The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hello Everyone

I just wanted to ask everyones opinion on the easiest way to remove the sump on a Major. I am looking to replace the oil pump and clean everything out as I am a little concerned about the oil pressure.
I would like to know if it is possible just to remove the triangular frame from the front axle and leave the tractor on its wheels as I dont have any suitable axle stands for the tractor. Or is it worth the investment in a couple of stands and just pull the complete axle setup out from under the tractor.
The other question I had was once the sump is removed is pulling the oil pump out easy enough. I have seen its drive gears and wondered if they mesh easily enough or do I have to remove or disconnect anything else.
I use the tractor quite a bit this time of year and I am trying to minimise the time that it will be out of action for.

Thanks in advance for any reccomendations!

Hi, before you pull the sump off what are your oil pressure readings cold and hot? Ideally with a decent gauge connected not the one on the tractor

I agree, see what a gauge reads, there's a high chance that if the pressure is poor there'll be a lot more to do in there so check first. Should lift the relief valve when cold (45 psi) and only drop slightly when hot.
Wheather you need them for this or not (that depends on the tie rod, the A-frame can easily come out on its own, the tie rod can too but is much harder to remove if in good condition, if not it needs work anyway) it's always worth having stands, if nothing else for when you have a puncture or need to replace tyres.
Sandy

Thanks for your replies, the reason for investigating the oil pump was mainly down to how clean the oil looks. The tractor does get used regularly but not for long periods but I find it hard to believe that it still looks so good.
For a bit of background I started to investigate why my oil pressure light was staying on and after testing and looking at wiring diagrams discovered that the bulb holders had been swapped between the Dynamo and the oil pressure. It looks like the previous owner had fitted a new wiring loom so I assume it was just an honest mistake. In the process of investigating I have put a new oil pressure switch in and the bulb is now only slightly illuminated with the engine running but increasing the revs has no impact on the brightness of the bulb.
I will take your advice and actually get a guage or testing kit to find out what is actually happening.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a guage or a kit?

Thanks again

How many hours has the oil done? Anything below 20 should be clean unless running in and from then on buildfing up gradually, otherwise you'll have issues. Dirt will be worse the shorter the runs, as it forms when cold due to the parts not being the shape they're designed to be for proper operation due to temperature. This sorts out once hot. I remember what you had with the wires swapped, the fact that the light doesn't go out completely points at an electrical issue, see if you can find something that will enable it to go fully out when running. The switch operates at 7 psi but that's much too low for working. It could be the switch but if you have repro wiring that would be my first suspicion. I think the switch is working properly but you can only know by checking, the gauge test is best for the actual oil pressure. I think the thread in the block is 1/4" BSP. If the oil weren't circulating properly you would have been in trouble a long time ago. A quick test you can do in clean air is check that there's oil on the rockers when running, if there is you'll probably be ok. This isn't definitive but will help establish if pressure is sufficient or not if you can't find a gauge but need to run anyway. If you do that do meke sure no dirt gets in.
Sandy

I thought that I would pop back on and give everyone an update. I have followed the advice and checked for oil pressure using a testing kit, delayed due to me ordering an adaptor in the wrong size. Starting the engine up from cold it has near enough 40psi, which didnt appear to alter when I increased the revs. I have been shining a light into the top of the rocker cover and after the engine has been running it looks as though oil has been making it up there. I did find it interesting that with the oil pressure switch off the tractor and the wire disconnected the bulb was still doing the same thing it does with the switch connected, just illuminated.
Anyone who has read my posts knows I am a long way away from being a mechanic but if there is one thing that I am even worse at its electrics. I thought that maybe I should start with the basic things and clean up any earths I could find and I also saw the horn was not working. I thought that would be a nice easy job and if the wiring is in the same area I might stumble upon a fault that would resolve all my issues. I saw that the horn was not an original type and verified that power was getting to the horn when the button was pressed, however I then got confussed by the four wires that the horn had connected to it. I have mentioned before that the previous owner has fitted a new loom by the looks of it as it has a very clean blue outer coating. The wiring diagrams I have been looking at dont really reflect what I have seen on the horn.
If anyone has any suggestions or thoughts they are most welcome. If those thoughts are tractor ownership is not for you if you are stuggleing with a horn I would totally understand!

Thanks!

Hi, just thought I would let you know my thoughts on the horn issue having just been working on a wiring problem myself. By the sound of it if its
a light blue wiring harness it is probably something like the type Agriline sell there is a wiring diagram that comes with it which you can see online.
The original horn has only two wires to it and is situated near the air cleaner and tank, their should be a couple of wires coming out of the loom near to where the wires go up to the solenoid they should be black/white stripe earth side and a black /yellow stripe which is power into horn from the horn button, not sure why your horn has 4 wires though maybe some sort of two tone ?
Hope this helps a little but it is always tricky following somebody else's mods from the original.
Good luck with it.

Glad your oil pressure is good, it all sounds good to me. Unfortunately I haven't got pics but see what colours the wires are, that should help. Aftermarket wiring looms are not great, so you'll need to check lots of things. Sounds like you have a short in the oil pressure wire, move the loom about, if it flickers then you'll hopefully find the issue and fix it, otherwise you might need to remove the dash to check in there. It's definitely between the oil light and switch. Does the switch seem to work? The horn sounds more fiddly, but the colours should sort it, from what I've seen it seems the modern looms still follow the Ford colour codes but check the Ford diagram to check (use all of them as there are three different ones, the original 52-58, then 58-60 and 60 onwards, changes occurred in 1481091, Power Major dash, and 1542263 with the RB108 regulator). If you checked where the power is getting, connect the wire to the correct horn terminal, then find an earth wire and connect it to the other horn terminal. Check the colours too, a pic might help. I'm wondering about whether you have other wires disconnected, but I can't tell without seeing. If you have an odd starter or alternator you might well have extra wires.
Don't be put off by this kind of stuff, this forum is to help anyone in such a situation. Just ask, any of us who know the answer will help.
Sandy