The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hallo,
until yesterday I toughta Fordson gearbox is bulletproof.
My son was mowing the orchard an probably forgot to open the handbrake. It took a while until he turned off the tractor. We don´t know if he mixed up gears or what else happend.
Now the handbrake Lever has permanent tension, we are not able to move the gearlever.
The egine will run with out moving the tractor. The live drive pto and hydrauliks work fine, and can be shifted on/off.
We can not tow the tractor, since something blocks the rearweehls

Anyone any ideas where to start, what to do?

Sorry to hear that

There is a general warning not to drive with the handbrake on otherwise the bulletproof gearbox will cause the not so bulletproof handbrake plates to friction weld together on the reverse gear idler - I'm not certain what the recovery from this might be but someone here will............

Take the gear selector plate off and, with a chisel or some like instrument, prise apart the handbrake plates. You may have to use some force!! That will allow you to drive the tractor to your workshop.

The tractor will then have to be split and the primary gearbox removed to get to the plates. In the best case senario you may only need plates but these will have to be from a breakers as I do not think anyone makes them any more. In a worst case scenario you may need a new primary gearbox housing as this can fracture around the brake locating pins.

As standard procedure to prevent this occurring we used to grind the first four teeth from the handbrake ratchet on all new Majors..

Hi Matthias
It's just as Oehrick describes. To fix the problem you'll have to split the tractor between engine and gearbox. Once split, remove the primary gearbox, and you'll be able to see the handbrake mechanism.
The thread below has pictures that show everything. The parts you need are also shown.
When replacing the primary gearbox, it makes life easier if you make some dowels (bolts with heads removed) to help guide the primary gearbox back into place.
Best
Adrian

http://www.fordsontractorpages.nl/phpbb ... f=2&t=5873

I was writing my post as Brian uploaded his. Didn't know about the possibility of a cracked primary gearbox housing. I have my fingers crossed for you.
Best
Adrian

Thank you for the support.
It looks like some work on the tractor.

Are the parts on the Power Major identic to the ones on a Super?
I found a shop in Germany they offer the break disc and the
ware plate, each at 5-6 € a pice for the Super
http://www.hvs-handel.de/product_info.p ... major.html

Hi Matthias
The hand brake assembly was not changed between models. The link you have provided shows the correct wear plate - you also need the brake discs of course (the link below shows the full set). As for the work ahead, splitting the tractor is not as difficult as it may seem. Once you have the tractor separated, extracting the primary gearbox is also pretty straightforward. My photos show the single-stage primary gearbox. I have no experience of the two-stage primary gearbox, but I don't think it differs in respect to the repair you have to make. Brian will be able to advise.
When it comes to splitting a tractor in double quick time, Brian has written an hilarious account of when he was in the field doing this job. Well worth a read. See second link.
Best
Adrian

http://www.silverfoxtractorspares.com/f ... 1169-p.asp

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/artic ... int191.htm

Hallo,
work is in progress

We split the tractor, no problem . but now we are only able to pull the gearbox about one Inch Forward.
Do we have to remove the pto gears underneath the Primary gearbox?

Hello Matthias
I have done this job twice and both occasions I had removed the PTO housing first, so I can't answer your question. However, the photo below would seem to indicate that the housing of the primary gearbox is going to foul on the upward protruding gear in the PTO housing (it engages with the smaller diameter cog in the photo).
Does the inch of movement you have gained allow the primary gearbox to come off the flange shown in the photo? If so, I wonder if you have enough 'wriggle room' to tilt the housing downwards to allow it to pass over the PTO gear?
Another thought: do you have a belt pulley attached to the gearbox? If so, this juts inside the primary gearbox housing, I believe.
Failing success with the above approach, you may have no alternative but to remove the PTO housing.
Hope these thoughts are helpful.
Viel Glueck!
Adrian

[URL=http://s1216.photobucket.com/user/ ... .jpg[/img][/url]

Hi Adrian,
thanks for the advice
I don´t have a belt pulley on the tractor, actually I am looking to find one.
Maybe someone else can tell me if I have to take of the pto gearbox.
I am not in a hurry, since the company I ordered the spareparts on June 2 told me today, they don´t have the parts in stock

PTO gearbox has got to come off and the PTO shaft has to come out. Lots of oil!

Hi Brian
As a boy I remember my dad, ex REME, saying that tractors make pretty good oil tankers. Now I know what he meant!
Best
Adrian

Pto gearbox came of without problems.
Oil in backend was drained bevor since I wanted to change it anyhow.

Pimay gearbox is stll stuck
Do I hav to remove a gearselector or anything else?

Go in through the selector plate and look upwards, the main gear selector arm has to come off. Lock wire and small stud then it pulls straight off.

The High/Low selector is further over and you can again remove the stud and slide it off as you pull the gearbox out. Do not forget to put it back when you re-assemble.

The "Official" way to do it is to remove the tank and High/Low selector from the top but we always used to do it as I have said.

Thank you very much Brian

That could be the missing part in my puzzle.

I

Job done
The bad part is the brake locating pins are broken.


We found them in the gearbox, along with pieces of the friction plates.

Is it possible to run the gaerbox without handbrake, by fixing the the gear with proper sized washers,the original spring and the nut?

That is bad luck but it used to be a common problem especially if the foot brakes were not kept in good condition and the handbrake was used to stop the tractor. Check carefully around the pins to make sure the gearbox housing is not cracked.

Two solutions:

Get some pins from another gearbox or try and find some old stock new ones at an old Ford dealer. They are hardened steel and would be difficult to make. They only push into the housing.

Remove the handbrake. The reverse idler bush can be pushed in a little further and a bolt and washer used to retain the gear. This was what was done in tractors without handbrakes.

Hello Matthias
Well done for sticking at it. Have you had any luck in getting the broken-off ends out of the casting?
Great photo, by the way. Most informative.
Best
Adrian

Hallo Brian, hallo Adrian,
I think I take option two, removing the handbrake, since I will not find the parts i will need here in my area. The tractor has no roadlicense and I don´t need it on the road. Lawn mowing, driving a pto generator and pretty soon operating a square baller will work out ok, with only a footbreak.
Thr footpedal has the looking funktion and works great.

Since I use a photobucketacount it is very handy , to upload the pics , taken by my mobil phone, and add them in the post.

Our Major is runing again
My son needs it for a school camping event, to run a generator.

The Party can start

Well done, Peter. You must be very glad to have the tractor back in action. Do you have any photos of the tractor running the generator? I've always been fascinated by this way of harnessing the power of the tractor. Never seen it in action.
Best
Adrian

Great!!!

Pat

I posted photos of my PM running a 35,000 Watt/ 50,000/surge PTO generator several years ago. Guess it is time for you to show yours. Dandy Dave!

http://www.fordsontractorpages.nl/phpbb ... tor#p21158