Go BottomMassey Ferguson 1155 Tractor advice
 | kimtexn
Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 5 North Texas 
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2012-10-12 185158
Hi All,
I'm new to this forum and board, so please forgive me if my questions sound dumb...
I am looking at a Massey Ferguson 1155 locally for what seems to be a good price, compared to ones I see on TractorHouse.com. The fellow who has it says that he bought it at an auction and drove it back to his shop about 60 miles. To me, that's a good sign that at least the engine must be OK. Its batteries are dead, but he's charging them so I can hear it run this evening. I've never driven a tractor this big, so I'm not sure about everything to look for. My biggest question is about the transmission...this one doesn't have a regular transmission. From the ones on TractorHouse, it looks like it has the one called Synchro Shift, or Partial Powershift. What can I check to see that it's working correctly? I think that I can figure out which levers control the PTO and 3-point, so I think that I can check them out. I've read and heard that these types of transmissions can be very expensive to fix, so I just want to make sure that I can tell if something is wrong. He already told me that the brakes are weak, but that's something that I'd expect for a 40 year-old tractor...
Thanks!
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 | Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 6898 Waterville New York 
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2012-10-20 185238
Brakes can cost a good amount to fix on a tractor that size having to pull the rear axles to change. To run with worn out brakes can lead to hydraulic issues as they will contaminate the hydraulic oil. ....
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| kimtexn
Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 5 North Texas
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2012-10-20 185241
Thanks for your advice. We got it running and drove it around a bit and saw that all of the gears seemed to be working fine. As it turns out, it is a standard 3-speed with high-low range and another lever called Multi Power. It lets you switch ranges on the go and under power, sort of like a poor-man's Powershift. The Multi Power works fine, which was something that I was a bit worried about after some of the reading I'd done.
As it turns out, the brakes work fine. They're manual hydraulic, and one of the master cylinders just feels like it needs to be rebuilt. You have to pump it a couple of times.
Other than using a little oil on the 20-mile drive home after sitting for two years, it doesn't seem to have much of anything wrong with it. Now I just need to find that scraper I'm looking for so I can get started digging my pond!
Thanks again,
Kim ....
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| hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 3583 iowa
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2012-10-21 185244
I test drove an 1155 as a new demonsrator sometime in the mid seventies.
I remember it being a comfortable tractor except for the cab noise, at full throttle it was a bit overwheming and that we without a load, just high idle. I ended up buying a Case 1370.
There aren't many Masseys around close mainly for a lack of dealers, I can only think of twqo in the northeast corner of Iowa.
I don't remember hearing anything bad about an 1155, you know how bad news travels twice as fast as good news.
I don't think any of the major manufacturers use a V-8 engine anymore. Massey, Deere and International Harvester all had a short run with V-8's.
Frank. ....
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| kimtexn
Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 5 North Texas
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2012-10-22 185254
Thanks for your advice! I agree that it's loud, but my little Ford 540 Industrial is loud, too, so I'm used to wearing hearing protection. This 1155 used to have quite a bit of interior upholstery that looks like it served as sound deadening material, but it's mostly gone or in tatters. I'm trying to dig a one-acre pond on a budget, so I can overlook the cosmetic issues as long as it runs and pulls! So far it looks like it's solid mechanically. The oil pressure never drops out of the high range, and the gears, steering, PTO, 3-point, and remotes all work. ....
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 | kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 5275 South Carolina
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2012-10-23 185267
Realize here and there the ground is different and water levels but how do you did a pond with a tractor? Are you able to use a pan? ....
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| kimtexn
Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 5 North Texas
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2012-10-25 185296
Yes, a 140 HP tractor ought to pull a 6-yard pull scraper / pull pan / dirt pan just fine. They are used around here if you need to dig a fairly large pond and move the dirt a ways. Earth-moving contractors around here use the bigger motor scrapers for the same purpose. They can move anywhere from 10 to 25+ yards at a time. A a tractor with a pan can get the job done, just slower. This is a budget way to do it. It just takes time and diesel. We have clay soil around here. A pull pan can dig OK as long as it isn't too dry or too wet. There is a heavy equipment forum where they have discussed this topic extensively. ....
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| kthompson
Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 5275 South Carolina
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2012-10-25 185301
Tractors will pans are used here but not for major digging. My guess no more than three feet. The biggest tractors I am aware of in this area are maybe the biggest JDs, pulling two pans digging with one at the time. Do think it has a lot to do with water level here. Am aware in some areas they can build ponds with bull doziers but again our water level here I guess is reason we did our ponds. ....
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