MF 1528 4 Wheel Drive Issues

[Josh277]

My father has a MF 1528 Tractor (I know a little about it but not much). The 4 wheel drive works and other times it does not work. Sometimes you can hear it pop out and then just start grinding other times as I said it works great.

He has also mentioned that while going down a pretty good hill he has in the back yard it comes out of 4 wheel drive but then it seems to free wheel cause he said it when down hill really fast (which if it was just coming out of 4X4 I don't understand why it would free wheel)

Just seeing if there is anything we should be looking for. It doesn't make sense to me that some times it works great and other times it pops out and then doesnt work at all not matter if the lever is still in 4 wheel drive.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[irvingj]

No experience with the 1528, but on my 2310 (which may well be similar) there's a spring-loaded detent on the 4WD selector lever, inside the transmission front cover, that's supposed to hold it in place.

My 4WD selector lever broke off last year which meant the whole transmission had to be removed & opened up, but IIRC that detent ball & spring are accessible from the outside of the transmission cover. If the spring has broken, that could explain why it works fine but doesn't stay engaged, maybe.

As far as "freewheeling," I bet it slipped out of 4WD but stayed in 2WD on the hill (does your 1528 have turf tires?); in cases like that, and especially if the grass is wet, my 2310 will just slide right down the slope in 2WD, the rears still turning but slipping/sliding down -- feels just like it's in neutral. That can be a real awakening experience! I ALWAYS use 4WD going downslope.

I suppose, as an experiment, you could hold the 4WD control lever (on the fender like mine?) in the 4WD position going down the hill and see if it stays in 4WD. If it comes out as soon as you let go of the lever, I'd say it's a good bet that detent mechanism is bad. In my 2310 service manual, it's #1 in the photo and parts 3-6 in the drawing.

Hope this helps!

 

[jeepcj7]

Check for a bent shift lever - more often than not the shift lever is bent and contacts something before the 4wd is fully engaged.

 

[Josh277]

Thanks for the help guys. I will check these items out this coming weekend...hopefully it something simple like that and not something broken in the differential