Leyland 272

[Masseyman35]

I'm thinking of buying a leyland 272 and wanted to know if there was any common problems and what they were

 

[Tomr10]

Brakes

 

[bkg]

Don't save your self some grief

 

[njneer]

Depends what your going to use it for .
Main issues
Clutch as the reverse gear is faster than any forward gear and is a pain to change .
Brakes ...... if your lucky...
Hydraulics were a bit finicky from memory only one possibly two at most spool valves .
Engine other than love for an oil
Leak ,will start on the button any weather and one of the best sounding engines ever built IMO.
Not built for comfort , one of the most cumbersome things to get in and out of narrow doors , deep foot wells , metal pedals , large transmission hump between your feet absolute Stone Age in comparison to modern comfort but if mechanically sound it would do a job on a budget and with the less than weather proof cab you get the bonus of an unrestricted listen to a very nice engine purring all day .

Nostalgia is a dangerous thing , fond memories from the past can cloud one’s judgement and I am sure my opinion may change if I had to spend a day in one now .

 

[zero]

Nostalgia is a dangerous thing , fond memories from the past can cloud one’s judgement and I am sure my opinion may change if I had to spend a day in one now .
[/QUOTE]

That's why folks buy vintage tractors then end up leaving them in the shed!

Leyland engines are good, clutch too heavy for loader work. Never had any gearbox trouble but we did snap a back casting off one!
Brakes are terrible.
A tidy one would be good on a small farm as a second tractor but I wouldn't have one as my only tractor..

 

[2wheels]

as said the brakes are crap. the bell housing can snap if used on a loader (damhik). the reverse gear selection is easily sorted. take off the box lid with the gearlevers and find the spring on the underside and cut the spring in half.

 

[Exfarmer]

I saidon another thread, the worst thing about these tractors is they will not die!
I can promise, you will wish it would
However if you are looking for an indestructible tractor buy the thing,
But they are right about the poor brakes

 

[How much]

the 272 or 272 syncro ?

god the brakes especially on the 272 I drove occasionally brakes either locked up or off no in between and one would work the other wouldn't, that made its predictability even worse

The Syncro version was if i recall a bit better brakes wise the gearbox was pretty good for its day excellent but would occasionally jump its selectors if given some "Spirited" usage
the only other thing was PTO length the pto protruded a long way back so often a PTO shat would be to long to use on the Leyland that would fit everything else perfectly

 

[ARW]

I’m a leyland fan! I took the brakes discs out and roughed them up with the flappy disc on the grinder and cut a few extra grooves on them, it’s made a definite improvement!
Cheap and easy to repair, tractors spares will supply most things and all you need is a set of imperial spanner’s

 

[reb1952]

Had a 272 synchro for about 10 years Bought from Cambridge. Very pleasant to drive and did all drilling, spraying, fert spreading etc, etc.
yes the brakes were useless but didn't do any road work so no problem. It went back to Cambridge when we acquired a MF590. Another class act.

 

[Classichay]

Just send me the money to save yourself the issue of posting it down the drain instead brakes hydraulics and the parts situation is worse than David brown. Best thing the better half did was smash the radiator off the 255 with the bobcat. Still sold for more than I gave to it to some crazy small holder with a sadomasochistic personality

 

[Red Fred]

Was the steering any better than our Nuffield 4/65? That was very fast but had no brakes, or one brake, which was even worse.

 

[Exfarmer]

It was the cab which was the worst thing, everything was designed to nip you, far better buying a fiesty Jack Russell

 

[roscoe erf]

there ok do a job and easy to work on changed a clutch in a few hours brakes well they work or they dont .they are a bit like marmite

 

[ARW]

A down side to the leyland cab is it’s like sitting in a 45 gallon drum while somebody rattles it.

 

[Lincs Lass]

If the 272 is anything like the 254 and 270 ,,they keep your feet warm in winter from the gear box but in summer ,you took the doors of and left them in the shed because you went home feeling like you had spent all day in a sauna .
As all ready said ,,the brakes were an education,,they were either nothing or catapult you out the seat .

 

[Marshall 100]

Comments about Leyland 272 cab or steering or too fast reverse gear etc. Depends which age 272 we are talking about.

272 was built from end of -75 to end of -80 and get few updates during production run.
First ones,10 speed non-synchro gearboxes,mechanical power assisted steering and standard non q-cab. Then 1976 came Q-cab with hydrostatic steering. 1978 Synchro gearbox introduced together with some smaller upgrades.
Biggest weakness,brakes remained through production run unchanged.
Brakes are not good,but not so bad as some comments tell here. If you buy 272 with worn out brakes,make full overhaul and then you can forget it for years if you dont drive hand brake on and "burn" your brakes. With £300 you get all "moving" parts to brakes and then dont need to worry.
Synchro gearbox.Reliable,very easy to use and useful synchronized "shuttle operation" between forward and reverse.
4/98 engine. As told,bullet proof and very sweetly running.
Hydrostatic steering on later Q-cab tractors is not more worst than any other from same era.

If you find tidy 272 Synchro,just go for it.

And about driving comfort, best cab on market!

Sorry guys,only in Finland

 

[Tomr10]

Comments about Leyland 272 cab or steering or too fast reverse gear etc. Depends which age 272 we are talking about.

272 was built from end of -75 to end of -80 and get few updates during production run.
First ones,10 speed non-synchro gearboxes,mechanical power assisted steering and standard non q-cab. Then 1976 came Q-cab with hydrostatic steering. 1978 Synchro gearbox introduced together with some smaller upgrades.
Biggest weakness,brakes remained through production run unchanged.
Brakes are not good,but not so bad as some comments tell here. If you buy 272 with worn out brakes,make full overhaul and then you can forget it for years if you dont drive hand brake on and "burn" your brakes. With £300 you get all "moving" parts to brakes and then dont need to worry.
Synchro gearbox.Reliable,very easy to use and useful synchronized "shuttle operation" between forward and reverse.
4/98 engine. As told,bullet proof and very sweetly running.
Hydrostatic steering on later Q-cab tractors is not more worst than any other from same era.

If you find tidy 272 Synchro,just go for it.

And about driving comfort, best cab on market!

Sorry guys,only in Finland

That's a late one same cab as Marshall

 

[livestock 1]

Fast on the road, hydraulic arms go up and stop up you have to twist a thing and lift it to get them to go down, clutch is rubbish some say they can be changed through a porthole. Bad to keep in a straight line flat out

 

[agrimax]

Arms only stay up if the lift latch is left in lock position. It can be turned and left in unlock...There's no porthole-the top half of the bell housing has to be lifted off to change the clutch.