie question, but how does one replace rear tractor tires? My fronts are good, but the rears are dry rotted, cracked, and mismatched sizes. I'm hoping I can find a local mobile tire changer to help me out, but I imagine farmers have been replacing tractor tires for many years without modern equipment. Is this something I can do myself?

How do you add storage to this thing? Are there bolt on tool box options, or other things others have?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to learn and I only have about 30 minutes of seat time on this thing.

Looking forward to learning a lot from you all and to bringing this thing back to life. Any help or suggestions, or things that you see in the photos would be awesome!

-Zach
 
(quoted from post at 18:15:41 10/04/20) Sorry, I'm having a bit of trouble uploading photos... bear with me

New users can't post pictures until they have more than 5 posts on record, or you need to go down to the Site Comments Forum and ask YT Support to allow you to post pictures before meeting the 5 posts. The site is set up that way to minimize spammers.
 
(quoted from post at 15:40:52 10/04/20)
(quoted from post at 18:15:41 10/04/20) Sorry, I'm having a bit of trouble uploading photos... bear with me

New users can't post pictures until they have more than 5 posts on record, or you need to go down to the Site Comments Forum and ask YT Support to allow you to post pictures before meeting the 5 posts. The site is set up that way to minimize spammers.

OH! Thank you!!
 
Welcome to the forum you will find a lot of help here. Two things to get are the service manual and also a parts manual will help a lot.
 
Welcome Zach!

You are making a good decision to keep it running as is for a while.

Check the oil levels, especially the transmission/mid case/differential. They are all one common oil level, which should be at the bottom bolt of the round covers on each side under the seat. The left should have a dip stick. Those are known for collecting water, try cracking the drain plugs loose, see if water comes out. But don't change the oil yet unless it is mostly water, leave it until you decide what you are going to do. Oh, the square cover on the bottom, that is not a cover. It is the bottom of the hydraulic pump. Don't loosen it, there is more to removing it than just taking the bolts out of the bottom!

Same for the engine, be sure it is not over full with oil or has gas in the oil.

The bad leak at the bell housing can be an over full transmission, over full engine oil, or a bad rear main seal. A seriously leaking rear main seal is usually an indication of a well worn engine. Replacing just the seal is usually only a bandaid if it helps at all.

Don't buy any engine parts yet. Wait until you get the engine out and apart and have a game plan. There is a block cracking issue with those, but it is almost always caused from freezing, certainly not something that can be blamed on a bad design. There are some problems with the crank thrust bearing, but won't know until it is apart. The oil pumps are prone to shear the drive screw, be sure to service it while in there. The cylinder liners just sit in the block, so mo boring, you replace the cylinder/piston assemblies.

When (if) you get ready to split it, there are several ways to go about it. Having a good concrete slab is almost a must. I prefer to use cribbing under the transmission, disassemble the front end (as it will need attention anyway), reduce the weight down to the bare engine, and lift it with a cherry picker hoist.

It is necessary that the alternator pulley be aligned as close and straight as possible. A good solid mount is essential. The alternator needs a wide pulley so a wide belt can be run that will match the original crank and water pump pulleys.

The 3 point will drop slowly with the clutch disengaged. If it raises smoothly and quickly, it is doing what it is designed to do. There is no position control, all or nothing.

Tires... Tires are a major investment! I would hold off a while. You can change the rears yourself if you are physically fit and willing to strong arm them off and on. It's easier done with the wheel left on the tractor. But... real good chance the rims will be rusty and need repair or replacing. The fronts can be changed by any tire shop, but again, rust never sleeps.

As for tool boxes, yes there are bolt on boxes, and a box that can be welded inside the rear fender.

About the tractor in general...

As you are already doing, continue to use it best you can. See if you like it. The tractor is a light duty tractor, nothing you can do about that. It is not the best choice for a loader. The front suspension and steering is not strong enough for heavy use with a loader. As you know, there is no power steering, a serious strike against loader use.

And you found out there is no position control on the 3 point. That limits it's use considerably. If you are going to use a mower, there is no 2 stage clutch, so it will need an over running clutch for safety reasons.

At the tractors age, unless it has already had some work done, be ready to find a lot of problems. Every thing that can age fail will need replacing. Just keep in mind, no matter how good a job you do fixing it up, unless you are satisfied with keeping it, you will never get your money back. The resale is just not there.

Don't be discouraged, just be sure before getting in too deep. We all strive to keep them out of the scrap yard, but we want you to have something safe and capable of doing what you want it to do.

Ask all the questions you want, we are here to help! Let us know how it goes!
 
Welcome to the fray.
TO-30. I had one of those for a short time. It went away with a Howard trans.

FEL.
Your local NAPA auto parts store *might* make new hyd hoses. Locate a hyd shop also. Contact your local tractor shop and ask
where you can get them made at. Take a pic of your hose, take it off and make a trip to the hose shop. The loader is suppose to
be a component generally not made for easy removal. Some are, a few are not. You probably need a gantry crane set up of some
sort. 4X4 lumber frame comes to mind fast enough.

Oil leak from the bell housing. Engine oil or trans oil? That weep hole in the bottom should have a cotter pin in it, designed
to rotate and keep the weep hole free of debris. A slight oil leak is fine. A major leak not so good.

Splitting.
I did mine on (2) end to end 4X8 sheets of plywood on gravel. Front end balanced on a bottle jack and wedges placed at the
front axle to keep the front end from tilting on the front axle. Rear of tractor on a rolling floor jack and, I believe,
3/8 X 16 studs with the heads cut off to act as a guide pin for reassembly.
ALSO, make sure the PTO is engaged upon reassembly. You might need a large wrench on it to turn the trans input shaft to get it
into the clutch disc.

Position control on the hyd.
Unless you install a "position Control" mod, your stuck with what you have. Research that one or start another post with
"Position control fergy TO-30" and you might get a response with a more direct answer.
It should not drop just pushing in the clutch. Dirty fluid?

My local tire shop is about $25 for a tire change. OI have a duck bill hammer to do my own. It cost me about $100 for it.
For $25 someone else has fun with it. Check Ebay for a new Tire/Rim combo.

Storage. Bolt tool boxes onto the fenders is one option. What do you need storage for?
Redrock Mfg might have some ideas.
 
Moving firewood. Look into a drawbar bracket and always pull from the lowest point on the tractor. Your machine does not have an automatic
off switch. It has a decent amount of "Grunt Power" and can go nose up in an instant. I have put her TO-20 in the air once or twice. I
usually keep my foot real close to the clutch pedal especially when doing something not quite right.
If you have a fair amount of logs to pull, look into a "Logging Arch". Your car has more smarts than your tractor does. Your car has a
spring loaded accelerator. That tractor doesn't. No additional riders on the machine, stay away from the PTO when running. That machine has
a center of gravity that is about 2 foot higher than your car and on a slope is not fun to contend with.
Are your tires filled? That can become an education within itself. Rusty rims around the valve stem is a good indicator. Jiggle
your tractor sideways. Hard enough and you can hear the fluid sloshing. Tire and rim without fluid is about 110 pounds. With the commonly
used Calcium Chloride fluid is another 350 pounds plus, easy enough. Those tires just got to 450 pounds. Wanna pick up one of those?
I have. Twice and never again. You can drain those standing up easily enough with an air compressor, a 50 gallon plastic drum and a rubber
hose that fits over the valve stem. Filling back up is another problem at a later time.
Calcium Chloride is about 12.50 pounds per gallon. Water is 8.35 pounds per gallon. Beet juice is another option currently used. No
corrosion but some tire manufactures do not recommend it for their tires. Anti-freeze, Washer fluid are two other options.
When are you buying your next tractor? 4 in the current running category, then a few that aren't running and a few others that never will
again.
Feeling overwhelmed yet?
 
Congratulations on the new tractor. I have a TO30 and enjoy it.

I can't help you with the loader questions, as I don't have one on mine.

I can say the 3pt will drop slowly when the clutch is depressed. How slow is "slowly" will depend on various factors--any leaks in the system, wear, weight of implement, etc. But I think it is fair to say that with this design they will nearly always "slowly" drop once the clutch is depressed or the engine turned off.

If you want/need position control on your three point search the archives or ask back here. There are pretty simple add-ons to give you nice position control. Just stock the 3-pt is more or less either up or down. (It has draft control, which is great for plowing.) I added position control function to mine with parts just laying around the shop.

I think you'll like the tractor.
 
Thank you everybody for the helpful responses!! Bruce(OR), excellent pointers and guidance, thank you so much! I am actually still keeping my eye out for other old
Ferguson's... LOL... lot's of learning to be done.

I haven't had much time to get into since parking it in the garage, but in the next week or two should be able to spend some time with her. I'll report back with new
info and questions. :)

Thanks again!

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I am also a first time tractor owner, but my first time purchase of a Massey Ferguson 35 is lacking its original 4 cyl gas engine!

I have 2 thoughts on this issue. The first thought is I wonder if one of the places that rebuild these engines has one sitting around (maybe that customer did not pick up)?

2nd thought is I wonder if anyone has modified one of these old tractors to accept an alternate power plant (to include the possibility of electric (like from a electric forklift). I understand that the engine block is integral to the structural integrity, but I currently don’t have this component.

Thanks for any help or suggestions!
 

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