ploughmyfield.com

Ferguson 2 Furrow Plough
For over a year now my Ferguson 2F plough has been in the north east at Beamish Museum. This weekend I’ve liberated it.  With the Autumn ploughing under way in many areas and my tractors engine back together I am ready to practice my ploughing skills. The intension is to set the plough up using this excellent Ford Ferguson Manual.

Setup and servicing a Moldboard plough

Then as I don’t own any land I was hoping a local farmers would have some small fields they needed ploughing and let me plough them. This would allow me to practice and get them a free ploughed field.

I can catch up on the Ploughing competition rules here. The ferguson tractor with ferguson plough has it’s own set of rules

I don’t own a car with a towbar so transporting the plough was as much hassle as getting it there in the first place. I have to break it down into small enough pieces to carry it in the back of my estate car then re assemble it at the other end, not Ideal I know. I’ll keep you posted on my progress, after all this site is called plough my field and there hasn’t been much of they going on!

Ferguson Jack
Saturday 22nd August 2009 saw a Cheffins auction sale at the Harrogate showground. A friend went and I am now the owner of a working Ferguson Jack. The plate is missing from the back section, but is in place although unreadable on the front section. There where two types of jack produced for the TE-20 before a 3rd type for the FE35 was produced. The difference between the two types was the introduction of the TE-F20. Because the diesel model had battery boxes fitted to the trumpet housings of the rear axles the original design interfered with the battery holders so a re-designed version working off the connection point for the lower ling arms instead. This later modification ment the jack could be used my all types of TE20 tractor. I do own a ferguson jack already but as the front and back have been welded together and  number of holes drilled in the frames so that the former owner could turn them into a go kart it was going to require a lot of effort to turn it back into a working example.

I found it a great pain using a car jack to change the back wheels of the tractor when I recently had to swap the centres so that the originals could be shot blaster. Whe the originals to go back on and the current wheels needing to be painted I will be swapping wheels a lot in the coming weeks. The jack should make life a little easier and with the lack of space to collect implements then collecting accessories seems to fit better with my situation.

I presume an instruction manual was produced although I have never seen one. I will also try to track down at least a photocopy. Do you have a copy you can let me have please get in touch. As well as the original instructions on the jacks use I would also like to put together a short video demonstration its use.

Here you can see Colin’s Video of the Tractor Jack in action lifting all 4 wheels of the tractor clean off the ground.

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Hi All,

I’ve been away on my holidays as many of you are (or your getting in the harvest) the emails have fallen off as everyone has better things to do other than look at websites!

Before I left I was bidding on a pair of fold out side arms on eBay. They made £150 and there weren’t even any lights on the end!

If any one does have one or both of these lights they would like to sell. Please get in touch as it’s the last Item I need for the lighting kit on my tractor.

I’ve been down to Cornwall on my holidays and whilst away of course I’m always on the lookout for Fergusons or any other tractor for that matter. Near to were we where staying was the 54th West of England Steam Engine Society’s Rally. Well worth a look I thought. Not only over 52 steam engines but motocycles, vintage cars, scale steam engines, stationary engines and VINTAGE TRACTORS over 220 in all. below are some of my highlights from the show…….

Included in the Vintage tractor section was an area marked “Hedgerow Display, Items as found unrestored condition” I think all shows should have a section like this it was a refreshing change to the high gloss and paint jobs of a normal show.

Amongst them was this TE-F20, even in this state there are still some really useful parts I can see.

I’ve seen this Idea of having a small secure box on the back to carry items on the lower link arms. I have a spare 9 hole drawbar and I’ll be off to my local army surplus to get a box to bolt to it.

Here are some other pictures from the show.

I didn’t know they made a Diesel Porsche tractor!

Steam Power the order of the day

and the stream power came in all shapes and sizes.

I always thought it was the ferguson butterfly plough that was a revolution. Nothing is new as this example of a reversible horse plough will demonstrate.

But the crowning glory of the show for me was discovering this Ferguson Brown Serial number 1200, owned by Robert Irving. He let me sit on it and then took my picture. It was in great condition. I hope to add more pictures of this tractor under the photo section later. I also have more information about this tractor from the owner still to add.

fishboy Clothing, Penzance, Cornwall.

Finally I went back to a shop in Penzance whose slogan is “KEEP it RURAL” it sells very nice T-shirts, Jumpers and Hoodies with Rural pictures on them. A couple of years ago I bought a -shirt with a tractor print on it. It seems as though this has become a bit of a trademark and the range has been expanded.  I bought a hoodie in black  with a white tractor (only a fordson on this one) on it and a yellow land rover on a blue t-shirt. You can but online as Penzence is a long way to go. The website says they will also do any colour print on any colour T-shirt. A friend bought a pink combine harvester on a green T-shirt! No, he isn’t colour blind. speaking to the owner he said he will be expanding the range of prints very shortly.

I’ll be very interested in what new designs will be available.

www.fishboypz.co.k Buy T-shirts Jumpers Hoodies here

image by kind permission of fishboypz.co.uk

fishboy@
64 chapel St
Penzance
01736 331846

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What is Roy upto…..
Roy a friend of mine recently purchased a TE-D20 tractor and is in the process of making it mechanically sound.

Unwanted Hitch
A tow ball hitch was welded to the back of the tractor. Roy has spent many hours using an angle grinder to remove it.

Dashboard
The dashboard has been removed sanded, resprayed and re fitted. I think Roy used aerosol cans for this as it was a small item.

Seat
Next on the list was the seat. Roy wanted to buy a new seat but I convinced him that once cleaned up the old seat would be much better (the metal seems much thicker on the old seats to me). It has had a repair at some point in the past which all adds to the character. Besides you can add a seat cushion and you won’t know it’s been repaired. They all seem to go in the same place.

Before.

After.

Roy was complimented on the thickness of braze used to repair the seat. He didn’t repair it by the way.

Mudguards (not Fenders, I”m not American)
Finally Roy has been working on the mudguards this one seems to have turned into a bit of an epic. I think all he originally wanted to do was give them  a coat of paint and it’s turned into far more. First off he bought a compressor and paint gun to apply paint as I think the aerosol’s where costing a fortune.

With the mudguards off the tractor trumpet housings and brake drums looked untidy so he got to work on those at the same time.

Bonnet
Roy has now moved onto the bonnet. here you see it in it’s primer greay coat.

Recently the +50 year old Ferguson has been joined by a stable mate. I wonder if it will be still going in 50 years time?

……more from Roy soon I’m sure

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It’s been ages since I’ve posted anything. In fact I’ve got out of the habit and I am finding it quite tough to get back into it. I don’t think it helps that during the summer there are so many distractions, you find that time just slips through your fingers.

Wheel Centres
My dad came to visit a couple of weeks ago and it was great to show him how to drive the tractor, then let him have a drive around the block. Yes I know we look alike. Oh well at least I know what I’ll look like when I’m older.

From the photo above one thing was clear, the back wheels where shocking. At least all the other parts of the tractor have some grey paint on them.

So I decided to paint the back wheels. Currently I cannot afford new tyres, (£150 each + inner tubes) So I thought I’d make a start on the centres swapping the current set for another two I have. I spent a couple of days applying WD40 to the nuts to free them off.  They eventually all came off with a socket and  600mm long bar. There is a lot of rust.

I took the centres to Darren the shot blasters in Derby. Where as usual I had a fantastic survice. Anyone in the Derby area who needs shot blasting, I’d say take it there.

and this is the result…..

The funny colour on the inside is car body filler.  I hope to fill the wheels, sand and apply paint in order to get the wheels to a mirror finish you can see your face in. 2 o’clock final coats, 4 o’clock polished.

This is the template I’m working to.

At the 6 o’clock position is the painted only shot blasted face, 7 o’clock just shot blasted, 8 o’clock filled and sanded, 9 o’clock 2 pack primer (I’m not going to do this) 10 o’clock smoothed 2 pack,  12 o’clock primer coats and sanding, 2 o’clock final coats, 4 o’clock polished.

I saw this being demonstrated at the Newark tractor show in 2007.

http://www.ploughmyfield.com/Newark.htm

I will let you know how the progress is going.

Lucas PPG1 Side and Main Light Switch.

An eBay purchase I have picked up A Lucas P.P.G 1 light switch as included in the lucas (Cyclops)lighting Kit. It is a two stage switch for side and main lights. It isn’t exact a bit later year wise but as close as.

Trailer plug.

Small quantity of Parts.

I’ve found a company on the internet that will supply just one and two’s of the nuts and bolts. I also got some copper washers and electrical parts. I originally looked for the site as I was looking for a 1/2″ BSF bolt  (20TPI) to go in the Hydraulic  corner plugs. I want to make sure it is a 1/2″ BSF thread. As you’d expect they are expensive because it’s one and two off’s, but you can get small quanitities at short notice.

http://www.namrick.co.uk

Sheffield Tractors Number Plate Bracket.

If you’ve taken a look at the Local History page you’ll know I have an interest in tracing the history of my local Sheffield ferguson dealership from the 1950’s. As well as fitting a name plate to the tractors,  all the tractors that where road registered had a bracket made by Mr Charlesworth of Holland St. The bracket was of strip steel welded into a cross with the long end bent over and two holes drilled in to mount to the mudguard bracket, on the right hand mudguard in a similar fashion to the Lucas lighting kit numberplate holder   here are some photo’s

I went to a Farm sale a couple of weeks ago and an old pair of mudguard had one of the brackets fitted. The mudguards went for more than I was willing to pay but approaching the buyer he was willing to sell me the bracket.  The bracket is a present for a friend who has a Sheffield registered tractor but no number plate bracket.

Colins Visit.

I had a visit from Colin last week. http://www.myfergie.co.uk/ He has an impressive collection of tractors and implements. He was over in England collecting items he had bought on eBay. My heart goes out to his wife who came with him and has spent a lot of time driving around the country collecting things. It was great to meet him and next time we may get longer. Next time I’m over I’m definitly going to visit him. A lot more interesting than my small garage.

Steering Seal Post

Jeff at Holland Brand Tractors has posted a fabulous article on replacing the steering box seals. I thought you had to remove the dashboard and all the steering before you could replace them. I do know as an alternative you can grind off the top part of the steering arms and the seals will them slide over. I’ve seen a couple of tractors that have been done like this and for me this isn’t an option. I’ve spent so much time restoring the engine properly I have to continue with the rest of the tractor. I don’t like the look of this ground method either.

http://workshop.tractorbit.co.uk/blog/_trackback/4255058

I see now looking at the Holland Brand Workshop site that this was to be Jeff’s last post. Jeff has now left Holland Brand Workshops. They don’t seem to have much luck at that place. May be a name change would be a good Idea?

As an outsider I have no idea what went on within the company, I don’t really want to. I do know Ferguson tractor restoration has lost a good “engineer1260″ I hope Jeff isn’t lost to tractor  restoration as he is too good. Jeff if you do read this I’d love you to write some posts for this site. All the best in what you do in the future.

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Hi Geoff,
First of all are you a member of FoFH? www.fofh.co.uk. If you are then this is exactly the question you could have asked in the forum. but if you’re not I’ll ask the good people who look at this website if they can help.

Have you tried Patrick at Fergiland.com he may have the parts?

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A couple of interesting links to mention to you today.

Electronics Manual

The first is a Finish site where I have found a whole ferguson Tractor manual available for download. It is 46MB in size and over 460 pages. It is similar to an electronic copy I have and print out to take into the workshop to stop my paper original copy getting covered in grease and oil.

http://www.ferguson-talli.net/FE-20.php and the item to download is “FE 20 TE Service Manual”

Pictures Available

I am trying to create an online picture resource of interesting ferguson pictures. It would be useful to have a pictorial representation of an original ferguson item to check yours against, remember where to put so and so. The hope is I will add more as Time goes by. If you have a set of photo’s you think others would be interested in then please get in touch and if suitable I will get them added. I hope soon to add, 2 furrow plough, TE-F20 engine rebuild and dismantle.

Two are available so far.
1. Ferguson 3 Ton Trailer –  a friend is rebuilding his 3 Ton Trailer and I thought it would be a good idea to take some pics along the way.

2. Ferguson TE-F20 Engine – after completing the rebuild of the engine I just wanted to add some pictures of it to the web. If there is something not right with the way it looks please tell me.

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Well the title isn’t exactly right. It’s amazing how many other items where supplied as part of a new ferguson 3ton trailer delivery. I now have everything, except the trailer. By that I mean all the many items supplied with the trailer that where actually attached to the tractor so you can lift, pull and tip your MK2  3ton  trailer. I even have the instruction book.

The original manual measured 7 1/2″ x 5 1/2″  and consisted of 23 pages

Take a look at these diagrams from the original 3ton trailer manual.

Now take a look at these  pictures I took of my tractor, (below). I have gathered these items together over a period of several years. Trying to buy them all at once can prove expensive. Recently the autohitch part has been fetching very high prices on the internet and at auctions. Recently the tipping pipe has also seen prices double or tripple for an off tractor example. I believe as people have got hold of the autohitch they are now looking for the pipe.  The last piece of the set I aquired was the tipper pipe that connects from the tractors hyrdaulic pump  to the trailers hydraulic ram via a hose to raise and lower the trailers body.  I swapped one of my number plate holders with Roy for the pipe supplied with his tractor. A none tipping trailer was also available which didn’t need the tipper pipe.

Tipper pipe showing the end that connects to the trailers flexible hose.

Connection of tipper pipe to the back corner of the tractor’s hyrdaulic pump. The thread needed to connect to the tractor is listed in ferguson manual as two sizes, a: 1/2″ BSF at 16 threads per inch (TPI), b: 1/2″ UNF which has 20 TPI.

The combination of the Auto hitch I have is unusual. the t-bar (lying in the floor in the middle) is from a TE-20. You can tell this as it has the destinctive button shape half way along used to engage the latch which when pressed lowers the hitch. Or when raised locks the hitch in the up carrying position.  The hook (hanging down from the tractor) is from and later FE/MF35 it was fatter than the skinnier TE-20. I have a TE-20 hook but prefer the later fatter type.

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Hi Tim,

Had the tractor out and running this enabled me to power wash it. This removed grease plus loose paint.

Roy

A Proper tractor at work. Shame it’s Green and Yellow!

Makeshift  tool for the valve spring

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Roy has been working away on his tractor and has posted.

It appears the ball hitch on the back of the tractor is welded onto the back housing. Hopefully a bit of careful angle grinding should get it off.

/images/2009_06_11/BallHitch.JPG

You appear to have cracked the problem re tick over, Well done. Imanaged to work on the tractor removing the broken valve spring etc, I rang Gordon whom I purchased the tractor from and he will be dropping off the two front wheels in the near future. The existing ones are not correct and extra ones that are part of the deal, more parts have arrived air filter, hoses, ign warning light etc. The REPLACEMENT valve spring was under £4.00 from SILVER FOX SPARES, also a chrome nut and washer for the steering wheel will look better.

I have received the doc from the DVLA EDO 862 is now registered to me. HURRAH. Picture of some parts note that the ign warning light has a chrome bezel most now are black not original! Plus the top link is in good condition.

Roy.

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Visit to:  
Museum of Rural Life Scotland, Kittochside, East Kilbride, Scotland G76 9HR
Date: 9th May 2009
Reviewed By: John Morris

 Here is my report on the museum, definatly worth a visit if you are in the area, you can editor publish which bits or my photos as you like.The museum is listed  on the FOFH web site

The museum is run by the Scotish National Trust and is Free to all trust
members. When you first arrive you see the implements outside,

and then the T20 in the chidrens play area

 bit of a shame really.The main Farm Buildings are about half a mile away up the hill but trailor ride lifts are avaiable. These are a 1950s farm house and buildings interesting in their own right.In the yard was a working T20

and round the back the main working tractors a MF65 and a MF35

Inside the museum building itself there was an imacculate Ferguson Brown and a MF Combine.

 The main area of tractors were crammed in tightly and difficult to photograph. These included a Ford Ferguson T20 and a plough as well as locally made Nuffields and other makes.Finally it has the famous Glasgow Tractor.

John Morris

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I have found the problem that made the tractor tick over at a too higher speed. Whilst trying to adjust the tick over stop position I noticed which ever way I turned the screw it had no effect on the throttle lever on the dash. And the reason for this, the screw was never reached by the link rod from the dash as it was to short.

You can clearly see in circle 1 that the lever does not touch the stop.

 first tried to adjust linkage 3 but there is new screw to adjust top or bottom. So then I gave item 2 four turns and now when moving the throttle it reaches the stop.

I thought this one was going to run and run. I still haven’t fired the tractor up to test it as it was late again by the time I’d finish and I don’t think the neighbours would approve of the noise so late.

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Last friday I spent the evening setting the spill timing on the tractor. I thought I’d have to dismantle most of it to do this. But thanks to a question asked on the FoFH Forum I had a fantastic reply from Ian Moignard and Raoul le M which after checking with them I have been allowed to reproduce here for you all to enjoy. It has taken some time to put this answer together and I thank Ian and Raoul.

http://www.ploughmyfield.com/spill-timing-te-f20/

It was late last friday night when I’d finished setting the spill timing so I didn’t get chance to test it until Saturday morning. It’s running 200% better with no black smoke.

The tick over speed is still high the spill timing has not sorted this out. One thing that was mentioned was a faulty Diaphragm. So that was the next thing I checked in the week.

After checking (well I think I checked it correctly as the Ferguson Repair Manual isn’t clear) The Diaphragm is OK with no holes, even a pin hole in the Diaphragm can affect the tick over speed. So the next thing is setting the tick over speed manually at the air intake point.

I’ll keep you posted but this one could run and run. I might have got to the bottom of it by christmas!

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Just after his 70th birthday I think my friend Roy is having a mid life crisis!
He’s bought himself a Ferguson TE-D20 tractor. (TED 219332) born 22/09/1951.
Roy’s report on his purchase.

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Hi John,
I’m glad you like the site.
Please send a report and photo’s of the Heritage museum. I’m sure lots of others would be interested in your view.

Yes I will be making a timing disc. I have access to a (CAD)Computer Aided design package. I’ll be adding the disc as a download for you all to make your own. it’s a bit like blue peter here!

I will be do documenting everything I can john it’s an essential part of the website.

To Do

• Make template for timing (30BTDC (hole in flywheel) 32BTDC spill timing point, 0TDC (just as a check for the valve timing)
• Ask Holland brand workshops if they have a number one port swan neck I can borrow for the pump.
• find a hexagon spanner to undo the nuts on the front of the pump.
• Read the Manual agin and again.
• Find some time when I can do it.

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I hope you are all well,
The tractor has been the last thing on my mind just lately. We’ve had our son’s first birthday, I’ve been to Munich on business and next week I’m off to the Scottish island of Jura to run up and down the hills for 14 miles.

I don’t know when I am going to schedule some time to look at the timing, which still seems very daunting to me.

Funny I never thought of myself as being an inspiration to anyone so this email was a nice surprise. I’ve had this great email from Geoff who also donated £10 which will keep the website up and running for a month for everyone to enjoy. Thanks Geoff.

I was starting to well up by the end of your email. Then I got to the part about wind whistling through my hair. Geoff, I don’t have any hair! not to worry, I’ve never had any hair! Well once upon a time I must have. I’m only joking Geoff, Its nice to see all my friends loosing there hair now as well and getting really paranoid about it. I do like to tease them. Anyway back onto the subject of tractors, here is Geoff’s letter

Geoff, I took the pump out of my tractor to drain the green sludge out of it (green sludge was one hydraulic fluid) With the pump cleaned and refitted and new hydraulic fluid it’s been great ever since.

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I took the tractor out for a first proper run.
I was disappointed. It isn’t running correctly, by that I mean after you have started the tractor it is reving very highly and I am unable to get it to tick over. There is a lack of power as I move the throttle lever down whilst driving along. The first thought was to change the length of the control rod that come from the throttle on the dashboard to the pump. This didn’t work and even screwing in the rod to its shortest position did not make the tractor tick over any slower.
At this point I reached for help in the form of a question to the FoFH Forum. (If you do any tinkering with your ferguson tractor and you’re not a member , you should be!)
The feedback I got all points to the spill timing as the point to start. Another problem the tractor is having is the black soot or smoke from the exhaust. Again black smoke represents a timing issue.
This seemed the most comprehensive list from a user called Jón

I’m overwhelmed by the method to set the timing. I didn’t pay that much attention to this when rebuilding so I don’t think I’ve done it correctly as well as the fact I have to remove the front axle, remove the timing cover and the rocker cover.
I find the Ferguson User Manual confusing to follow to set the spill timing. Again I asked on the forum and had this very detailed response from René.

Now I’m sure if someone showed me how to do this it would be really easy, but to follow the instructions I just can’t imagine it and I think that’s half the battle. It just seems really complicated. Can someone use the pipe from injector 1 as the “swan neck” pipe?

Full FoFH Tick Over Forum transcript here

Read Geoff’s Spill Timing article here lots of images but could do with more. It seems easier to follow with pictures.
http://workshop.tractorbit.co.uk/blog/_archives/2008/9/10/3876652.html

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Thanks again mike,
Yes I’ve been in the garage stopping the leaks from the fuel and oil pipes. I think I’ve got it sorted now.
I love that last picture of the ploughs outside the croft. Very staged but very aesthetic.
I hope you get the computer working. I bought a Machintosh (Mac) computer and a time capsule backup. I can go back over a year to find a file. It’s also great for web edition and movie editing.
I notice your fergie plough in the first picture is a Sherman (Ford Ferguson) plough as it has the cast top section that connects to the top link. I later models this was 4 bent pieces of metal.

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With the engine working the next step was to take the tractor out. I managed onto the front lawn and back. See the movie here of me putting the tractor away.

Whilst out on the front lawn I took some photos of the assembled tractor. I think it looks great. I can now notice even more all the items that have not been painted they look so scruffy! So the next job is to have a go at the rest of the tractor starting with the back wheels.

Mike’s email( Assorted Gubbins) made me chuckle especially the part about fixing all the little faulty. I have a leak from the out port of the fuel lift pump (fixed with PTFE tape). The bleed screw is also leaking diesel from the seal( I think I have stripped the thread on the alloy body).

The idle speed of the engine is also faster than I think it should be. The remerdy for this is to shorten the control linkage between pump and throttle. I have a lot of black smoke or soot coming out of the exhaust. This could be a timing issue or burning off of the oil used to lubricate everything whilst the tractor was being assembled. I am going to leave it to see if it reduces and maybe look at setting the spill timing again. A diferent method must now be used to do this as the engine is now a lot more assembled than the last time I set the timing.

I haven’t kept a complete record of all the costs involved in the rebuild. But I have been asked to put together some accounts for the work so I will do my best. I have no idea of the number of hours it’s taken nor would I be able to guess. I also want to put together a help document for anyone thinking of restoring there tractor.

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I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who was helped with this engine restoration, to Fred an Roy for there time, to you lot for the support emails. The biggest thank you goes to my wife for putting up with me disappearing into the garage at every opportunity. 

Oh and the reason the tractor stops after 4:30 is I forgot to turn the fuel tap on!

Now it’s working it’s all a bit of an anti climax! What will I do now? All those jobs around the house that I haven’t done for the past 6 months. Now it’s time to get out and use it. (On light duties for 20 hours, the I need to reset the tappets.)

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Tonight I  speak to Colin Taylor, he phoned from Ireland to have a chat the first time we have ever spoke in about 2 years of sending emails to one another.  After speaking to him I was spurred on to want to get the tractor running. So after fitting the bonnet I had a go at strting! Before attempting anything I got the fuel through the system and the removal of all the air in the system. I followed the instructions in the TE-F20 instruction book of which I have an original copy. With the fuel through to the CAV injection pump it was time to have a go at starting!

(5mins long abridged from 25mins long)

As you can see it didn’t start before I had flattened the battery. I could not understand why, fuel was getting all the way to the injectors, and then I realised I’d left the stop in. So the engine was never going to start. Now it was to late, The battery was flat and did not have enough power to turn the engine over.
Oh well I’ll put the battery on charge and have anther go tomorrow. It should just start first time tomorrow now I know what to do. There is one good thing to all this, the oil pump has been working and should have pumped oil all around the engine to  allthe major bearing surfaces. Watch this space for some developments soon.

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