Ignorant newbie with a few MF35 questions

I have just bought a MF35 with a 4 cyl diesel engine. I am picking it up on Thursday and have a few questions to the seasoned MF guys out there.

I will have to drive the machine out of the farm a distance of about 10 kilometres to a truck waiting for the machine to be loaded. The engine oil is showing very low on the dipstick and I don't want to run it for that long. The dipstick doesn't fit very well and my experience of cars (which is quite substantial) tells me that dipsticks can be swaped by PO's. So is there a way (other than draining and refilling) of telling how much oil is needed? Failing that what is the engine oil sump capacity for these engines?

How much HP does the 4 cyl diesel put out?

What is a draw bar and how does it work (I told you I was ignorant)?

Are the brakes easy to adjust, rear drums I think?

I paid AU$3,500 for it and seems like a reasonable machine, a bit beaten up in the body and has an hydraulic front end loader which I think might be a Massey Ferguson unit, is this possible?

Any other advice on my new machine would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards
Michael Oakes
Australia

Sounds like you are buying a Ferguson FE 35 if it's a 4 cylinder
These were built in England and exported to Canada and Australia.
I have copied my operating manual so if you would like a copy just email me and I will send it as an attachment it contains all the info you require.

BOB UK
England

Thanks for the all the information, I'm going to need as much help as I can get.

Sibby; I am near Canberra. Where are you? The hurry to load this machine...I bought it from a farmer at Bredbo and he wanted it off his block. The machine is now on my block. I managed to drive it out to a decent road that a tow truck could use, about 10 k's. I checked the oil on level ground and it was on the bottom line so took a calculated risk that it was sufficient. The dipstick just doesn't look right. I don't know anyone with a machine like this. I am reasonably mechanically inclined but my field of expertise is cars. I'll figure it out if I can get an operators and a service manual.

My guess on the brakes (without pulling the water filled wheels off) is the left one has fallen apart in the drum, there is a clunking sound when I hit the left pedal, retaining srpings?? The right one needs adjustment before I can guess, the pedal hits the "floor" before any shoe contact is made. The hydraulics (3PL, draft and FEL) work fine, the engine leaks oil, the transmission is weeping fluid and one of the hyraulic rams on the loader leaks a bit. I suspect the loader is home made. The beast is addicted to Aerostart, an issue I will have to rectify. I can't see a glow plug in the manifold (is this possible?), it's a 4 cyl diesel (I'll get the engine ID numbers tomorrow) with the manifolds and starter on the RHS and the injector pump and filters on the LHS. A standard diesel??

The ID number on the plate is SDM ??1165, the first 2 numbers are badly scratched. The rear guards and bonnet assy are red, the engine, trans and diff are grey. Bob from UK suggested an FE35 which I suspect is true. Should this model have a 2 stage clutch?

I figured $3,500 was a good buy for a running machime with FEL, what do you think?

Kind Regards
Michael Oakes

Thanks for the brakes info. I reckon I'll have to pull the wheels off, I have just come back from my block and adjusted the brakes and still nothing, or very little. I also did a wheel alignment, cleaned out the air filter (which had a piece of foam stuffed in it), lubed up the pins and gave it an Italian tune up. Maybe the brake shoes have oil on them. The loader ram has a little rust on the surface which may have caused the leak. I didn't check the wheel size, I suspect they are quite narrow. I tried out the FEL this morning and with a full load of gravel it was still steerable but you need to be moving a bit.

How does a kygas heater setup work?

Kind Regards
Michael Oakes

There is a little white smoke on start up, something is not quite right. I also get white smoke when the engine is deccelerating or coasting and a bit of black smoke at WOT. It is also a little rough at idle. Still plenty of grunt though. In a petrol engine I would say that's most likely valve stem seals and running rich (ignition issue). My experience with diesel engines is minimal. There is also a sound at lower revs which sounds like preignition but I can't be sure. Can these injector pumps be timed wrong?

Kind Regards
Michael Oakes

The preignition sound continues when it's warm but only at low revs.

What sort of manual would you suggest?

Michael Oakes

The best workshop manual is the genuine MF manual. I got mine through 'Friends of Ferguson' in the UK as it is difficult to get through Australian MF dealers

The 4 cylinder 35 diesel has the reputation of being hard to start. Rebuilding cures the problem. Parts are readily available from Bareco, and many of the parts sold by MF dealers are actually Bareco.

I have 35 with 3 cylinder Perkins. We do a lot of work with it. It is economical and totally reliable.