47 replies to this topic

[NUTNDUN]

I remember someone mentioning that John Deere still carries the pieces needed to fix the shifter on the Peerless transaxle used on the Massey's and the John Deere 110's. Only problem is I don't know what all pieces I would need to ask for. I would like to fix the shifter on my Massey MF12 so it stays in 2nd gear better then what it does. I know it has something to do with the detents to hold it in gear.

If anyone can point me in the right direction for what all pieces I would need I would be grateful.

[DH1]

The detent spring breaks. At least that's what I found in 3 different Massey trans.

[NUTNDUN]

The detent spring breaks. At least that's what I found in 3 different Massey trans.

That just jarred my memory. It is just the springs I need to get isn't it?

[DH1]

Yes sir that's all it is maybe a case gasket or some RTV to get it sealed back up when you put it together.

[NUTNDUN]

Yes sir that's all it is maybe a case gasket or some RTV to get it sealed back up when you put it together.

Awesome, thanks for the info Doug. I am going to call the John Deere dealer up by my work on Monday to see if they have two springs or can order them. I gotta try and see if I can't find my 1st gear lockout bracket. My MF12 didn't have one and the parts MF10 I had did have one and I took it off before I scrapped what was no good. I just gotta figure out what I did with it LOL.

[NUTNDUN]

I decided to yank the rear out of the Massey MF12 yesterday. While I had it out I took it outside and pressure washed the 30+ years of crud off of it. I drained the oil, it had some nice silver tint streaks to it which isn't a good sign. I have a feeling I am going to be splitting the spare tranny apart and see if there are any gears in that one that are better looking then the ones in the 12g's tranny. I gotta call and get the detent springs. I will post up some pics when I get a chance to take them.

[DH1]

If I can make a suggestion here, after the oil is drained and the trany removed put the left tire+rim back on and stand the trany up on that end.
Makes it easy to split the case and work on.

[NUTNDUN]

If I can make a suggestion here, after the oil is drained and the trany removed put the left tire+rim back on and stand the trany up on that end.
Makes it easy to split the case and work on.

Doug, that is an awesome idea. I put the tranny on the work bench and was working on removing the axle tubes thinking this is going to be a pain in the butt. The manual shows clamping the case side in a vise and I don't have a vise that big LOL. I will bolt the case side axle tube back up and put the rim and tire back on and set it on the floor. From what I can see so far though the one gear is chewed up pretty good. I am going to tear apart the parts tranny and see what gears in that one look better. I should be able to make one good tranny out of the two of them and have some spare parts left over.

[DH1]

I've done it a few times now that way, all the internal trany parts stay in the lower case so all you do is pull the top (right side case) straight up, last time I did it I left the axle tube on and pulled them both off together.
Also when you put it back together every thing lines up, just wiggle a bit and it goes in place, the 2 shifter shafts are the hardest to line up but if you use a pair of long needle nose pliers though the shifter hole and wiggle each shaft they go right into place.

[NUTNDUN]

I've done it a few times now that way, all the internal trany parts stay in the lower case so all you do is pull the top (right side case) straight up, last time I did it I left the axle tube on and pulled them both off together.
Also when you put it back together every thing lines up, just wiggle a bit and it goes in place, the 2 shifter shafts are the hardest to line up but if you use a pair of long needle nose pliers though the shifter hole and wiggle each shaft they go right into place.

Thanks for the tips Doug. What would be really nice is if the transmission wouldn't be so darn heavy LOL.

[MFGray]

I have had two of these apart and in both, the pieces that slide on the shifter shafts (and hold the shifting gears) showed small patches of wear on the bottom of the square cut-out portion where the bottom of the gear shift lever has been pressing. It makes me think that it might be important to use a fairly thick gasket to hold the lever and housing up off the case. Otherwise the bottom of the gear lever might bend the shift key. It would be interesting to know if yours has wear in the same places, or my POs just pushed down hard when they changed gear.
George

[NUTNDUN]

I have had two of these apart and in both, the pieces that slide on the shifter shafts (and hold the shifting gears) showed small patches of wear on the bottom of the square cut-out portion where the bottom of the gear shift lever has been pressing. It makes me think that it might be important to use a fairly thick gasket to hold the lever and housing up off the case. Otherwise the bottom of the gear lever might bend the shift key. It would be interesting to know if yours has wear in the same places, or my POs just pushed down hard when they changed gear.
George

Once I get it apart I will take lots of pics. Would be cool to compare damages LOL

[FirefyterEmt]

Yes, please do take plenty of photos! Here is a tip too, put the camera in a ziplock bag, and cut a hole for the lens. Just tape the bag around the lens so it stays put. This will keep those nasty gear oil messes off the camera, and allow you to take photos without washing up every 5 minutes.

I have not been into one of these yet, so I really want some good photos!

[NUTNDUN]

I took a couple pics, will be posting them here in a little bit and will take more when I work on it some more to get more detail. Maybe I can take pics of the assembly process and write up a how to for it. It is a broken detent spring which is the cause of it not staying in gear very good on the 1st, 2nd and Rev.

[NUTNDUN]

Alright, here is a little more detail. First I want to thank Doug for the terrific idea of keeping the one tire on and stand it on that end. Worked perfectly.

All you have to do is remove the right wheel, drive hub, axle tube, and drive pulley. Assuming you already have all the fluid drained. Stand it on end on the left side using the still mounted tire to support it. Remove all the 1/4" bolts around the case. Drive out the two dowel pins. Might have to smack the top cover with a rubber mallet to loosen it.

Pull the cover straight up and over the axle. The manual shows having to tilt it so much to get it up and around the gears but it pulls straight up just like Doug mentioned.

The gears are really easy to figure out how they come out and which way they go back in. The shifter rods and forks can be easily mixed up but will only work one way using the shifter gate as a guide.

Once I got the shifter rods out, the one for the 3rd and 4th gear still has a good detent pressure and worked as it should. The one for the lower gears and reverse, you could barely tell when it would get to a notch. I pulled the slider off and got the spring removed and it came out in two pieces. I am going to pick up two new springs tomorrow.

As for the rest of my gears in the tranny, they definitely show their age and abuse. I have a spare transmission from a parts tractor I acquired when I bought the 12G. I dug it out and laid it on top of the drain pan and pulled the plug. I wasn't expecting what I was about to see. Absolutely no oil, nothing but rusty water and it was filled full LOL.

I disassembled this one the same way using the tire mounted on the left side. It took maybe 5 minutes till I got the cases split. I was hoping to use any gears out of this tranny that might have been in better shape then the ones in my current tranny. After seeing all the water come out I had little hope. I got the tranny cover off and it was disgusting, and man did it ever stink LOL.

Anyway I don't think I am going to be using any of the gears out of the spare tranny, one or two might be in better shape but not by much and it isn't worth it to me to try and clean them up as they have a decent amount of pitting in them.

Here are the pics. I will get some more really good pics when I go to put everything back together.

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