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MF Multipower vs IH's TA - Different Question

B

Bill VA

Well-known Member
Over and over I read about the woes of a MF tractor having multipower transmission troubles and IH tractors with bad or going bad TA's. It seems to me the repair/replacement of either is a pretty invasive/costly fix - requiring a tractor split.

From what I can glean - reading, it seems that TA's get fixed/replaced all the time, few are rushing to delete the TA or send the tractor down the road.

On the other hand, I read about MF owners saying they'd never buy a tractor with multipower again.

What's the deal? Is MF's multipower just that much harder and/or more expensive to fix than a TA on an IH?

Anyone rebuild and/or replace a multipower unit in a MF tractor (particularily interested in models 1110, 1130, 1105 and 1135) and what kind of effort, cost, etc was involved? Anyone recently rebuild/replace a multipower within the last couple years? Parts still available? Aftermarket parts?

It seems to me if you got a decent IH with a bad TA you might replace it - same with an MF with multipower.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
Bill
 
I think your last line speaks volumes. If you got a decent IH with a bad TA you might replace it.
First problem would be finding a decent MF..
There isn?t a lot of love for the MF tractors, maybe in the UK, but not so much in North America. The newest IH tractor is 32 years old now, and they will still bring better price on auction than a 20 year old MF
 
Growing up in WV, we had a MF 135 with multi-power, and when we were brush-hogging or making hay, we used the MP constantly. On a given day, I might shift the MP in and out a hundred times. Never had any instruction on how to properly shift it, so many times I would be free-wheeling down the hill and shift the MP to act as an engine brake. Always shifted it in or out at full throttle with no clutch applied. It must have been tough because we never had any problem with it at all.
 
I can only speak from my experience. We had an 1100 and 1105 on the farm. Both were bought new by my grandfather, still have the 1105. The 1100 was turboed overfueled rode hard and put up wet. They would put a engine kit in the 1100 yearly. It was the big horse on the farm, and that was just a cost of business. 200ac of potatoes, and 400+ of small grains, full tillage. So far as I know there was never any issue with the multi power.

The 1105 had an easier life, having only been on the farm for a 4-5 years before they cut back the acreage. But still is in use as a loader/utility tractor. I know the 1105 has never had a multi power issue and we never gave it any special treatment.

Our 1105 puts out 135 hp on the Dyno. The 1100 would run circles around it.

I wouldn?t worry that much about the multi power. Now the hydraulics are another story. That can be an issue. Either from the drives, or the charge pump being worn.
 
What can damage any hydraulic clutch is lack of needed oil that keeps the clutch applied, low oil level that allows the clutch to slip will burn and warp discs quickly. The MF 1100 series has better MP life than the smaller 100 MF series BECAUSE the smaller tractors are USUALLY run too low on rear end oil. Saw that a lot at the dealer I worked for years ago. Then misuse was the next cause, some fellows can destroy an anvil with a rubber mallet...
 
Did the MP use a Sprague clutch like the Oliver/White Over/Under did? I've been told that's why the Over/Under holds up better than the TA.
 
Had a Massey 65 with multipower...never had an issue with the multipower,owned that tractor for about 12 years.Have three IH's with t/a...been trouble free so far,but I only put about 150 hours a year on them.If you keep the t/a adjusted correctly and use them properly they will last.I wouldn't buy a IH without one...they are handy as a shirt pocket.

Paul
 
Thanks! I really appreciate your replies and have read a BUNCH of posts regarding these MF tractors over various forms - thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience,

Bill
 
I own MF1135,1105 and 2 old 35s, hours? who knows. Never had a problem with multipower on any of them, the mechanical linkage going from the dash to the bell housing has problems but not the multipower operation
 
The current TA's are much better and reasonably reliable. Much better than the originals from IH.
 
(quoted from post at 17:36:04 02/26/19) Over and over I read about the woes of a MF tractor having multipower transmission troubles and IH tractors with bad or going bad TA's. It seems to me the repair/replacement of either is a pretty invasive/costly fix - requiring a tractor split.

From what I can glean - reading, it seems that TA's get fixed/replaced all the time, few are rushing to delete the TA or send the tractor down the road.

On the other hand, I read about MF owners saying they'd never buy a tractor with multipower again.

What's the deal? Is MF's multipower just that much harder and/or more expensive to fix than a TA on an IH?

Anyone rebuild and/or replace a multipower unit in a MF tractor (particularily interested in models 1110, 1130, 1105 and 1135) and what kind of effort, cost, etc was involved? Anyone recently rebuild/replace a multipower within the last couple years? Parts still available? Aftermarket parts?

It seems to me if you got a decent IH with a bad TA you might replace it - same with an MF with multipower.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
Bill
Click to expand...

As Dieseltech has told you twice, the MP is relatively trouble free in the 11XX tractors. I don't recall of ever hearing about an 11XX with MP problems. It is the smaller models that have issues.
 
The MF MP low range uses a one way jaw-gear clutch instead of a roller clutch that can slip with high hours. I've never seen the jaw type fail, both MF 100 and 1100 series used the jaw low clutch.
 
The 1080 1100 1130 ect had a bad hyd design. They ran the oil thru the hyd pump and then filtered it. Any junk in the system ruined the pump. A shop that I knew of years ago would replace the hyd pumps and add another filter to the system back on the side of the trans to filter the oil before it went to the front pump. Great after that. The multpower issue was mostly the little tractors. Tom
 
I own a 57 350U with the very operational original TA (and clutch) Probably 7000 hours or more. They get broken from not being used, and being used gently. They switch on awitch off with firm fast lever movement and they last. Feathering them in or out and they wear like clutch they have in them. Used all the time and no issues. jim
 
On multipower.high/low,TA whatever you want to call it I've driven quite a few and Allis Chalmers had the best in my opinion especially the D Series.Shift on the go from high to low and back,
held back in both ranges and was built to be run in both ranges,neutral in the middle.I have a D19 that has thousands of hours on it and the Power Director(AC name for it) still works fine.
 
It might just be because of different types of owners. The smaller MF tractors were really popular here, probably only slightly behind Ford. It seems to me, a lot of the folks who own the smaller ones now, maybe just moved up from a really simple tractor, like a 8n. These guys have no need for multi power, so it doesn't get fixed. Then they wish the tractor never had it. I don't know much about the bigger ones, except there aren't as many made as the comparable IH models. The big MF tractors sure are sharp looking, though.
 
He could have told me three or four times, don?t
remember, but thanks for keeping count - some
REALLY valuable info...
 
The 1080 and 1085 hydraulics are open center, 1100 series are all closed center, very similar to JD. The 1100 series uses an inlet screen before the charging pump, and a five micron filter between the charging and radial pumps. First models had a bypass valve in the five micron filter that would open and let unfiltered oil through when tractor was not serviced properly. There's a service bulletin to DISABLE that valve to force that final filter change when needed. Dad's 1100 hydraulics have never been apart in over 7000 hours use. IF the inlet screen is serviced as it should be, I doubt there would be trouble as some claim to have. Several 1100 series still in use were I live.
 
I have a MF 255 (about 1981 and about 900 hours total) MultiPower still works fine. Also have a MF 35 (about 1962 and 3500 hours) and the Multipower is very weak. Which means that when the multipower lever is placed in the "high" position, it will not switch to the higher speed unless the tractor is on level ground with no load or is going downhill. Will soon find out how much it costs to fix as I don't think I can do it myself.

I believe that I am correct in saying that in a Farmall MTA, the TA is actuated by hand with no hydraulics involved, and that MF multipower is "pilot actuated".
 
If the hyd's were good they were very good tractors. I spent a lot of hours on my brother inlaws 1080 and really enjoyed running it. The Perkins was a great engine and the rest of the tractor was nice to operate as well. Neighbor had a 1130 with a narrow front they used on a tmr mixer to feed cows every day for years. Tom
 
You may be correct in that but I have seen dozens of 180,1080,1100 and 1130's sell at sales with hyd problems. When they were worked they were great but they were prone to problems. The extra filter kit took care of the issues. My brother inlaw spent a lot of money on his 1080 but when fixed was a very good tractor. The shop that added the extra filters redid lots of 1100 and 1130's as well. I have ran several 1080-1100's and they are a good tractor. Tom
 
I worked at a MF dealer for awhile just out of school. The single biggest problem we had with MP was when some farmer decided farm store motor oil would be fine in the system. After a new pump,new MP clutch pack and MF approved oil we never saw them again. The only 1130 problem was the early ones only had two keys holding the bull gears in the housing. One customer loaded all six tires,added a Cummins crank shaft to the front weight bracket and pulled a one yard scraper. He broke the keys and would not let us flush the entire hyd system. When we pulled the cover from the sump, we got a 5 gallon bucket full of shavings. They would run it till the steering would quit ,change the front filter and go some more. He finally hauled it to the sale at Sikeston MO(it wound up 30 miles from where it started)
 
Like anything else if you don't take care of it you are going to have problems with it no matter the make of tractor! I wish my 135 had multipower, my brother has a MF150 with multipower, and it has been trouble free since he bought the tractor used in 1975 (it's a 1965 year model 150).
 
The originals were still a pretty good step up from having to shift gears under load, or run a gear lower than most of the field requires for a couple tough patches.
 
(quoted from post at 11:47:55 02/26/19) On multipower.high/low,TA whatever you want to call it I've driven quite a few and Allis Chalmers had the best in my opinion especially the D Series.Shift on the go from high to low and back,
held back in both ranges and was built to be run in both ranges,neutral in the middle.I have a D19 that has thousands of hours on it and the Power Director(AC name for it) still works fine.
Click to expand...

Throw the 170/175 in with that bunch also...best power shift out there, simple and reliable....and braking on the low side is the kicker! I always thought it was stupid we had to shift our Massey into high when going down a hill....of course it was always fun to shift to low about half way down :D
 
I don't have multi power on the Super 90 but my brother's 1085 has it. He bought the tractor used and the multi power has always worked great. It does not get worked hard though. My JD 2140 seems to have almost the same action with it's shift on the go high low range in every gear.
 
I don't know, but back in the seventies i read an article in the WSJ where this company in, i think, North Carolina just got a contract to build power shift trans for Deere. They had been building power shifts for MF, Ford, Moline, Oliver, Int, etc. Now the early IH TAs were all IH built and the early AC power Director was AC built, but I often wonder if all power shifts by the eighties weren't built by the same company to the individual company specks. Definitely different specs as the Moline Ampli-Torque had a different hi-low ratio than say a 706 or 806 . They even built a three speed PS for some companies. I wish I had bought 100 shares of that company
 
(quoted from post at 21:40:03 02/26/19) I don't know, but back in the seventies i read an article in the WSJ where this company in, i think, North Carolina just got a contract to build power shift trans for Deere. They had been building power shifts for MF, Ford, Moline, Oliver, Int, etc. Now the early IH TAs were all IH built and the early AC power Director was AC built, but I often wonder if all power shifts by the eighties weren't built by the same company to the individual company specks. Definitely different specs as the Moline Ampli-Torque had a different hi-low ratio than say a 706 or 806 . They even built a three speed PS for some companies. I wish I had bought 100 shares of that company
Click to expand...

For a reality check you mite want to GOOGLE "FUNK Aircraft" and "John DEERE Powertrain, Coffeyville, Kansas".
 
The original TA does use a sprague. But it is implemented a lot differently from Oliver. I just had one apart.

The replacement I have seen is called a Mechanical Diode. No clue to the name but it clicks like a ratchet when you turn it backward. The original sprague style is still available for a little less.

RT
 
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