Howdy, I bought a 1979 Massey Ferguson MF60 Backhoe from a guy for a very low price because he inherited it and had no use for it. He claims it has a bad transmission with worn bands but doesn't know much about it. From my initial inspection today, I have a number of questions I hope some of you can answer for me. The tractor appears to have been drained of hydraulic fluid but he has 15 gallons available for me. It has a full tank of diesel. The coolant is empty, he said he drained it before the winter. No idea why but the radiator cap is also broken.The engine starts and runs good, however, the exhaust manifold has a lot of oil in it(?). I cannot find the transmission dipstick nor the fluid type and capacity. Bear in mind this was a quick initial inspection and brief start up. (I will be working on it in earnest tomorrow if I get off work early enough). We will be starting it up tomorrow and attempting to move it. I have zero experience with a 79 MF60 but I have a decent amount of experience operating much newer backhoes. I need to know some critical information about fluid types and capacities and dipstick/filling locations if possible. I know where the fuel and hydraulic reservoirs are located as well as the engine oil filler and dipstick. I believe I read the transmission dipstick is under the driver seat? My first goal is to check and fill the transmission with the correct fluid if possible. Hopefully it is something easily available at a rural NAPA auto parts. Can someone help me by listing fluid capacities, types, and specs for this particular model? Additionally, he claims the backhoe will run and operate all hydraulics very well, but the transmission will not shift into forward or reverse at all. If I'm extremely lucky, perhaps it will be related to the threads I am reading about sticking pedals? When I pressed the forward/reverse pedal cluster the pedals would NOT operate independently. They appear to be sticking like in the other thread I read through. Also, I asked him if he checked the transmission fluid (before we got there) and he said yes, and that the level was low, barely registering on the bottom of the dipstick. The fluid capacity here will help me to top it off. Also I read something about checking the shift linkage is tight from underneath the pedals to the transmission? Are there any other "Quick fixes" I can try before abandoning all hope and borrowing a trailer and winch? The tractor is 9 miles down the rural highway so if we miraculously get it running we will just drive it home. He also said the brakes don't work but when I pushed the brake pedal there was good pressure and the pedal didn't go all the way to the floor. Are the brakes tied into the hydraulic reservoir or separate? Any and all info is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Don't run it without all the fluids full. I can't say exactly on a 60 (what letter?) but on the older ones, the trans dipstick is on the right under the seat, comes up between the floorboard and the transmission case. But the transmission can be empty and it will work until it breaks, that's just the gear part, I think. The torque converter oil has a plug at an angle under the right forward and backward pedals, fill that to the threads or overflowing. You'll need a long funnel, or hose to reach that plug. I would guess there's 5 gallons or less in the torque converter, a trans hydraulic fluid should be fine. I would expect the pedals to stick if it's been sitting at all, that doesn't mean there isn't something else wrong. The external linkage is obvious, work those pedals with penetrating oil until the pedals operate the horizontal shaft that sticks out of the bellhousing. Depending on how much it was drained of hydraulic fluid, it may take more than 15 gallons. Did you remove the plug on the bottom of the loader frame to see if it was empty, or use a stick to check the level? If you have any information on WHY he thought the transmission was bad, that might help.
I had a ** 60 a while back, my buddy now owns it, if i recall, theres an inspection plate behind the seat, remove it and you'll find a dipstick to check fluid level of tranny. These tarnnys use a special fluid, not hydraulic fluid, i can't remember the name off hand but i got mine at a ** dealer. You should have a brake fluid reservoir and master cylinder on the fire wall under the hood. This also uses a special brake fluid oil, pretty hard to find also, using regular brake fluid can damage the seals in the master cylinder.( it should state on the cover what type of fluid to use) If i remember correctly, the forward/reverse pedal operates only one cable, it either pushes it, or pulls it, you can have someone operate the pedal and see on the trans if its working properly, I had to remove the pedal assembly to clean and re-oil it etc to get it to operate correctly. Eventually, the whole cable had to be replaced along with a few others. I can call buddy if you like to find out how much the tranny will hold etc.
Someone please look at the ** 60 TBL on ebay for 11,500 and tell me what you think. My cell is 760 636 9709 dave. Thanks
Wow! it looks brand new, the paint isn't even worn off the pedals or the teeth! (hard to say anything about it with those pictures, if it's sound it's probably worth it, but I don't know your market either. If you're interested go take a look at it, and burn a couple gallons of their fuel before you start to form an opinion of it.)