MIL Loader

This was written when we were 15, and is rather lenghty! It also hasn't been updated for a considerable time!

In the early October of 1998, we discovered that a well-known couple in the local village were moving away and learnt that they had a Ferguson TEF that was for sale. Enquiries were made and we arranged a time when it would be possible to examine the tractor. On viewing, we found that the Ferguson had been used a lot in the past but at its present home, it had only been used for light rolling and fertiliser spreading. It was in fairly poor condition and ran badly. However, it was a diesel and I had been looking for one for a long time. It was also the right price and I decided to buy it and see what could be done with it.

I had already acquired two TED Fergusons but for the work, I needed them to do a diesel would be a lot more suitable and cheaper as the petrol seemed to disappear very quickly. One TED was in very poor condition and could not be used for work. It had stood in a hedge for two years but with some minor work on it, the engine started. However, the clutch was seized and the tinwork was very poor in condition. We decided to keep it and use it for spares for my other TED, which has been in regular use since purchasing it.

Back to the TEF, included with the tractor came a 765 loader for a Massey 35, which I have put up for sale, along with a Ferguson FF30 fertiliser spreader. We were also presented with the opportunity to buy a small "home-made" trailer but it was in such a poor state that the offer was declined.

There was a small problem in getting the tractor home but a friend helped us with his trailer and pick-up truck. It was fairly simple to load although the clutch was noted to be a little abrupt! The tractor was then run quickly home and stored in a small cattle shed. Here it was left and the only time it was ran was when we started it just so that it would not sit for too long without running.

Within a few weeks, the shed was needed for sheep and the tractor had to be moved. It was driven with great caution and respect, as the clutch had become even worse. It resembled a rodeo horse more than a tractor! There it stood in the Dutch barn, with the block drained and the battery taken off. Here it stood for until April of this year. We had some rolling and harrowing to do on one of our fields, so I thought that if the previous owner could use it, so could I!

We pulled it up to in front of our workshop with the good TED; here we cleaned it and prepared it for work. It started with little difficulty, but found that with it just sitting the clutch had got worse, but I was driving the TED and Will was volunteered to drive the TEF, and seemed to get on well with it for some strange reason, I did not mind!

However, when the day came to do the fieldwork, it was pouring. Therefore, with no firm decision to work on it, work commenced on the TEF, we did small easy jobs that did not really have a large effect on the overall working of the tractor. (Before now, the plan was to sell this tractor and find a better one.)

One of the first jobs was to try to sort out the exhaust elbow, for some reason the elbow and exhaust were at such an angle the bonnet could not be opened! We found the problem to be that the elbow had broken off where it joins the manifold, so it had been built up with weld and ground off, however, it was not ground square. Various other jobs were also carried out, but they do not have any significant reverences now. Sunday night came and it was time to put the TEF away, after prolonged rain, the yard was muddy, and being soaked, we were not in the mood for messing about. Of-course it would not start, due to the lack of power in the battery. Anyway, it was pulled down by the TED but was not in anyone's good books.

A week went by and the weather improved, after working on Saturday, we seized the chance to complete the fieldwork. Both tractors ran well apart from the TEFs smoke. We found that the gearing on this tractor was very high. As we were leaving the field, the TEF sprung a water leak from the bottom house, so it was sat outside the workshop for ready for more work.

For easy access to the radiator, we decided to take the bonnet off, a replace it with the good one from the TED that had been in the hedge. On inspecting the radiator, we decided that this needed replacing, along with the fan belt. The radiator came off easily, and the new fan belt went on with ease as well. We spent some time cleaning the front of the tractor, and we left the radiator and bonnet off the tractor, as we knew that we would have to do some more work on the engine.

We roped the bonnet back onto the tractor, and left in front of the workshop, for the week. During the week we decided to pull the old TED out of the workshop, and put the TEF in there. So the next Sunday morning we started to clear some the entrance to the workshop, which included moving a freezer half full of home produced beef!

Once the TED, on one inflated tyre, started to move, the rest was easy. We pushed the TED into a building that we had cleared earlier with a piece of '6 by 4', and set about putting the TEF into the workshop. After speaking to Wills Dad, who used to be an Agricultural Engineer. He said that it would be fine to start the engine, with out the radiator. Just to be on the safe side, we blanked off the bottom outlet, and filled the block with water. The tractor started well, and was driven into position.

The TEF remained in the workshop with very little being done. After a while, of looking at the TEF, we decided to replace the backend. We decided this as the hydraulics were bad, the lift arms were twisted, and there were various studs 'rung off'. We, being novice restorers, felt that it would be easier for us to change the back end rather the fiddle about with various, smaller jobs.

However, we had started to take the half shafts and axle housings off the old TED by hand, ready to change the backend. We stopped due to the various components being too heavy to handle 'by-hand', seeing as the tractor had Mil Loader brackets, which added a lot of weight to the axle housings.

The project was put on hold for a couple of weeks, while I arranged the purchase of a workshop crane. This has proved vital in this project. With the aid of the crane, we were able to take the second half shaft and axle housing off the tractor. The crane made removing the back end very easy. With the aid of our Wheel Horse garden tractor and a trailer, we put the backend into the workshop. We took the old backend off the TEF, but kept the axle housings as they had the battery holder and roll frame brackets on them.

The new backend sat on the workshop floor, while we waited for some gasket paper; this was acquired from G.K. Argent Tractor Spares. Within two hours of starting refitting the backend, it was complete, including pressing the gasket. The next week we started to press the gasket for one of the half shafts. The first gasket was not very good, so we were about to press another, when we compared the number of studs in the backend to the number of holes in the axle housing. Realising that the number of studs had been changed between the two years of manufacture of the tractors; or the TEFs were different, we decided that the only way forward would be to use the axle housings from the old TED.

The Mil Loader brackets looked to have been on the tractor for a very long time, and the bolts were rusted tight in their holes. We decided that it would be best to cut the brackets away, this may sound like sacrilege to some, but we felt that the brackets were past their best, with the holes being more oval than round.

One bracket was quickly cut away, and left with the bolts still in while I attended The Great Dorset Steam Fair. The relation that I visited the fair with completed his apprenticeship with a Ferguson Engineer, and spent many years working on TE 20s and MF 35s. At the fair, I managed to purchase an original Ferguson spanner, with 11/16" one end, and 1 1/16" the other. On one side of the spanner is a measure marked in inches, and the other side, a measure marked in centimetres.

At the fair I spoke to many Fergy people about how they set about removing the mudguard bolts, and learnt that everybody has their own way, which is easiest with the tools that they have. Once home schoolwork took over, and the project was put on hold for a few weeks.

One weekend we decided to have a 'tractor weekend' and get some work done. With little effort, we cut the top of the mudguard bolts off and removed the mudguard and the top of the loader brackets; we removed the nuts and took away the bottom of the loader brackets. With the aid of a 7lb sledge and some dismantling fluid, the bolts soon came out once they started moving.

The pair of mudguard bolts on the second axle housing were more stubborn, as we had to cut the middle of the bolts away and drive one half out at a time. The axle housings and half-shafts were left in the workshop for a week, ready to fit.

The next Friday night we decided to try to get one half-shaft back onto the tractor. We started by pressing one small gasket for where the housing meets the hub. The problem we found with fixing the hub to the housing, as there was a brass gasket inside the hub, this kept turning independently from the rest of the hub. After removing the whole axle from the housing three or four times we managed to get one stud through the housing and into the hub. Once one stud was in, the other five went in with great ease.

This time we took more time over the gasket for the large end of the housing and Will pressed a perfect gasket, that would fit a lot better the previous would. With some grease to seal the joint, the axle fitted snugly back onto the backend. Next was to put the diff back into the backend, this went in with relatively little ease once we tried the right one!

We pressed the gaskets for the other axle housing and half-shaft and the axle went into the housing once the brass gasket started to move. Fitting the entire axle back onto the backend was not too difficult, once the shaft was picked up so that it would slide into the diff.
The wheels were put back on, and we cleared up the workshop. Finally, we could move it again, after so long, although we had to push it! We positioned the TEF ready to commence work on the engine.

The next Friday we decided to start disconnecting various parts of the engine before removing the engine. First we disconnected and drained the fuel tank, which took a long time as the previous owner filled the fuel tank just before he sold it. As the TEFs were renowned for their economical running, we had used very little; (we saved the diesel for cleaning parts). Next, we disconnected the many leads and pipes that cross over from the engine to the gearbox. There were many, what with the fuel lines, electrics, and throttle mechanism. This took a while, as we 'taped up' all of the fuel pipes to stop dust getting into the system.

The tractor was left for Saturday as Will and I had both had a trying day at work. Sunday morning saw us start to remove the various parts that could be damaged when we use the workshop crane to remove the engine. We start with the diesel pump and pipes, though we left the injectors in as they were caked with coke, inside the [pre-combustion] chamber. Then we removed the other parts, such as the starter-motor and dynamo, which would just get in the way.

The next job was to remove the front axle. We started to do this by, supporting the gearbox with some blocks, removed the font wheels (600x16s had been put on it at some point). Then we disconnected the drag links at both ends and stored them, to avoid them getting bent. We undid the nuts on the foot pegs and removed the tie rods. Using the crane to take the weight of the front axle we unbolted it and took it away. My brother set to the axle with a wire brush and started to remove fifty years of oil and dust mixture that had come to settle on the axle.

The last job of the weekend was to remove the air manifold and the exhaust manifold; we saved the thick manifold gaskets for using as patterns later. On inspecting the exhaust manifold, we found that at some point one of the studs to fix the exhaust elbow had broken. So one owner had drilled part of the stud out, and wound another in. On inspecting the exhaust chambers, we found that the second chamber had more oil than carbon. Something we will have to investigate later.

The tractor then sat for a while as I was waiting for and engine stand from a well-known tool supplier (which was ordered in October 1999). However, in Late December I was told that "it would be with me later" by February, I heard that it would not be arriving until late march, a total of five months after it was ordered. By then I had decided to cancel the order, after so much time wasting.

During this spare time, we cut the old TEF wings skins of the wing brackets, ready to paint them and fit some new skins. They were in quite good condition, under the layers of rust, and cleaned up easily.

On visiting our local garage, to pick up some parts for a new harrow that Will and I was making, the garage owner, who has also been bitten by the 'Fergie bug', said that I could borrow their old engine stand, that they did not use any more. So that Friday night we set about removing the engine.
Our original plan had been to sit the engine on a pallet, though we tried to sit it on the engine stand, but the front casting, including the timing chain would have to be removed. As I had did not have a pulley-puller, this was not possible, in the end we decided to sit it on wooden blocks. First I removed the water pump, and thermostat housing. These were removed and stored, ready for cleaning. It was clear to see that the water jacket was full of lime scale, cleaning, I will have to look into later.

The rocker cover was then removed to reveal the head, coated in a layer of thin oil. Every thing seemed to be in order, so we removed the nuts from around the edge of the head, and applied so dismantling fluid around the studs. Next, we removed the rocker arm and un-did row of eight bolts along the middle of the head, and applied some dismantling fluid, around those studs.

After allowing time for the fluid to act, we tried lifting the head, it was stuck fast, so Will took a wooden block and a lump-hammer, and hit the head, under the lip, to try and free it. After some time of gentle, the head started to move. With more gentle persuasion we were able to lift it clear, and for the first time see the pistons.



Ferguson TEF 322158

	This was written when we were 15, and is rather lenghty! It also hasn't been updated for a considerable time! In the early October of 1998, we discovered that a well-known couple in the local village were moving away and learnt that they had a Ferguson TEF that was for sale. Enquiries were made and we arranged a time when it would be possible to examine the tractor. On viewing, we found that the Ferguson had been used a lot in the past but at its present home, it had only been used for light rolling and fertiliser spreading. It was in fairly poor condition and ran badly. However, it was a diesel and I had been looking for one for a long time. It was also the right price and I decided to buy it and see what could be done with it. I had already acquired two TED Fergusons but for the work, I needed them to do a diesel would be a lot more suitable and cheaper as the petrol seemed to disappear very quickly. One TED was in very poor condition and could not be used for work. It had stood in a hedge for two years but with some minor work on it, the engine started. However, the clutch was seized and the tinwork was very poor in condition. We decided to keep it and use it for spares for my other TED, which has been in regular use since purchasing it. Back to the TEF, included with the tractor came a 765 loader for a Massey 35, which I have put up for sale, along with a Ferguson FF30 fertiliser spreader. We were also presented with the opportunity to buy a small "home-made" trailer but it was in such a poor state that the offer was declined. There was a small problem in getting the tractor home but a friend helped us with his trailer and pick-up truck. It was fairly simple to load although the clutch was noted to be a little abrupt! The tractor was then run quickly home and stored in a small cattle shed. Here it was left and the only time it was ran was when we started it just so that it would not sit for too long without running. Within a few weeks, the shed was needed for sheep and the tractor had to be moved. It was driven with great caution and respect, as the clutch had become even worse. It resembled a rodeo horse more than a tractor! There it stood in the Dutch barn, with the block drained and the battery taken off. Here it stood for until April of this year. We had some rolling and harrowing to do on one of our fields, so I thought that if the previous owner could use it, so could I! We pulled it up to in front of our workshop with the good TED; here we cleaned it and prepared it for work. It started with little difficulty, but found that with it just sitting the clutch had got worse, but I was driving the TED and Will was volunteered to drive the TEF, and seemed to get on well with it for some strange reason, I did not mind! However, when the day came to do the fieldwork, it was pouring. Therefore, with no firm decision to work on it, work commenced on the TEF, we did small easy jobs that did not really have a large effect on the overall working of the tractor. (Before now, the plan was to sell this tractor and find a better one.) One of the first jobs was to try to sort out the exhaust elbow, for some reason the elbow and exhaust were at such an angle the bonnet could not be opened! We found the problem to be that the elbow had broken off where it joins the manifold, so it had been built up with weld and ground off, however, it was not ground square. Various other jobs were also carried out, but they do not have any significant reverences now. Sunday night came and it was time to put the TEF away, after prolonged rain, the yard was muddy, and being soaked, we were not in the mood for messing about. Of-course it would not start, due to the lack of power in the battery. Anyway, it was pulled down by the TED but was not in anyone's good books. A week went by and the weather improved, after working on Saturday, we seized the chance to complete the fieldwork. Both tractors ran well apart from the TEFs smoke. We found that the gearing on this tractor was very high. As we were leaving the field, the TEF sprung a water leak from the bottom house, so it was sat outside the workshop for ready for more work. For easy access to the radiator, we decided to take the bonnet off, a replace it with the good one from the TED that had been in the hedge. On inspecting the radiator, we decided that this needed replacing, along with the fan belt. The radiator came off easily, and the new fan belt went on with ease as well. We spent some time cleaning the front of the tractor, and we left the radiator and bonnet off the tractor, as we knew that we would have to do some more work on the engine. We roped the bonnet back onto the tractor, and left in front of the workshop, for the week. During the week we decided to pull the old TED out of the workshop, and put the TEF in there. So the next Sunday morning we started to clear some the entrance to the workshop, which included moving a freezer half full of home produced beef! Once the TED, on one inflated tyre, started to move, the rest was easy. We pushed the TED into a building that we had cleared earlier with a piece of '6 by 4', and set about putting the TEF into the workshop. After speaking to Wills Dad, who used to be an Agricultural Engineer. He said that it would be fine to start the engine, with out the radiator. Just to be on the safe side, we blanked off the bottom outlet, and filled the block with water. The tractor started well, and was driven into position. The TEF remained in the workshop with very little being done. After a while, of looking at the TEF, we decided to replace the backend. We decided this as the hydraulics were bad, the lift arms were twisted, and there were various studs 'rung off'. We, being novice restorers, felt that it would be easier for us to change the back end rather the fiddle about with various, smaller jobs. However, we had started to take the half shafts and axle housings off the old TED by hand, ready to change the backend. We stopped due to the various components being too heavy to handle 'by-hand', seeing as the tractor had Mil Loader brackets, which added a lot of weight to the axle housings. The project was put on hold for a couple of weeks, while I arranged the purchase of a workshop crane. This has proved vital in this project. With the aid of the crane, we were able to take the second half shaft and axle housing off the tractor. The crane made removing the back end very easy. With the aid of our Wheel Horse garden tractor and a trailer, we put the backend into the workshop. We took the old backend off the TEF, but kept the axle housings as they had the battery holder and roll frame brackets on them. The new backend sat on the workshop floor, while we waited for some gasket paper; this was acquired from G.K. Argent Tractor Spares. Within two hours of starting refitting the backend, it was complete, including pressing the gasket. The next week we started to press the gasket for one of the half shafts. The first gasket was not very good, so we were about to press another, when we compared the number of studs in the backend to the number of holes in the axle housing. Realising that the number of studs had been changed between the two years of manufacture of the tractors; or the TEFs were different, we decided that the only way forward would be to use the axle housings from the old TED. The Mil Loader brackets looked to have been on the tractor for a very long time, and the bolts were rusted tight in their holes. We decided that it would be best to cut the brackets away, this may sound like sacrilege to some, but we felt that the brackets were past their best, with the holes being more oval than round. One bracket was quickly cut away, and left with the bolts still in while I attended The Great Dorset Steam Fair. The relation that I visited the fair with completed his apprenticeship with a Ferguson Engineer, and spent many years working on TE 20s and MF 35s. At the fair, I managed to purchase an original Ferguson spanner, with 11/16" one end, and 1 1/16" the other. On one side of the spanner is a measure marked in inches, and the other side, a measure marked in centimetres. At the fair I spoke to many Fergy people about how they set about removing the mudguard bolts, and learnt that everybody has their own way, which is easiest with the tools that they have. Once home schoolwork took over, and the project was put on hold for a few weeks. One weekend we decided to have a 'tractor weekend' and get some work done. With little effort, we cut the top of the mudguard bolts off and removed the mudguard and the top of the loader brackets; we removed the nuts and took away the bottom of the loader brackets. With the aid of a 7lb sledge and some dismantling fluid, the bolts soon came out once they started moving. The pair of mudguard bolts on the second axle housing were more stubborn, as we had to cut the middle of the bolts away and drive one half out at a time. The axle housings and half-shafts were left in the workshop for a week, ready to fit. The next Friday night we decided to try to get one half-shaft back onto the tractor. We started by pressing one small gasket for where the housing meets the hub. The problem we found with fixing the hub to the housing, as there was a brass gasket inside the hub, this kept turning independently from the rest of the hub. After removing the whole axle from the housing three or four times we managed to get one stud through the housing and into the hub. Once one stud was in, the other five went in with great ease. This time we took more time over the gasket for the large end of the housing and Will pressed a perfect gasket, that would fit a lot better the previous would. With some grease to seal the joint, the axle fitted snugly back onto the backend. Next was to put the diff back into the backend, this went in with relatively little ease once we tried the right one! We pressed the gaskets for the other axle housing and half-shaft and the axle went into the housing once the brass gasket started to move. Fitting the entire axle back onto the backend was not too difficult, once the shaft was picked up so that it would slide into the diff. The wheels were put back on, and we cleared up the workshop. Finally, we could move it again, after so long, although we had to push it! We positioned the TEF ready to commence work on the engine. The next Friday we decided to start disconnecting various parts of the engine before removing the engine. First we disconnected and drained the fuel tank, which took a long time as the previous owner filled the fuel tank just before he sold it. As the TEFs were renowned for their economical running, we had used very little; (we saved the diesel for cleaning parts). Next, we disconnected the many leads and pipes that cross over from the engine to the gearbox. There were many, what with the fuel lines, electrics, and throttle mechanism. This took a while, as we 'taped up' all of the fuel pipes to stop dust getting into the system. The tractor was left for Saturday as Will and I had both had a trying day at work. Sunday morning saw us start to remove the various parts that could be damaged when we use the workshop crane to remove the engine. We start with the diesel pump and pipes, though we left the injectors in as they were caked with coke, inside the [pre-combustion] chamber. Then we removed the other parts, such as the starter-motor and dynamo, which would just get in the way. The next job was to remove the front axle. We started to do this by, supporting the gearbox with some blocks, removed the font wheels (600x16s had been put on it at some point). Then we disconnected the drag links at both ends and stored them, to avoid them getting bent. We undid the nuts on the foot pegs and removed the tie rods. Using the crane to take the weight of the front axle we unbolted it and took it away. My brother set to the axle with a wire brush and started to remove fifty years of oil and dust mixture that had come to settle on the axle. The last job of the weekend was to remove the air manifold and the exhaust manifold; we saved the thick manifold gaskets for using as patterns later. On inspecting the exhaust manifold, we found that at some point one of the studs to fix the exhaust elbow had broken. So one owner had drilled part of the stud out, and wound another in. On inspecting the exhaust chambers, we found that the second chamber had more oil than carbon. Something we will have to investigate later. The tractor then sat for a while as I was waiting for and engine stand from a well-known tool supplier (which was ordered in October 1999). However, in Late December I was told that "it would be with me later" by February, I heard that it would not be arriving until late march, a total of five months after it was ordered. By then I had decided to cancel the order, after so much time wasting. During this spare time, we cut the old TEF wings skins of the wing brackets, ready to paint them and fit some new skins. They were in quite good condition, under the layers of rust, and cleaned up easily. On visiting our local garage, to pick up some parts for a new harrow that Will and I was making, the garage owner, who has also been bitten by the 'Fergie bug', said that I could borrow their old engine stand, that they did not use any more. So that Friday night we set about removing the engine. Our original plan had been to sit the engine on a pallet, though we tried to sit it on the engine stand, but the front casting, including the timing chain would have to be removed. As I had did not have a pulley-puller, this was not possible, in the end we decided to sit it on wooden blocks. First I removed the water pump, and thermostat housing. These were removed and stored, ready for cleaning. It was clear to see that the water jacket was full of lime scale, cleaning, I will have to look into later. The rocker cover was then removed to reveal the head, coated in a layer of thin oil. Every thing seemed to be in order, so we removed the nuts from around the edge of the head, and applied so dismantling fluid around the studs. Next, we removed the rocker arm and un-did row of eight bolts along the middle of the head, and applied some dismantling fluid, around those studs. After allowing time for the fluid to act, we tried lifting the head, it was stuck fast, so Will took a wooden block and a lump-hammer, and hit the head, under the lip, to try and free it. After some time of gentle, the head started to move. With more gentle persuasion we were able to lift it clear, and for the first time see the pistons.

Copyright Rhodds's Farm 2007 Design By J W D / Hosted By Fasthosts