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Brian, where are you going for your summer holidays? I hear that Finland is nice...

• Oscar's Fordson Pages

The noise happens in first and second, high and low. I don't know about third yet because I haven't tried it. 2/High was scary enough!

Basically the noise stops when I depress the clutch, but then the tractor doesn't roll far either. It would be nice if I could find a hill somewhere where I could roll the thing in neutral. The engine makes so much noise (silencer is completely rotten) that it's difficult to hear oneself think, let alone try to figure out where strange noises are coming from!

Cheers for now,

J-P

Your noise could be due to three things:
1. Outer cover touching on brake drum.
2. Brake shoes worn up.
3. Bearing on bull pinion shaft.

I would suspect either 1. or 2. as the most likely.
Gear box oil leaking from the split pin hole is common for a tractor that has not been run for some time. I get the same problem with mine. After a little work it dries up. If it continues it will need attention.
Don means the seal between the rear axle and the front transmission. The oil level in the front transmission is higher than the rear axle so the oil from one runs into the other. You will see no external leak. You can go for years just draining the surpless from the rear and putting it back in the front.
I would suspect you have an 11" clutch as a 13" would have a grease stuffer cap on the right hand side in front of the brake pedals.
John-Paul I have one question for you. I work for my own company. 1.Whats a holiday?

regards
Brian (Workaholic)

PS My holiday will be from Friday the 9th of June til Sunday 11th of June on the Newark Showground nr Nottingham with 2000 tractors and my 2. I shall be driving them there towing the Major behind the 4/65. Just a short run. About 100 miles there and 100 miles back.
Must stop now as nurse has just arrived with my medicine and special jacket.

Thanks for your suggestions! I did actually wonder if it might be the drum cover as it is kind of squiffy. I had discounted this though because the noise reduced so much when declutching. It is a graunching noise though, rather than the sort of rumble that one might assosciate with bearing trouble. I shall have to pull that cover off and see what happens. It's missing from the other side anyway. The main thing is that I want to be sure that it's not going to do any damage when I take the tractor home, a drive of about 5 miles.

Do you mean that the split pin is meant to be there? What on earth is it doing?? I had assumed that it had dropped off the shaft holding the release fork.

As to a definition of 'holiday', that's a bit hard as it varies so much. Basically it's time off work when you can live your life for a bit. For example, last year my girlfriend and I drove to Taunton, in Somerset. A typical summer jaunt, that put another 6000+ kilometres on the clock of the 4wd.
I wonder if we can get your medicine here? I discovered today that we can buy proper non-metric nuts and bolts - really surprising as the Imperial system is regarded with suspicion here! Reminds me though of the time when my physics PhD friend cut a piece of lino to 1005cm rather than ten metres and 50cm. Not a mistake that could have been made in feet and inches.

Cheers,

J-P

PS. Brian: Yes, you are a genius. Obviously. I'm surprised you had to ask!

• J-P's tractor

Regards

Syeven

The previous owner has mixed and matched bonnets (hoods in American English I think) and he also has what is very definately a Super Major, that has the bonnet from an early Major. The bonnet doesn't fit very well on my tractor and I've always assumed it came from an older beast. The instrument panel (heh! what's left of it) is under the steering column. Do you think I have a regular Major with a Power engine then, or what? Is there anything else I can check?

Of course, it doesn't really matter to me; this is to be a working tractor, so the important things are that I can plough, harrow, cut hay, use a snow blade with it, and that the wheels are the right colour!

Cheers,

J-P

I have just had another look at the photo, and I can't see the dash panel. However, the Major has a panel with four small guages under the diesel tank and the throttle lever is next to the high/low range lever, the throttle opperating in the same fashion as the starter lever. The Power Major has a dash on top of the diesel tank and the steering column passes through it. On the right hand side of the dash is a proof meter (tachometer) and on the left is a round gauge that contains an oil pressure light, a temperature guage and a generator light. The throttle is a small lever adjacent to the steering column near the steering wheel. The Major does not have a proof meter.

That should help you identify the tractor. If it is a Major with a Power Major engine, there are ways of dating the back end. Tell me the outcome of this post and I'll ask more questions on Monday.

From your description it sounds very much like I have a Major with a Power Major engine. All the instruments and levers are as you describe for a Major. There is a drive for a proofmeter on the engine, but no cable, and no obvious place for a meter to fit.

This is getting interesting, I'd very much like to know if there's some way I can reasonably accurately date the bulk of the beast!

By the way, is the hand throttle lever supposed to be the only way to control engine revs? Mine has some sort of foot control fitted but it looks home made, and it doesn't return by itself so I have to use the hand throttle anyway. Can't change gear and steer at the same time!

Many thanks, and have a good weekend!

J-P

Now the dog can see the rabbit!

Brian