Oil leak - from Clutch....

[masseymatt1]

My Massey 35x has always dropped a bit of oil. But the odd drip has turned into a constant drip and needs to be fixed.

I cleaned the engine to try to see where the oil was coming from.

There is a big hole under the engine, in fact under the clutch, which didn't look right to me. On google turns out there should be a steel plate bolted on to this hole to cover it.

The oil is dripping out of this hole.

I guess there should be no oil flowing in the clutch housing, so maybe previous owner took the clutch inpection cover off to let the oil drain out rather than contaminate the clutch.

I obviously need to get a new cover, but with this fitted I am thinking the clutch housing will eventually fill with oil which can't be good

Is my reasoning correct...? I am guessing I need a rear main seal replacement..? I am guessing this is a significant job....

At the moment the clutch (both) work fine, and everything runs as it should, though maybe a little smokey, but seems reasonable for the 60 year old engine

 

[TripleSix]

Most likely rear main seal.

Not a big job to split a 35.

A couple of trolley jack's and a concrete floor is all you need

 

[startinghandle]

I assume it's engine oil leaking
Is engine breather clear?
I had similar problem with my dexta and I fixed it when I topped up engine
With Fuchs HDX30 oil as I had no 15/40
You may not believe this but is 100%
true

 

[DanniAgro]

Most likely rear main seal.

Not a big job to split a 35.

A couple of trolley jack's and a concrete floor is all you need

Yes,after splitting a six cylinder, a 35 would be like playtime.

 

[Dry Rot]

They often leak -- or so I'm told. Mine does. I just keep an eye on levels until I get around to it, one day, one day. (Not a 35 but a 135).

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

Aye, is this oil engine oil or backend oil, as it could be either, black oil will be from the engine, and will not get to the clutch plates, and if it's engine oil, how much engine oil is it using to create this constantly dripping. ?
The engine can make oil and thin down the the oil, by the front seal going in the injection pump, or a hole in the lift pump diaphragm can do the same, this will put diesel in the sump, thin down the oil and raise the oil level, so need to check this if black oil,
Now is it back end oil ?, now this is not black oil, more a dark brown through to grey, I say grey as if water gets in through the likes of gear sticks, it turns oil grey, and getting water in is the only way rear can make oil as it were,,
the backend would normally leak onto clutch plate if seal had gone, or the front gasket,
Does this tractor has multi power ? As there is 2 pipes and a spool on gearbox input housing, and this leak would not get to clutch plates, but cause a leak through to hole your talking about,
The cover over the hole that's missing, is to keep muçk and water out splashing up from front wheels etc, it will be ok without it in general,

So you need to assess the oil first, is it engine or backend oil, ?

 

[Grass And Grain]

The cover plate (bottom of clutch housing) has a little hole in it which should have a split pin through it. Idea is that the hole is there to let out any oil from the clutch housing. The split pin vibrates about to keep the hole from blocking up.

As penine ploughing said, oil could be from either engine or the rear end. It is usually from the engine. Check out this website...

Replacing Tractor Crankshaft Rope Seals | Vintage Tractor Engineer

Replacing tractor crankshaft rope seals. This tutorial and photos are of an MF35, but the procedure is the same for many models.

vintagetractorengineer.com