|
DavidP, South Wales
05-06-2008 00:52:44
|
|
Re: MF 135 Waht do I need to know in reply to jeri, 05-05-2008 21:14:15
|
|
|
Hi Jeri, crash course in tractor buying coming up;
1/ Walk slowly around it several times and look closely at the general condition, breakages, dents, tarted up paintwork. This can tell you a lot about its past.
2/Look at tyre condition, cuts, cracks, tread.
3/Look for any signs of oil around the brake drums inside the rear wheels.
4/Check the hours, may not be original clock.
5/Check the condition of the 3-pt. A lot of wear in the lift arm balls suggests a lot of work. If it has a swinging drawbar, check for elongation of the pin hole. Check for general sloppiness and wear.
6/If it is a swept axle type, look at the axle pivot pin and bushing. One bush should be fitted with minimal wear present. If it is a straight axle type, move one wheel back and forth to check for wear in the bushes/pin. Check for a significant gap at the top of the kingpin. Anything more than about 3/16" suggests wear in the thrust bearings. May have had a loader fitted at some time. ROck steering wheel back and forth and check for wear in ball joints and loss of movement anywhere. Minor movement will be required to activate PAS.
7/Start engine, should start almost immediately from cold. Heat will not be required. Be wary if the engine is running when you arrive "to warm it up". Warm the engine up and remove the engine dipstick. A little blowback is OK but if it starts blowing drops of oil out the crankcase pressure is excessive. Listen for it running evenly on 3 cyls. Open throttle fully and check for excess black or white smoke at startup. Carefully remove the radiator cap and check for any air bubbles coming up in the rad.
8/Check instruments, charge, tractormeter etc.
9/ Sitting in seat. Check stability of seat. Move hydraulic levers to 'Constant Pumping' and 'Draft' lever up.You should hear the relief valve blowing and the idle engine speed dip a little. A slight 'rattling' noise is an MF phenomenon. Not normally a problem unless it is excessive. Lower the 3-pt with the 'Position' lever and either attcah an implement of have an assistant push down on them and select different heights and ensure they stop at the selected height.
10/Assume it is not a Multi-Power tractor. Press the clutch pedal. It should be a dual stage unit. You will feel a resistance about halfway down. Press the pedal to this point and make sure you can engage gear smoothly. It is normal to have to wait several seconds before engagement occurs. Do not force it into gear. Check for sloppiness in the main gearlever pivot. Wear here can lead to it becoming stuck in gear.
Push the pedal to the floor. Engage the PTO. Move the lever at your left side rearwards. It should engage smoothly. Release the pedal, shaft should turn. Press the pedal again to the second stage. Observe the shaft. it should stop turning with the pedal about one inch from full 'down'. If not adjustment will be needed.
11/ Drive the tractor around, check for smooth steering from lock to lock, degree of PAS, efficiency of brakes and balance, operation of handbrake pawl.
12/Listen for any rumbles,groans, strange noises.
That should get you going to start. Any further questions please come back.
|
|
|
