Vintage Tractor Engineer

Hi, I’ve got a MF35X which I have been using to “top” the reeds with a small topper. Unfortunately, the PTO has been slowing and even coming to a stop when under load, and the lifting hydraulics have failed several times when trying to lift the topper. Both functions appear to return once the load is decreased.
Do you think the two problems are linked? If so what is causing the problem, and finally, how do I fix it?
Many thanks in anticipation of your help. Best wishes,
- Mike

Most of the 35X’s have a dual clutch. As you may know this means that when you press the clutch pedal half way down the drive to the gearbox is disengaged. When you depress the clutch pedal all the way to the bottom it disengages the drive to both the pto and the hydraulic pump (which means you can easily engage the pto).

Therefore, if your pto and hydraulics are slowing down when under load it will be this clutch which is slipping. The first thing to do is to remove the plate on the underneath side of the clutch housing. You will notice a hole in the bottom which has a split pin in it - this hole is designed to let any drips of oil out of the clutch housing which may have entered from either the crankcase or the gearbox. On occasions this hole becomes blocked and oil gets onto the clutch plates and makes them slip.

More likely is that your clutch will just need adjusting. All the instructions you need are on the clutch page.

Hopefully that will solve your problem. If the clutch still slips then you will need to split the tractor and replace the clutch.

Hope that helps. Let us know how you get on.

Regards,

Steve.

Hi Steve, took off inspection plate and out poured about three quarters of a pint of oil!! cleaned out inside of casing as best I could, and cleaned out the hole that the split pin sits in. Tried to adjust the PTO clutch, but locking nuts were on too tight. Decided to give it a go with the topper back on, and everything now seems to be working fine. Thank you very sincerely for your help, it really was invaluable.

Many thanks and best wishes - Mike

Glad you found the problem.

If your tractor is now working fine for light work then that is OK. The oil will have got onto both clutch plates (i.e. the one for the hydraulics/pto and also the clutch that operates the transmission drive. If you experience problems you may need to replace the clutch plates some time in the future.

White 2-45 Field Boss tractor, PTO drive slipping problem.I have a White 2-45 Field Boss tractor that is 1980’s era. The main drive clutch and the PTO clutch were replaced last year however the PTO still dosen’t work properly. It seems like the PTO hydraulic clutch pack is not engaging fulley. The PTO spins my tiller however when you put it under load it just stops. Somtimes it engages and then peters out after 30 minuits of use. The drive gear is engaging properly, The hydraulic on off has been rebuilt however it seerms like it still has a hydraulic problem. I have looked over the manual and the only other thing I can check is the master control valve that is located under the rear differential top cover housing. This looks like it is a big job to do. I dont want to spend all the time to get to it, rebuild and reassemble to find out it is not the problemt. Can you shed any light on how I can trouble shoot before I go looking for that needle in the hay stack?

Thanks,
Paul Manfredi

I’m not familiar with these tractors. Is the hydraulic lift operating OK and/or does the tractor have 2 hydraulic pumps fitted? One for the lift and another to operate the pto clutch? What I’m thinking is that maybe the lift is working OK, but there could be another hydraulic pump to operate the PTO clutch.

If so, then it could be this pump which is not operating to full pressure. I guess the manual will tell you how to test this pressure. I would test the pressure both when the pto is engaged and also when it is not engaged. If the pressure tests differently when the pto is engaged to when it is not engaged then this would suggest that there is a leak in the clutch pack or the oil pathways to it. If the pressure tests the same for both tests, but is out of the manual’s specified pressure then it is the pump or a leak in the system. If the pressure tests the same for both tests, but is within the manual’s specified pressure, then it would suggest a problem with the firction plates or set up of the new clutch pack. It could be that it is just not adjusted correctly.

You say that the pto runs OK and then peters out after 30 minutes.  This could suggest a hydraulic problem somewhere in the system which gets worse as the oil warms up.

The only thing I can think is that maybe a seal on the cylinder that operates the pto clutch has been damaged when it was fitted.

The Vintage Tractor Engineer.