The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hello
I have been working in London for a couple of years but
moved back to Devon recently, I have kept an eye on these
pages though.

I got the Major (FMD 1953) running fine and have been hauling woodfor a few weeks with no problems.
Yesterday the engine felt 'tight' but I thought that it was due to me tightening the fuel lines to get rid of air leaks.

When I knew something was wrong I tried to steer into a verge
on the lane but heard a very bad noise, like loose bit it gearbox.
The tractor stopped in the lane, it starts but when I engage
clutch it dies. I had to get a tow to the verge (bad but I was blocking the road)
one back wheel was stuck but the other moved.

What is the best thing to do?

Thanks

There could be two things that would cause your problem. Transmission handbrake seizure in the gearbox or footbrake seizure on that side.

If the footbrake has failed, I would have thought you would have smelt it or the felt the drum become hot. This can be slackend off by using a screw driver through the slot at the back of the backplate to ratchet the adjuster.

If the transmission hand brake has seized, you can get at it through the selector plate on the clutch side of the gearbox. You may have to free the plates with a long screw driver/chisel to get the tractor home. Drive home very carefully as the plates will possibly be floating around in the gearbox and you do not want to cause more damage.

Hello

I got my FMD back home. The brakedrums were unserviceable,
and I could not adjust them (I need to replace them). I used the
left brake to hold the good wheel and freed up the bad wheel
in first. Probably not a good idea but needed to get tractor off
the lane. The gear oil looked very bad (watery and dirty)
when I took the inspection covers off (I need to replace it and clean
the sump). So I need to: Rewire and fix generator as battery not
charging. Fix/replace brakes. Fix temp gauge and pressure gauge.
Clean gear/hydraulic oil etc. New back tyres? I am looking forward
to it although I a bit of a novice about fixing tractors but I wont fix
anything without reading these pages.