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Stuart is having trouble with the hydraulics on his tractor. Here is what he has to say…
I have a MF35 tractor. The hydraulic lift pump seems to be operating slow when using the hydraulics to lift the ram on my tilt trailer. I have been advised to check the strainer. I was given a photo copie of the lift pump with strainer, but when I pulled off the side plates to look for it, the lift pump looks different and there is no strainer to be found.The photo copied info is for a MF 35 like mine.Is there any one that might know what I am doing wrong I would be grateful for any info. thanks.
Stuart
Hi Stuart,
The early tractors didn’t have a filter on the pump.
The next (easiest and least expensive) thing to check would be the o’rings on the stand pipe. There is a small cap under the seat (under front right hand side of seat). If you remove this cap there is a stand-pipe under there which you can pull out. Check the condition of the o’rings and replace if necessary – this is a common place for oil to leak. The stand pipe takes oil from the pump and up into the lift cylinder.
If that doesn’t help then you will probably have to remove the top hydraulic cover and take a look inside. There could be a whole host of reasons as to what is causing the problem. A faulty pressure relief valve is a possiblity, or otherwise the control valve or wear in the pump itself.
The hydraulic system is quite complex, but it is only a mechanical system, so anyone can refurbish the system. It isn’t really possible to email you the details of what to do, as it is so complex, but if you need it then the Hydraulics DVD shows 2 hours of tutorials of what to do to get the system working as it should.
Steve (VTE).
Hello, a man (who I won’t name) came up to the farm last week to fix the brakes on our MF35. when he left the hydraulic lift no longer worked. a week later we noticed the cast iron plate (under the seat) is cracked at the front and has lifted up. I have absolutely no idea what he did to cause this, maybe he forced the hydraulic too much or dropped her from off the ramp when the wheel was off. but my question is: can you weld the cast iron or is it possible to find a replacement and if so what is it called? I am assuming this is the reason the hydraulics no longer work and imagine they require a sort of vacuum? any help gratefully received! Lucy Greenfield
Thanks Steve,
I just found your response. Is there a way to get advised by email when a response to a post is added to the discussion? Should I post these type of questions as new posts?
Damian
Hi,
It sounds like the stand pipe isn’t locating properly. If you remove the side cover (and possibly drain some of the hydraulic fluid so you can see what is happening) then you can see/feel if the stand pipe is locating properly.
There should be a back-up washer as well as the o-ring.
Steve (VTE).
I have a 1958 FE35, serial number SDM21589, where the hydraulics would drop as soon as any load (say 6 bales of hay on a carry-all) was applied. I pulled out the stand-pipe and found that there was no o-ring on the bottom. I assumed that there should have been one there so I added an o-ring to it. The result was no hydraulics at all. The o-ring I had was the correct size but slightly thicker than the one on the top of the pipe. I tried various combinations, including going back to not having an o-ring on the bottom of the pipe. Still no hydraulics. Is it possible that something has come off the pipe as I pulled it out and is now stuck in the area where the pipe sits? Would this cause the hydraulics to completely fail? Can I get to this area by taking off the side plate or do I have to take off the top plate to get to this area?
There is a dedicated return port on the lhs (as viewed from the back of the tractor) of the Hydraulic cover just forward from where the lh lift arm is fitted on the shaft which extends from left to right!
From memory it’s the same size and thread as the allen screw in the side of the lift cover just beside the standpipe cover mentioned in the post above!
Hello; I’ve seen the posts from Simon (May 2011) and Paul (Nov 2011) but no replies. Has anyone cracked this problem in an easy fit way? Is there definitely not a dedicated return port as an alternative to drilling the filler cap?
hi simon how did you get on with your return pipe, i drilled the filler cap and connected pipe here. i now have a problem log splitter works very good pressure, but very slow, did you have this problem. how did you sort it,
Hi, I’ve bought a log splitter to attach to the hydraulics of my MF 35X, but I’ve relised it needs a return hose to the Massey to return the fluid back into the tractor. My question is – is there a designated entry point to attach the return hose for this? And if so where would I get the connection.
cheers
Simon