The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

HI,
I just recently purchased a Petrol Dexta, at the time of Purchase all I was chasing was somthing to run a slahser that had a two stage clutch that was cheap (needs work). I ended up with the petrol Dexta as it was cheap and working, the seller did not know what he had other than it was a Ford and Petrol I had to work the rest out myself.
The seller also advised that there were many problems, tyres are shot motor was over heated water pump leaks lacks power needs work, when I arrived to collect it started and drove up onto the trailer so I was happy that it was worth working on. It also came with the slasher in very poor order.

when I got it home I did some simple things to see if I can get it to slash the grass now as it is about 7ft tall and a little out of hand, thankfully all I had to do was manufacture a slasher blade assembly buy new blades water pump and ignition leads replace the fuel line and remove a blockage at the fuel tap (someone tried to dodgy it up with the rubber ring as the pipe and olive was leaking) also had to clean the air intake it was bad very bad, it works fine now and is doing the job although this tractor needs alot of love.

First off I want to get everything working as it should again before striping this down cleaning and painting, below is a list of what I think needs to be done to have it back to working:
new generator existing was destroyed inside and the spare that came with it is shorted between shaft and armeture
new batt the one on it holds charge just enough to start it once
new tires
new exhuast
new air cleaner pre cleaner
new grill and lights
new wire for missing lights etc
tacho and cable
correct lights for the dash
new dash surround
new throtle stick (it split and is welded on now)
missing the auto control lever for the hydrolics
new leveling box
hand brake replacement kit or a new one
new gear sticks (you can easily have it in reverse and 1st at the same time)
all new filters and oils Transmission must have some water in it too as it is milky although if it was not for the color you might think it was fine?
secound fuel tank is not connected?
I am sure there is more that I cannot think of right now

some items I can get new aftermarket at the local tractor shop (I am in Brisbane) but some of this stuff I cannot get from them, any one know if there is a wrecker that can help?

so far I have been geting the job done by figuring it out as I go as I did not find this site until recently, any help or ideas would be nice especialy in regards to the things I should be working on or checking ASAP as I am using this tractor and if I can prevent a major problem but checking something now than that might save me alot of money.

any way let me know what you think and what I should do right away.

I have lots of photos here:
http://s582.photobucket.com/upload/albums/daniel_veld/
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 183513.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 183527.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 183628.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 183708.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 183713.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 183752.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 063109.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 063120.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 063128.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 063137.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 063143.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 063154.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 063203.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 063224.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 063231.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 063237.jpg
http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss26 ... 063245.jpg
(not sure if the above is the correct link?)

I was going to start with the following:
lever for the auto hight adjustment on the hydrulics as this might make slashing easy as the slasher has no rear wheel and the ground is up and down
checking fluids each day.
once the slashing is done I was going to cover it for a few months while I gather all the parts to rebuild the motor and fix/replace all the above strip clean rebuild and paint, that is why I was thinking of just leaving the fluids and filters until than, reason for the engine rebuild is that I see alittle coolant at the back of the motor and it should not be there also compresion is only at 80 to 90PSI in each chamber and it is geting hot quickly (this also is not helped by slashing in first as the grass is long and thick and the radiator needs to be cleaned alot due to grass seeds). I was also wondering how hard it is to strip this thing down all the way as all the seals are weeping not fully dripping all over the place but enough of a leake for me to do somthing about. how hard is it to get all the correct gaskets? so far it seems that the engine rebuild should be simple as I can use the kit from a fergusin 135? in the event that I cannot afford everything before I have to slash again what would be the best items to focus on first? although I dont fully trust the motor it is still working fine so I am unsure how high a priority this should be?

I have read all the manuals and data I can find on this and still it took me a while to figure out how everything works and still learning as this is a first tractor for me so I appreciate all the help.

Thanks

Welcome to the board and congratulations on getting a great little tractor.

Your main problem is the overheating, they do seem to run hot it you overwork them so make sure the radiator is clean. I blow mine out every day if I have been slashing with my 5' brush cutter. With careful driving I cut around 15 acres of long grass, shrubs, brambles, goose grass and nettles with mine and actually get on better than with my 65hp Nuffield, The Dexta does not shear as many shear bolts

You need to get that top link hook up correctly before you break the bracket or the housing. They were not meant to float like that. The hydraulic selector lever is also something that you need to sort out, I don't know how easy it will be to get a replacement. You would normally work your slasher in Position Control.

Your pictures just show part number, the same on every Dexta, can't make out the casting codes that will help date her, you may also find her serial number stamped onto the flange just in front of the extra fuel tank. The engine number is on a flat area on the block just over the coil, I would like these to add to the register of Petrol Dextas.

Parts from the TE20/MF 35 petrol will fit OK, the oil filter is the one I use.

I think you are right to work her and see what you need to do, however I would change the engine oil and filter and drain and flush the radiator before doing too much. The axle oil also needs changing as water can damage the hydraulic pump and cause rust in the system.

They are not bad tractors to work on as long as you remember parts are heavy and you are fragile in comparison.

how hot is too hot? it did have a cheap temp gauge fitted from a car but not too sure what the correct running temp is and how hot it can go before you must stop blow the radiator etc.

top link is like that at the moment as I was trying to sort the auto hight adjustment for the hydraulic's, when you say position control do you mean having it set so that you give it the hight and it stays there no matter if the ground is up and down or what? with my slasher it has no rear wheel so when the ground dips the slasher drops hard into the dirt and this causes big load on the motor due to this I have to slash real slow so that I have time to lift the slasher every time I hit a dip. I do plan to re-build the slasher too and install a rear wheel but I cant do this yet, and I would have figured that you still would not want too much presure on the back when the land dips or you would just break or bend somthing?

I will get the information you are after when I get home tonight.

I also doubt that it has a thermostat, is this worth putting back in or should I not worry about this? as for the flush I think I will do this as the tractor only had water in it when I got it and after replacing the dead water pump I used coolant but I have a suspecian that the system is not so clean.

as for the oil I was hopeful that I could get away without doing this as I do plan to strip and clean in a few months time, however if it is pretty important than I will do this however from my information I figured that I would need alot of oil to replace it all nearly 40L, is this correct??

Thanks

What i do when using a topper (slasher) instead of using the top link, park the tractor and topper on level ground and conect with a strong piece of chain , and let it sag a little . That way the topper rides the contours but can still be lifted on the Hyd arms. (with the select lever in position control as Brian said ) . Jim.

The temperature range I run in is between 150F and 185F, if she goes higher than that I change down. The radiator is not large for that engine and the fins are very closely spaced and tend to clog very easily. I blow mine out regularly and am still finding bits of New Zealand vegetation coming out when I do! I took the cowl off last year and really went to town with the airline which has made a big difference.

Yes it is a lot of oil but you will find metal is far more expensive. An oil change now and again in a short while will clean the interior of the engine if you have to strip it. You may find that with clean oil and filters, with some work on your slasher, that your compression figures may come up a bit. The axle/hydraulics could be cleaned by mixing about 2 gal of oil with about the same kerosene, not diesel, and running her around for around 1/2 an hour then draining and refilling with clean oil.

hi



lever in position control


and qualitrol , ie. draft

hope this helps m8

Thanks for the advice guys, I will use a treatment and replace the oil.
as for the temp I think that she is getting too hot at the moment as I was expecting it to be similure to a car and closer to 100deg c, I will flush the system with a cleaner replace the coolant and give the radiator a good blow out, temps at the moment are between 30 and 40 deg c so keeping the tractor below 80 might not be so easy?? any thoughts?

Thanks

I ended up going out to the tractor shop and brought a new oil filter B7700 from Bare-co which should fit and they also had SAE 30 oil for Case Tractors so I bought this in 20L drums.
I also bought a thermostat listed for the MF35?? it has 180F on it for the opening temp, is this not a little hot??
I also got a generic temp gauge Bare-co B3834 used on the MF petrols, do any guys on here know what the temps are for the green and red zones??

I hope that the rain gives me a break tomorrow as I also have radiator flush and oil flush that I want to run through the system than drop both replace the filters and fluids and see if she runs cooler and gains a little power?

also what should the oil pressure be?? I have noted that the tractor when cold the light is out however when it heats up she comes on, yet there is enough oil in the sump so may have an oil pressure issue?? or it could be that the wrong oil is in it as I toped it up with 15 oil which was for the Hilux as that was all I had last week??

Thanks

I have looked at the tractor ID plate again and below is what I can make out however I cannot see what each number is for?

3B864 634 91122
26978 FPL4067

hope this helps, when I clean up the tractor I will try to get all the casting codes for you.

the above numbers should be close but it is very hard to read as it is old and dirty.

I also found a possible reason for the high temps, the uper and lower housing for the thermostat was joined with silicone and when I removed the silicone on the lower house was close to blocking the flow into the motor, I am also thinking that perhaps there might be bits of silicone stuck in the motor??

I will know how well the repair went on the weekend coming when I try it in the field again, although when I ran it for half an hour at idle I noted that the temp gauge (from the MF 35) only went to the middle of the green section than would drop down to the lower thrid of the green than go back up again to half way showing the thermostat opening and closing, although the thermostat read 180F on the bottom I wonder what the red and green zones on the MF temp gauge are??
I expected the gauge to be between 65C and 80C??

Thanks

Sounds like you are getting on top of the overheating issues, 180F would not be too far out. Cannot help with the Red and Green zones but as they are using the same engine, (MF35 and Petrol Dexta) the gauge should be a good guide.

The oil pressure may be an issue, you could try adjusting the Pressure Relief Valve, that is the adjustment on the oil filter housing. Did you also clean the sump filter when you changed the oil? That is the one behind the oval plate on the side of the sump. The oil change will not affect the power, just make her last longer.

3B8 -- 1963 .. February .. 8th

FPL 4067 E -- Is in the 1964 range of dates. If you check the Petrol Dexta Register above you will find that tractors either side of your engine number, like yours, have some 1963 casting codes but are registered in Australia as 1964 tractors.

That is why I do like as many numbers as possible. We are starting to think that, in Australia, tractors that were originally diesel, had an engine change to petrol out there. we would normally expect an early Petrol Dexta to have a 959E prefix in the serial number. Yours may have an 09B or 09C prefix which again will date her.

If you go to the Home Page, www. fordsontractorpages.nl and click on the banner "Dexta" you will find an owners hand book for an owners hand book for a Petrol Dexta which will give you lots of helpful service information.

Completely off topic! I should buy your petrol Dexta! Your engine number 4067 is my "lucky" number! I had an Austin Westminster 95/6 that was registered as 4067AH here in Norfolk and, in the last few years 4067 keeps re-occurring.

Thanks for the help,

I had no knowledge that there was a sump filter, whats it look like?? is it a replacement job like the canister one that I replaced below the fuel bowl?? if not how do I clean this??
how do I adjust the oild pressure releife valve??

each time I come on here I end up with more questions and more things to check out on the tractor.

If I do have to clean the sump filter would I be fine droping the oil into a clean container cleaning the filter than re-using the oil (the oil in the sump has only been ran for 30 minutes)?? I am finding that this tractor needs ALOT of oil and it is not cheap!!

Thanks again.

No problem with dropping the oil out again, the filter is a washable gauze so clean it in a drop of Kerosene/petrol/diesel/engine cleaner.



Sump filter plate can just be seen on the side of the sump behind the drag link and radius rod.

To adjust the oil pressure relief valve, undo the locknut and turn the centre down 1/2 a turn at a time. If you could get an oil pressure gauge it would be a help but you can do it a small turn at a time until your light stays off.



Pressre relief valve on filter housing.

Well I added an oil pressure gauge to the tractor and I have a problem!!

on start up she is at 20PSI which is low, when it warms up she is lucky to be just over the 0PSI line!!!!
the gauge is a 0 to 50 which come out on the MF35.

so far I am going to start by striping the filter house down and I will clean and check the pressure valve and hope it is stuck otherwise what would be my next thing to check??
If I have to inspect the pump I assume that I will need to remove the big old oil sump??

what are your thoughts on this?? I have been slashing with this problem for probably 10 hours or so and she still keeps going but I assume that this will come to a fast end if she trully has no real oil pressure??

Thanks