The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

hello all, its been years and lots of family stuff under the bridge since I have been here or working on my Major project. Started it at least ten years ago. My '64 Super Major was painted and powdered coated in Bengal Red and Hammered Silver for Local Parade purposes and the fact that when I bought it, I did not know it was anything other than a Ford tractor. I said that incase I figure out how to post pictures soon so no one will ask why I did it, but here is why.... I began the teardown process almost as soon as I bought it and started cleaning and powder coating parts a few months before I joined this forum and found out these tractors were special. Anyway it isn't blue/white which I regret to some degree now but with the powder coating and all the other paintwork I figure the next owner can spray it blue if they choose. Engine block and crank machined, new pistons/liners, new cam and cam front gear, heads re surfaced with all new valve parts from Agriline along with new injectors, minimic pump rebuilt buy Dumas in Long Beach CA.Tranny and rear end were all good so nothing done there. Put new clutch disks in, with new clutch springs, throw out bearing new, new wiring loom, new gages and the higher end super major badges from Agriline. Old front badge still was passible. . So all that to say its 85% finished, I have some time now to get to the last 15% if I could ask some of you very knowledgeable people why in the world would my tractor become stuck in gear for no reason? it has never moved from when it was shift able to un shift able. The only thing that was done was a pulley was added. I removed the pulley today to see if it was interfering with the gears but that was not the case. Even if I push the clutch in it is still stuck in gear. How in the world does that happen? The entire tractor is all together except for the top cover. Any Ideas would help me keep going. Thanks Kerry

Is the transmission stuck in gear, but the gearshift moves? Or is the gearshift stuck?

Do you happen to have the gearbox handbrake?
That can also be the problem.

Hi J C, thanks for your question. I just tried all related controls again.....shifter goes into all gears, high low does also, emergency brake is not on, and when I push clutch to floor nothing releases, same thing stuck.

No Henk, this one does not have the gearbox handbrake, thanks for your question.
The top cover has never been assembled as It needs painting so the rear end gears are visible but without oil inside, I have them covered but maybe something fell in there, ill check that next. its just the weirdest thing that it has not moved an inch since this happened.
What got me stalled on this project before all the family stuff happened is I noticed oil seepage from tranny to rear end and I know that is a big deal to fix, I will have to split the tractor and if I remember right remove the tranny and replace a seal. I know some guys have rigged up a return pump "fix" for that problem. I guess the problem is helped by the fact that the tractor case is at 2 different levels so gravity on the lower part helps pull oil through a compromised seal. once I get that and this gear thing resolved its all small stuff before first time engine start. Kerry

I guess I'm not sure that I completely understand the problem. If you haven't started the engine, how can you tell that the transmission isn't in neutral?

Is everything alright with the main gear lever? unbolt it and see if you see anything strange.
If you jack up the tractor at the rear, you can turn one wheel and see if the other one turns in the other direction, that would mean the last gears are free

Can you turn the pto? Is it a live or dead drive tractor.

Dear 1su9pm6aj4

Your description of gearbox stuck in gear is not clear, as you later say that you shifted into all gears. Is the situation that the gearbox is "locked" yet the gearlever can go into the 4 positions, or the high/low lever can engage high and low? The answer is to remove the side cover (where the oil filler/level is located), called in the parts list Plate Main Gear Change, although another name in the repair manual, is the selector fork plate. This plate incorporates the two selector forks. Once you get the plate off and with the selector forks out of the way, you can see what is happening in the gearbox. Although prevalent on Dextas, I have known Fordson Majors that with a worn gear lever, have tried to select 2 gears at the same time. This leads to the gearbox locking up. So someone idly playing with the gearlever whilst the tractor has stood may have caused the lock up.

Timee

Hi All, thanks for your responses. I don't think I should have used the phrase "stuck in gear" as I got a wrench on the front engine nut and turned the engine over freely without the back wheels moving. that means the tractor is not in gear. Here is what I know...with the gearbox and the high-low in neutral the tractor will not move an inch as I push against the back wheels rocking them back and forth, I just hear a clinking sound of heavy metal to heavy metal. when I did that yesterday while looking into the pinion/ring gears they seemed frozen. Those gears should be freewheeling. Are my disk brakes locked up inside their housings? I live in snow country and the tractor sits in an un heated garage, we have been into the minus 25 degrees in the past but this winter we never went below about minus 10. Maybe the cold did something. Pushing the brake pedals seems like I remember, about an inch of free play then spongy contact for the next few inches until a spongy stop. I like the idea of jacking the rear wheels up and trying to turn one, also I will pop off the side cover to look into the gear set and see if anything looks different. no one beside me would ever be in the garage to mess with the tractor. Ill do some more investigation and in the meantime at least I found out I can install the injector pump, start hooking up the injector fuel lines and get the engine closer to first start. Thanks much Kerry

Forgot to respond to Mathias1 about live P T O, The tractor has the double clutch so I assume that is live P T O and yes I will try and turn that also. Thanks And thanks to Timeee also.

there's no neutral for the the high low lever, maybe the problem is there, or the brakes...

Its a good possibilty that your brakes are stuck from sitting. The same thing happened to my Super 6.

A request to JC & 1su9, could we see some images of your tractors in the USA?
Tractors and where you are?
Best, Adrian.

I have some pictures of my tractors from my old computer on a thumb drive. I'll post some in the next few days. Kerry said that he had his pump rebuilt in Long Beach, so I'm guessing that he's in southern California. I'm in northern California. I'd like to see some pictures of Kerry's tractor too!

Mathias1, good info on hi/low, of course I should have known that, ill check that out. J C and Adrian, Ill also check the brakes. I am not based in Los Angeles, I got the injector pump rebuilt by Dumas because I was working down there for a spell and took my pump with me from Oregon. The owner of Dumas in Long Beach CA. was very familiar with these injector pumps although he had not seen one for a long while, he said they were used in lots of boat engines with the Perkins Diesel, he being in a port town should have had plenty of business back in the day.
I bought my Fordson from a guy in Stayton Oregon, it had the badge of Ford 5000 on its side. He sold it for the price he paid for the new back tires (8oo dollars), it did not run, had a blown head gasket. He tried to pull start it a few times and that is why I think the cam gear teeth were bent out of whack. I also couldn't believe how non existent most of the cam gear lobes were when I disassembled the engine, he did say it ran well before the lock up, go figure!. I hope the new cam shaft I bought is made with better metal.
One interesting bit of info about this tractor, I went into a New Holland dealer in the next town over (close by) for parts and dealt with a salesman that thinks he was the original salesman on my tractor. He told me was the sole dealer in the sixties for Majors on the west side of the mountains which would have included Stayton Oregon.
As far as posting pics I will have to get my nephew over here to guide me through it. At least I have a smart phone now so it should be easier. Looking forward to seeing yours also.Kerry

Here are some pictures of my 1964 Super Major Kerry

That looks really sharp! It looks like you have put a lot of time into that tractor.

Dispite of the colour, great looking tractor and yes what a neet job.
You have to turn the belt pulley one hole back to get it in the right position.

thanks JC and Henk, yea lots of time into it for the first few years, Hope I can "close the deal" soon. Ill remember to move the pulley counterclockwise one hole when I put it back on, thanks for that. Cheers Kerry

forgot to ask J C, where are you located in No Cal? I used to yearly head south for work from here in central Oregon down the 97 connect with the 5 then all the way to So Cal. Are you close to the 5 or farther out either East or West? looking forward to your pics posted. Anybody watch Jay Leno's garage on utube and see the lambo tractor he featured once? I guess Porsche made a tractor at some point long ago also. Cheers Kerry

Holy heck, impressive work there mate. A lot of time and effort in getting that all right.

I haven't watched Jay Leno's stuff but there's a few Lambo tractors kicking around here. Years ago the radiator shop a couple of towns away was a Lambo dealer. There were lots of Italians in the area, they are very patriotic and generally bought Italian equipment.

Love the colour scheme.
Love, also, that you are doing a methodical rebuild.
The NP Super is still a relevant and useable machine, so you have to promise yourself to let it loose on some serious work, because it will be more than up for it.
Best, Adrian.

That is a very good looking tractor.
Also very good information as I am in the state of Georgia and it is a bit difficult to find parts locally, in the U.S.

Adrain, thanks for the kind words. And yes I do want to loan it out. I have no farm Shark myself but know a friend on a private equestrian ranch that can work it hard doing a variety of chores.I have heard before that these tractors need to be worked.
Thanks West oz for sharing some history on the Lambo, love those inside stories. I wonder if the Lambo was a reliable tractor. maybe you will check out Jay's show on utube sometime, he spotlights cars mostly from Europe and the states. He also drives a few of his steam cars around town.
Livewire in Georgia, thanks for the compliment. What are you working on and when did you start? Yes Agriline sells parts for Fordsons and many other tractors. although sometimes I have had to modify them slightly to make them fit. Not sure why, sometimes dimensions might be off slightly. New Holland still might sell some Fordson parts also. last time I went on their website I could still look up some parts for my Super. Try some of the tractor junk yards in different parts of the country, some of them have a Fordson or two in their yard. I got my pulley from one, my tractor didn't come with that option. Cheers Kerry v

Kerry, if you work it, you'll love it!
Look at the gears in the rear axle housing. This is a Sherman tank!
The engine needs heavy work so as not to glaze up. After everything you have done, it would be a shame not to let the revitalised (by you) machine do what the Ford engineers designed it to do.
Could you post some photos of the land in your area?
All best, Adrian.