Engine rebuild part 1
DIFFICULTY RATING
One of the least dignified tasks for a tractor on any dairy farm is the that of scraping the parlour area each day, after the milking duties have been performed. Despite this indignity, it’s surprising how many hours a tractor can accrue doing this alone!
My neighbour’s tractor, a 1969 MF 135, has been on this task for many years now, and has seen more than its share of attention to its engine over the years, as it became prone to blowing cylinder head gaskets.
After changing a few head gaskets and then changing the cylinder head, it was decided to replace the engine block with a fresh one, as it was thought the top of the original block was warped, hence the repeated gasket failures.
FOUR YEARS ON
Since the new block the tractor has remained reliable, until very recently when it developed a violent knocking, which was thought to be failed big end bearings. It was
