Considering buying a MF 135, questions about price

I am considering buying a MF 135 - 3 cyl diesel, with loader, that appears to be in very good condition. It appears to be a 1974 UK model as the Serial No. is 442768M, and has twin power steering cylinders at the front.

I have checked all the things on Big Dean's checklist and everything checks out fine. There are no leaks anywhere, power steering is fine, and the hydraulics seem fine although I do have a question (see below), because I am not familiar with how they should work. The only guage not working is the temperature guage. Is this easily fixed? The hour meter is showing 6662 hrs.

I am a little concerned about the brakes as they do seem to work, but you have to stomp on them hard and it takes a while to bring the tractor to a stop. Is this normal braking for a used 135?

I think the dealer is asking top price for it at $9000 CDN. Is a 135 with loader in very good condition worth that much?

I do have a question about the hydraulics. It seems that you cannot run the hydraulics to the 3pt hitch and the front end loader at the same time. There is a small knob under the seat which when moved back activates the hydraulics to the rear 3pt hitch. When it is moved towards the front position the draft lever has to be at the top position and the Up/Down lever needs to be in the "Constant Pumping" position in order for the front end loader to work. Is this the way it should work?

I currently own a 1950 Harry Ferguson in good running condition and would like opinions on what it would be worth as I am considering trading it in on the MF 135.

Thanks for any and all advice,
Richard

You are looking at a good tractor, but the price seems too high. We bought a 1973 UK 135 about 7 years ago here in B.C. It has the ALLIED loader. Paid $3200 canadian. .The Perkins diesel was running ok with a little knock somewhere. We have a local Massey one man repair shop in town and had him do a complete overhall on the engine and a new clutch. Also serviced the Dynamo and Starter. That came to about $4500.. The tin was good on the tractor, the only thing wrong was the grill where the lights had to be raised up. Put new rubber all around ,( the tires on it were made in England so could have been the originals) so that came to about $9000.. We did a fairly good paint job with authentic Massey Paints. So we know what we have now. A good tractor. We do not use it in the winter but am sure it would fire right up at Zero temperature. Ray S.

The brake job isn't very expensive. My mechanic took the wheels off, replaced the seals which had leaked oil onto the shoes, added new shoes and was finished for a bit over a hundred dollars.

You'll get used to the diverter valve for the loader. No biggie after the first few hours. The pump is slow, but it's precise and predictable, an important safety consideration when using the loader around other workers.

Most tractors with a good loader in the Ottawa area run around 8 to 9K CDN from what I've seen in ads, but there are a lot of them on the market right now for substantially less. If it were a 35 with a Perkins the price would be closer to $5000. for a machine in identical condition to the one you describe, though without the power steering.

If you choose to buy the 135, I for one would vote that you trade in the Fergie. The 135 does everything the Ferguson will do, only much better and more reliably.

I am overwhelmed with the responses and advice on buying the MF 135. Thanks to all of you who have responded, as I may not get time to reply to each one of your responses.

Rod, thanks for your comments. It seems to me that good MF 135 diesels with the Allied loader are getting harder to find. I realize that $9000 is a premium price, but it doesn't seem that far out of line when I look at the prices of some of the used compact tractors with a lot less HP.

I am not sure if it is OK to upload photos to this forum, because I could upload a picture if folks are interested.

Cheers,
Richard

Gerald J.

Hi Folks,

I am in final negotiations for purchasing this MF135 and thought I would try to post a photo of it.

Link

I came across an interesting web site that lists a number of 135s for sale in Canada. When I look at the tractors listed here the price this dealer is asking doesn't look too bad.

Cheers,
Richard

I was more offering a price. Around my area, the northeast a 40 hp diesel ag tractor in good shape with a loader would fetch probably 5 to 7 grand, paint color matters dramatically green is much more expensive.

When the loader is run from the internal pump, it works just as you describe. Earlier tractors didn't have the either/or valve but run the auxiliary hydraulics in parallel with the three point, so the three point controls the auxiliaries but which ever has the least load rises so to use the loader you had to tie the three point down. The valve to select which to use is a great deal more versatile, but not as convenient as running the loader with a crankshaft driven pump and completely independent hydraulics.

As for price, in 1988, I bought a gas MF-135 with MF-236 loader, 2 bottom plow, and three point auger for just under $5000. The diesel will be worth more. 6662 hours is plenty but it should run for years with minimum maintenance unless you use it every day farming hard.

The MF-236 loader was too much loader for the MF-135. Its now on a JD 4020.

Gerald J.

I do think that the brakes will need some work. How difficult is it to replace the linings? Do the wheels have to be removed?

Thanks for the explanation about how the hydraulics work. How difficult would it be to add the crankshaft driven pump to run the loader?

Cheers,
Richard

You don't need to take anything off to adjust the brakes which are activated by twisting a shaft. I'd adjust first. Just tight engough they barely drag. Do that with the side jacked up so you can turn the wheel by hand to test the adjustment.

My MF-236 came with a PTO driven pump for an indpendent system. It used the lower pedestal of the fixed part of the loader frame for the oil reservoir. It had a filter on the oil return line and a double valve on a shelf on the right hand side of the fixed frame. After the PTO pump was stolen one foggy Christmas eve, I replaced it with a front pump. I bought a 5 gpm 1800 rpm pump from Northern and I had a shelf welded up that bolted to the front axle center frame. I notched the lower tinwork to clear the pump. I made a flange that bolted to the front of the crankshaft pulley that already had four bolt holes. That flange has a 3/4" hexagonal center. I made a shaft maybe 5/8" diameter with a 3/4" hex on one end that runs through the hollow front axle pivot pin with a flexiblee spider coupling to the pump shaft. The pump had a flange mount so I made an angle bracket to set it on the shelf and had to shim it slightly to line up with the shaft. A welding/machine shop made the welded pieces and I used my metal lathe to make the shaft pieces. I coupled the pump with 3/4" hydraulic couplings to be sure and on restrict the suction. I set the male and female couplings so that when unhoooked I could connect the hose ends together on the pump and on the loader to keep them clean and to make connecting require no guesses which was which.

With that same loader on my 4020 I have tapped the tractor's hydraulics and converted the valve to closed center. Works fine too since it has a 22 gpm pump running off the front of the crankshaft that is also used for steering, brakes, and differential lock.

If you have to room for a 3020 or 4020 they can sometimes be bought for the price of a 135 and will do a great deal more work and have great hydraulics, but won't be as economical on fuel. So I'm doing all the field work I can this year like planting and first spraying with the 135. I've put narrow tires on the 4020 for the second spraying. I'll probably side dress with the 135.

Gerald J.

A 30 year old ~40hp tractor with a loader in good shape in maine would fetch around 5k probably.

Not sure if that helps. Where in Canada are you?

I am located near Ottawa, Ontario

Richard

Unless you need the Harry Ferguson tractor for trade to lower your costs,I wouldnt trade. There may be many times you can use an extra tractor.

Good luck and be careful. Steveormary