Help Identify model/year of older MF tractor!

goeduck · Sep 19, 2019

You have a 245. The 245 steering has the big single hydraulic cylinder on the left side and is full hydraulic steering. I think the orchard version might have been different. The left wheel is cross linked to the right wheel up front. The 235 was power assist steering and did not have the left side hydraulic cylinder. The 245 came with (I believe) either the square rear axle or the round one. I have two of the MF245s. One has a 4 speed manual transmission with high and low range. The other has a 3 speed manual with high and low range but also a multi power which is kind of a third set of ranges. Sort of. One has a loader, the other does not. My loader version had a major failure of the factory loader hydraulic pump (bracket did not line up) and was replaced with an after market bracket to get proper alignmnet. I see your front end pump was removed and you are running off of a PTO pump which does not allow you to use the PTO unless you remove the loader. Pictures attached one of my 245s. Both get used every week on different properties, very good machines. The loader is solid now that it was retrofitted.

truthsmiles · Sep 19, 2019

goeduck said:
You have a 245. The 245 steering has the big single hydraulic cylinder on the left side and is full hydraulic steering. I think the orchard version might have been different. The left wheel is cross linked to the right wheel up front. The 235 was power assist steering and did not have the left side hydraulic cylinder. The 245 came with (I believe) either the square rear axle or the round one. I have two of the MF245s. One has a 4 speed manual transmission with high and low range. The other has a 3 speed manual with high and low range but also a multi power which is kind of a third set of ranges. Sort of. One has a loader, the other does not. My loader version had a major failure of the factory loader hydraulic pump (bracket did not line up) and was replaced with an after market bracket to get proper alignmnet. I see your front end pump was removed and you are running off of a PTO pump which does not allow you to use the PTO unless you remove the loader. Pictures attached one of my 245s. Both get used every week on different properties, very good machines. The loader is solid now that it was retrofitted.
View attachment 621858 View attachment 621859

Beautiful machine you have there! And thanks so much for the information!

Funny you mention the PTO pump. I hate it and want to move it to the front. I've measured and even checked the rotation directions and it seems like it would fit perfectly. If you have any advice for me I'd LOVE to hear it. I have heard of the alignment problems, but I don't know how to know whether I have it or not. I tried pointing the camera down the hole but couldn't tell anything. Even if everything is fine, I'm not sure what to do. I took this shot of the crank pulley and it appears to simply be a large bolt (lefthand thread?).

I suppose that the bolt gets removed and some sort of driveshaft gets screwed in its place, which drives the pump? If so, is the driveshaft "disconnectable" or "disengageable" when not in use? Or does a front mounted hydraulic pump run anytime the engine is running (presumably with a short hose connecting the pressure outlet to the return)?

Humorous, related aside: I'm currently "stuck" with the loader half off the tractor as I type this. The reason is that the hoses to the PTO pump are the "correct" length for service but not long enough to allow me to completely remove it. This weekend's project is to cobble together some hose extensions just to get the darn thing tipped off so I can start working on the engine. A front mounted hyd pump with quick connects would make this process VASTLY easier!

Thanks again SO much for the response. Very nice to hear solid confirmation - and now I can start shopping for replacement body panels and owners manuals!

goeduck · Sep 19, 2019

The pump (and that crazy filter assembly) you have on the PTO looks exactly like the pump that was up front on my loader 245. I moved the filter to the right tower to get mine out of the way. No sense having a filter out front of the tractor where it gets damaged. Possibly yours had an alignment issue and someone punted the pump to the PTO? The pump up front runs all the time. I will try to remember to take a picture of my loader 245 (at a remote property).

truthsmiles · Sep 20, 2019

goeduck said:
The pump (and that crazy filter assembly) you have on the PTO looks exactly like the pump that was up front on my loader 245. I moved the filter to the right tower to get mine out of the way. No sense having a filter out front of the tractor where it gets damaged. Possibly yours had an alignment issue and someone punted the pump to the PTO? The pump up front runs all the time. I will try to remember to take a picture of my loader 245 (at a remote property).

I would LOVE to see pictures. If you get the chance it would mean a lot to me. Good idea moving the filter! I wondered about that. I've been known to hit my own car with my tractor

It may well have had the alignment problem, but from what I understand the PTO pump and the loader were 'later' add-ons, so MAYBE not? That doesn't explain why the bracket is on the front of course, but I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed.

Perhaps an alignment issue could be overcome by some kind of universal joint arrangement? Or maybe even a flexible shaft? The pump doesn't SEEM to put a huge load on the engine (but again I haven't really done anything other than lift the bucket).

goeduck · Sep 20, 2019

Mine had a rubberized joint that took up some if the misalignment but it would fail at the wrong time. A Massey Dealer that has since closed up shop hooked me up with a different bracket that is perfectly aligned and has been fine for over 10 years now. The pump is hard connected. I do recall that the shaft that went into the front pulley was reverse threaded, so keep that in the back of your head. One odd thing about the tractor with the pump up front is that you cannot change the fan belt without taking the pump off and shaft out. Had I thought of it I would have put a spare on and tied it out of the way somehow.

shaeff · Sep 21, 2019

There’s a flange that bolts to the crank pulley, then as others mentioned, a reverse threaded driveshaft from that flange to the pump. Mine used to be mounted on a bracket way out off the front of the loader frame using a Lovejoy style joint and rubber isolator. As mentioned, it failed at the worst time and really screwed me during a snow storm.

I replaced it with the proper setup for my Massey 35 Utility- which meant chasing the threads on the cast iron flange built into the front of the machine, new bolts to secure the pump, the proper brand new driveshaft and new flange/bushings for the crank pulley. It’s been perfect ever since and no risk of failure. I’ve posted pictures before, but from the app I cannot access them.

When I get to a PC, I’ll see if I can find them and link you to ‘em.

goeduck · Sep 21, 2019

Here are some pics. Sorry but this girl lives in an unheated dirt floor shed and I did not have time to pull her out to get better pictures. The bracket up front is the replacement, unlike like the original. I moved the filter to the tower if you see if left of the loader controls. Very out of the way at that location.

PatrickS2222 · Sep 30, 2019

Hi, apologies for slow the reply, but better late than never!
Firstly, you lucky devil! A free MF is ALWAYS a good thing ... it has to be really rough to be only good for spare parts!
It will certainly be worthwhile repairing and then you've got a usable and versatile machine.
Just be careful with a 3PT-mounted backhoe - these tractors were not intended to cope with the forces from them. Specifically, the MF top link attachment point will not handle a significant force in any direction other than fore-aft. Use the triple-mount with the flexible pin on the rear casing. Be sure to understand this - out 135's was broken by an idiot operator Dad briefly employed. It was repaired - evidently rather well - about 45 years ago! It's been fine since.
As stated, that looks for all the world like our 135, but with later 200-series sheet-metal. That is not such a bad thing - especially with the good power steering set-up. The std-spec rear axle with drum brakes, 3PT links, 3-152 Perkins and gearbox are all identical to ours. It appears only the US-spec 135s got the larger (65-type) rear axle and PAVT wheels as standard equipment. We have the usual-for-Australia 2-piece wheels with pressed steel centres and 14.9-24 tyres. Front axle is the trusty 3-piece (35-type) with 6.00-16 tyres.

Here are a couple pics - I don't have any better ones handy. Also, some shots of the drive for it's front-mounted pump as was being discussed as well. I'll try to take some better pics, but there is a really good protection grille to remove before I can photograph the pump. I think it's the same as Shaeff's tractor's set-up - mine is a MF40 - same 3-cyl Perkins and same gearbox as the 135, but it does have the bigger front axle (with 7.50-16s) and rear axle (with hub reduction and multi-plate brakes) because it also has a Model 102 loader. This tractor also has that woeful power-assisted steering as used on 235s. It does help, but it isn't as strong as it needs to be.
I hope we all realise these machines are nudging 50 years old, have done a lot of work and helped feed a lot of people. They need looking after now, and technology has also improved a lot since they were designed and built. Bigger and stronger MFs were available alongside these models. Keeping that in mind, I reckon they've lasted as least twice as long as was intended.

shaeff · Oct 1, 2019

Finally made it onto an actual PC. Here are the pics I promised- the adapter plate that mounts to the crank pulley, then the shaft that extends out through the axle pivot (reverse threaded so left=tight right=loose)

The first pic shows how the machine was set up when I got it. There were TWO shafts, connected by a Lovejoy coupler. One morning in a blizzard I fired up the tractor and apparently the hydraulic fluid was so thick that caused the pump to strain and snapped the tabs right off the Lovejoy. I was without my plow machine for that storm until I could source the parts to repair.

Once I got the parts, I set about making the front pump as it should have been from the factory/dealer. You can see the mounting boss on the front of my MF35 Utility (Very similar in design to the 135). I had to carefully chase the threads because they looked like they'd been open for years. Lots of cutting oil and a good chaser got the threads cleaned out.

After that, it was just remove the old stuff, bolt on the new (tight working area), thread in the new pump shaft and mount the pump. Not only did this eliminate the extra shaft length that wasn't needed, it also pulled the pump in very close to the machine for added protection. If you check the first pic, you can see it was hanging way out in FRONT of the loader frame, completely unprotected. Lots of times while moving large stones, I'd have to be very careful they didn't roll back down the pile and hit the pump. No longer an issue.