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Back in May last year I bought a starting handle for a TEF-20 engine. I thought it would come in handy for the engine rebuild. I could use it to turn the engine over for realigning the clutch, moving the pistons in the sleeves etc.

When I put the starting handle in the bonnet hole it didn’t go all the way in. On closer inspection the starter wasn’t in line with the dog on the front of the engine.

So the strip down of the engine has been an ideal time to investigate. On investigation I found the pin at fault. I think this is due to the missing bolt. Item 25 from above. I think on the diesel model it is different though and the bolt comes through from the back. with the washer and nut on the front.

With this much wear there is no way it was going to line up. All down to a missing bolt.

Once apart I inspected the other parts. The worst item was the frame itself. The pin is supported at the front and back. The front is quite thick, about 1″, but at the back it is 1/4″ or about 6mm. The hole had become oval. It seems like a bit of a design flaw by Mr Ferguson’s design team (the only one I’ve found) .

So replacing the pin was easy as they are available from most suppliers. I also replaced the bush item 20 which goes in item 21. How to fix the oval frame though.  The bush for the MF35 is different and made of steel. So I bought one of those thinking I could use it, somehow!

After thinking about it I came up with the idea of enlarging the hole in the back and using the bush (cut down) in the hole to take the weight of the axle and remain aligned to the front bush.

A big thank you at this point to Roy for enlarging the hole and cutting the pi down. It’s taken him over 4 hours. I asked him to take a look at this as I don’t want to loose focus from the engine. Thanks Roy.

His results are fantastic. He has also replaced the bush in the axle. It looks great.

The frame is now with another friend who is going to weld it for me as I don’t have a welding kit. Once back it’s going to take some cleaning up before it can go back on the tractor.