newbie fordson

jordanesch

New User
Hi guys so im new to tractors and I got a good deal on a 1961 Fordson super major, it does have a problem where it will not stay in reverse it will only will move a few inches then pop back out, any advice on that would be great, also any instructions on how to use the pto and hydraulics would be awesome, basically any and all info would be welcome. I have never had a tractor before and am starting a small cattle farm forgive my ignorance. Thanks![/b]
 
Hi and welcome to the board. The 1961 Super Major is a good solid, nearly
bomb proof tractor with a fair bit of power for its size. They came with
transmission PTO and "Live PTO" and you would need to identify which one
you have because of your gearbox problem. If the Hi/Lo lever is in Hi when
it is moved up you have a "Live PTO", if it is in Hi when the lever is
down then you have a transmission PTO. Transmission PTO means the main
clutch controls transmission and PTO, "Live PTO" means there is a separate
clutch for the PTO which comes into play to stop the PTO when the clutch
pedal is pushed a bit further.

Your gearbox problem is not really what you want as a "newbie", not even
sure I would want it as an "oldie" either even though I have done many,
many gearbox repairs over the years. I would suspect a bearing on the top
shaft of the gearbox. this will mean splitting the tractor, draining all
the transmission oils, removing the PTO shaft, dropping the lower PTO
housing and then pulling the primary gearbox out of the clutch housing.
When you drop the oil out of the gearbox, you might find bent metal and
balls in the drain plug.This mighty be a good place to start.

You will need a workshop manual or repair guide to do the job safely.

To diagnose your problem, remove the gear selector plate near the clutch
pedal and look into the gears, you should see the main bearings and, with
a bar, should be able to check for lift in the shafts.

You can also take the pulley/plate off the other side and see if you can
see any problem from that side. If your tractor has a transmission hand
brake and this has been left on as the tractor is driven or has been used
to stop the tractor instead of the foot brakes, it could have damaged the
reverse idler shaft and gear.

Sorry it is not good news but you need to dive in and diagnose the problem
before worrying about the hydraulics.
 
Update: it was far to dark to remove anything to check inside last night but I plan on it today, I did turn it on and play with shifting for a bit and it seems like the shifter is difficult to move into any gear and seems like it isn't fully engaging the reverse, also having trouble with first and third could this be a shift fork issue or maybe something with the gear shift itself? what should I look at when I pop the cover off? Thanks, I will up date when I check inside
 
About 30 years ago a neighbour had problems with
The gear lever on his major so I built up the end of
Gear lever with weld and gently used grinder and
finished off filing to get it right
I would be interested in major man's opinion about
This
 
I would be a bit sceptical about selector fork problems, it is like a tank transmission in there.

We really need to know what transmission you have as the "Live" one has major differences and could help with the diagnosis.

In both transmissions you are actually moving the gears rather than collars or syncro. hubs and they are really heavy to shift.
 
I have also seen the retention bolt for the shifter socket work loose, so that it won't make a complete shift, (then shortly won't shift at
all when the bolt falls out).
 
(quoted from post at 10:31:44 12/13/19) I would be a bit sceptical about selector fork problems, it is like a tank transmission in there.

We really need to know what transmission you have as the "Live" one has major differences and could help with the diagnosis.

In both transmissions you are actually moving the gears rather than collars or syncro. hubs and they are really heavy to shift.

It is a live pto model
 
Take the pulley plate off first. On the "Live" gearbox there is a "C" nut
that holds the pulley drive gear on. Sometimes the lock tab breaks, the nut
comes loose and lets the pulley drive gear come loose and jam things up so
you cannot get fully into gear. You can tighten it up with a hammer and
drift and possibly find an unused tag on the lock washer.
 
(quoted from post at 01:46:33 12/14/19) Take the pulley plate off first. On the "Live" gearbox there is a "C" nut
that holds the pulley drive gear on. Sometimes the lock tab breaks, the nut
comes loose and lets the pulley drive gear come loose and jam things up so
you cannot get fully into gear. You can tighten it up with a hammer and
drift and possibly find an unused tag on the lock washer.

Thats sounds like it may be it, the pulley shaft is always spinning slightly even when not engaged I thought that might be an issue I will update after I check that out, thanks so much guys
 

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