Vintage Tractor Engineer Forums » Massey Ferguson 35, Ferguson FE35, TO35

FE35 Rebuild

(14 posts)

  1. joesiopgoeden
    Member

    A long time ago, in a field far far away...........

    "MF35 with loader, needs tlc"

    read the advert.....it wasn't lying either
    but it was cheap and worth a go :)

    Went to have a look and it didn't look right. Checking the serial number, it wasn't a MF35......it was a FE35.

    http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab159/joesiopgoeden/Fe35/serialnumber.jpg

    here's the telltale gold paint showing through......

    http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab159/joesiopgoeden/Fe35/brakedrum.jpg

    Last friday it got retrieved and taken to uncle Jim at smallholderservices.com

    http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab159/joesiopgoeden/Fe35/trailorpic.jpg

    bought some petrol and a battery,....which was dead.....so nothing happened until monday.....

    Posted 3 months ago #

  2. joesiopgoeden
    Member

    Monday: time to see if it will start

    Took off the little glass bowl from below tank, coz was obviously full of crap. cleaned it out, put it back and noticed there was very little petrol coming through. off came the bonnet, off came the tank, rinsed the crap out, blew it through with air, put it back with new petrol.

    connected charged up battery, turned key.......nothing

    no earth......so off Jim went to the shed, comes back 2 mins later with a new negative lead.

    turned key.......nothing

    solenoid was dead. off went Jim into shed, comes back with a new one, put that on.

    tried again.......off it went :) throwing the shredded fan belt off in the process.

    so far so good.

    put new fan belt on, plugged up split radiator with silicon for now and filled radiator up when it had set. in the meantime, stuck a new oil pressure gauge on it and replaced the scaffolding pole with a real exhaust.

    then it wouldn't start. quick check on carb tap showed a stream of petrol getting through. checked the coil, the points, the condenser, the rotor arm, the leads and the plugs. all working and yes it was firing in the right order. plugs wet and smelling of petrol......hmmmmmm

    took carb off to see if that had crap in it too.....which was when we found it. hiding behind the carb was the problem......

    http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab159/joesiopgoeden/Fe35/crack.jpg

    £"%"£^£&&^* "£$%^"£%" ^"£^%$£!!!!!!!!!
    and it was making all the right noises when it was going too, no knocking, no breathing, no smoke......*sniff*

    time for tractor to become famous :)

    new radiator ordered which arrives this week then it's going on a roadtrip to vintagetractorengineer!!!

    may the force be with you.......

    Posted 3 months ago #

  3. admin
    Key Master

    Hi Joe,

    We can't wait to get the FE35 over here to Yorkshire and get started.

    So if anyone can help, Joe is looking for an 87mm block to replace the cracked one (alternatively could get the original block repaired, but it will be the expense of getting that done).

    Steve.

    Posted 3 months ago #

  4. joesiopgoeden
    Member

    Time to look for a block.

    Went to see the local tractor graveyard and found a potential donor, but we'll have to check the engine number to see if it's suitable. According to the scrap man, it's a 35 engine, but will have to check.

    Failing that, if anyone's got one, let us know! :)

    Am having a ring round to see if i can find a donor. It's frustrating, but at least the radiator's coming and we know know the tractor's in pretty good alround condition.

    will be round Jim's to take the loader frame off it before it goes. this can be overhauled whilst the tractor's having it's engine done.

    There's only 1 leak, and that's from the steering column. there's play in the steering, but Jim says this might be fixable by adding some shims to take the play out of it. We identified a worn front wheel bearing, but this is a bit further down the priority list at the moment.

    Meanwhile, have aquired a t-bar and bars to go with the pick up hitch on the TEF, along with a link box with it's tailgate. So am taking these down to bear metal ready for a paint job.

    Be warned: bristles come off the brush on the angle grinder at speed, so wear goggles, and the rust dust gets everywhere, so do it outside with a mask too. takes a while to get that dull metallic sheen, but the more time you put into this, the nicer the finish you get on the paint afterwards.

    The quest for a block continues today.......

    Posted 3 months ago #

  5. 1960fergie
    Member

    Hello?

    I' ve heard of someone here in Canada that had his engine block rebuild by a welder, the block was all cracked but it was fixed all right. The man even imitated the surface of cast iron. What I think is it may be worth it ask for an estimation. Some welder will just be happy to participate in such a great project!

    Good luck!

    Posted 3 months ago #

  6. joesiopgoeden
    Member

    been onto John at enginereconditioninginyorks.co.uk to see if they can stitch this block as a plan 'b', but he can't.

    Joining friends of ferguson heritage (www.fofh.co.uk) coz this FE35 is on a 'Q' registration plate, which ain't exactly brilliant and i want a period registration for it eventually. These guys, well, Chris, to be exact, will date a tractor for you if you send him a letter, a form from the DVLA, some piccies of the tractor and a cheque.....full details on the site. Then, once you get the V5 for it (UK), you can get some black and silver plates made up for it. Be careful though: if the place making the plates don't ask to see some ID(driving licence usually) and the V5 before they make them, chances are it won't be a road legal plate. Read the small print on the ad: it may well say 'show plate', in which case, they're no good.

    Going to ask Chris if he can verify that this block is the right one. if it is, great. fingers crossed :)

    new radiator has arrived though at least.

    Posted 3 months ago #

  7. joesiopgoeden
    Member

    trip to the local monthly machine sales was no good. Lots of people there: nobody who had a block.

    have found some people who might be able to stitch it on the web, will find out more next week.

    Posted 3 months ago #

  8. admin
    Key Master

    Another company is Slinden Services...

    http://www.castironweldingrepairs.co.uk/index.php

    They have even have a picture of a TE20 they've repaired...

    http://www.castironweldingrepairs.co.uk/metal-stitching-process.php

    And the repairs are guaranteed for 12 months.

    Steve.

    Posted 3 months ago #

  9. joesiopgoeden
    Member

    getting some quotes now coming back for transportation. hopefully bringing 2 TEFs here(both with split blocks) from doncaster neck of the woods and taking the grey gold to steve and ian in bielby. nice round trip. If anyone wants to quote me for the job, now would be good coz i want them shifted asap before ian gets snowed under.

    Will have a word with steve about this block stitching. don't know how big a job it is and probably won't know until the block's bare for sure. but will definitely look into it.

    Posted 3 months ago #

  10. joesiopgoeden
    Member

    A block has been found!

    Just got to get it off the donor now......

    Posted 3 months ago #

  11. admin
    Key Master

    That's great news. Let's hope that it's OK, with no cracks (very unlucky if there's anything wrong with it). Looking forward to getting the tractor and replacement block.

    Steve.

    Posted 3 months ago #

  12. joesiopgoeden
    Member

    radiator arrived with big dent in it. not good. done in transit, so has gone back.

    Posted 3 months ago #

  13. joesiopgoeden
    Member

    block has been removed and is sitting on a palet next to the new, replacement radiator which arrived this morning. Have a trailer to move them all, now just need a friend with a 4x4 to move it........am on the case :)

    Posted 3 months ago #

  14. joesiopgoeden
    Member

    Give me strength.........3 weeks looking for a block, find it, get it, get the bits and now i can't find anyone with a 4x4 to move it.

    Endaf's van has failed it's MOT this week, which has just screwed things up alot. I do know someone who may be able to, but i don't feel right even asking, because they're not in the best of health.

    Half of me feels like getting the TEF out and towing it there, it would be quicker........actually, that could be a fun road trip......;)

    Posted 2 months ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.

613 posts in 249 topics over 21 months by 174 of 205 members. Latest: mick35, petra, finnegan