Massey Ferguson 1959 oil / filter and knocking

This message is a reply to an archived post by 504 on March 07, 2021 at 20:39:25.
The original subject was Re: Massey Ferguson 1959 oil filter.

I have a question in regard to the sludge, gunk. I also have a TO35 gas 4 cyl tractor that's recently started to knock after running a bit. A friend suggested using Seafoam plus changing the oil and filter. I inherited the tractor so don't know its history, but the oil is definitely in need of a change. He suggested I use a synthetic 40 weight oil, but to first drain the oil, replace the drain bolt, put in a couple quarts of gas, then after letting it sit for a couple of days drain out the gas. He claims this will clear out most of the gunk. Anyone try this before? Bottom line is I don't want to rebuild the engine if at all possible and in the process eliminate the knocking.

i would suggest you get a qualified opinion on this knocking. additives no not work on worn parts nor fix excess clearances. so get this knock noise diagnosed then i can give my opinion.

The gasoline in the pan is not going to do the needed cleaning (if it does need cleaning)My thoughts:
Drain the oil and let it drip out for a day. pit your finger in the hole and feel as far as you can. If there is dramatic sludge, you will feel it as stiff pudding. If you can just feel the pan metal but come back with a touch of black sludge, that is pretty normal. 40 Wt oil is OK if the tractor is never used when temps are below 35 degrees F. 15-40 diesel grade oil (synthetic or conventional) is much better. Were it mine I would change the oil and filter as above, then run it to see if the noise changes. If it is better, I would operate it for 20 hours or so total run time and change it again using the synthetic diesel 15-40. Jim

I had a mechanic come out who listened to it. His thought was a rod causing it. Again, rebuilding the motor, something I'm not comfortable with both because of my lack of skill and its expense, is a path I'd prefer to not take if I can go another way. I use the tractor to run a brush hog to mow our pasture, approximately 20 acres.

Thank you! I don't use it during the winter months so its not run at low outdoor temps. I use it for mowing pastures from spring to fall.

You didn't say what the oil pressure is when running. It shouldn't be that bad a job to drop the pan and clean it out. Get some Plastiguage and pull the rod and main caps and check them. You might get lucky and get by just changing the bearings, wouldn't be that expensive. I'd change the oil and short it one quart and add a bottle of Lucas Oil Treatment.

if the mechanic is correct and its a rod knock you are totally out of luck and options. do not even run that engine anymore. either get another engine or tractor. that tractor is not worth putting thousands of dollars into an engine rebuild. the knock will get louder and louder then punch a hole through the block possibly. but anyhow all you are doing is totally self destructing the engine.

and also if you are hearing the knock its too far gone to be thinking new brgs. will fix it. you have .0015 clearance when new, and too hear a knock you are way over max spec say .004 and the bearings are already damaging the crank as that is your knocking noise and crank is damaged. pull the pan and just wiggling the brgs yo will see for yourself the culprit, plus it will be blue or discolored from getting hot due to no oil pressure.

I agree with not running the tractor anymore until you address the knock.


The easy way may work. Drop the pan and see if you can figure out which rod is knocking. Pull the cap, polish the journal a bit and install a new bearing. If the journal isn't jacked you can get away with it being that simple on a lightly used low RMP engine. If you have to polish it a lot to smooth it out mic it after polishing and see if its still standard, .010, ,020, or .030 under. Cheap rod bearings (no point in going expensive if you've gone this route) can be had for as little as $19 on Ebay.



WE did exactly that on an IH 1600 with a 345 engine - replaced the bearing with a standard and torqued it to spec and drove it for a summer then sold it that fall. Held up and never started knocking again and maintained good oil pressure. I was sure it would send a rod through the bottom of the oilpan the first time it was revved up to shift under a load.

I had a Ford knocking, mechanic thought it was wrist pin knock. I knew it needed rebuilt any way so let them do the complete sleves and mearings. When I got ready to put engine back in I found the problem. Front mount distributor and someone had put a 1/8 inch too long a bolt in and the bolt was hitting the timing gear and had wore a grove in that gear. Tractor engine ready to go back in now after being apart since 2004. So also check valve train drive along with distributor drive as it could be knock in there instead of crank.

First off I'd like to thank all of you for your thoughts and comments. It's very much appreciated!

In trying to keep hope a fix is possible without dropping the pan, etc. I changed the oil and filter, put in 15-40 oil, and also added some Seafoam to the oil. Started it up to hear a very slight knock and then shut it down after running for maybe 5 minutes.

The next day I started it and the knock was gone from the engine area and now was from the rear end. The knock would stop when I put the clutch in. I disconnected the brush hog off the pto and now have noise again in the engine area. In checking the oil dip stick I can barely see any oil on the stick. What is there appears to be in the safe area but damn its hard to see. I don't see any signs of oil dripping or pooling below the tractor, which makes me wonder am I blind, is the new oil so clean its hard to register, or has it gone somewhere?

The engine knock started when one of the pins on a 3 point arm fell off while I was running the brush hog. This caused the mower to drop one side down enough for the blade to hit the ground, fall backwards slightly, and stop the engine. My first thought was to go back in reverse to hopefully straighten out the attachment. This didn't work, so I ended up bringing over another tractor with forks to lift and move it enough to allign the brush hog so I could reattach it.

Could the movement of the brush hog when it fell off the 3 point have damaged the shaft or its seals? Is it relevant or just a coincidence?