The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hi,

I have a Fordson power major in which after running for over an hour on the road the gearbox housing becomes very warm to the point where you can only just keep your hand on the gearbox housing. I am aware of handbrake problems with majors where I have been told the friction plates lock on if the handbrake is left on and I can assure you I did not leave the handbrake on when using it and it seems as that is not the issue as I can push the tractor backwards and forward easily and the tractor does not seem that it is under load when pulling away. I also tried the tractor on a pto saw bench the other night to see if the gearbox had the same affect in which it still heated up but I did not think it heated up as much as using it on the road. The only other cause of the problem I thought could have been a bearing worn in the gearbox although I would have thought I would hear that. Would really appreciate it if you could tell me if all majors are the same and run warm or if I Amy have a (another) potential issue on my hands.

Many thanks
Dan

Hi Dan,
Sounds like the same kind of heat build up in my 63 super, A very knowlegable member on here called Brian pointed me in the direction of wrong grade of oil causing heat build up. mine running on MorrisAG90's which Brian pointed out should be 20w/30s multiuse. What grade of oil are you running on? Another Member on here called Adrian said his super gets hot during work too so it might just be a trait of the major?

The heat build up I originally encountered though I thought was clutch related but after splitting her and investigating further after the clutch was found to be ok, was the input shaft in the gearbox, about halfway along its length theres a splined sliding joint supported internally by a spigot needle roller bearing and on mine the bearing had seized welding the 2 parts of the shafts together, since rebuild though she seems ok apart from the heat now caused by my use of wrong oil....

Paul

This sounds like your transmission brake is binding. Only just today I've removed a gearbox from a Major with this problem with exactly the same symptoms you've mentioned too. The casing was getting hot to the point you couldn't put your hand on it yet the tractor could easily be pushed when stationary.
Take the selector plate off the side of the gearbox (having drained the oil first!) and the plates can be seen. Mine were quite obviously stuck together hence the gearbox removal today. I've uploaded photos on another discussion (under 'Handbrake Adjustment') which may help. It's the only way to sort the problem and if your's is getting hot, now is the time to do it before serious damage occurs.