Massey-Ferguson 4-WD Tractor Repowered With Detroit Diesel Engine

Massey-Ferguson 4-WD Tractor Repowered With Detroit Diesel Engine REPOWERED EQUIPMENT Repowered Equipment 24-1-7 When the 200 hp Caterpillar diesel engine in his 1975 Massey Ferguson 1805 4-WD tractor wore out, Bill Juhnke, Parkston, S. Dak., replaced it with a 318 hp, V-8 Detroit diesel engine out of a semi tractor. "It gave the tractor a lot more power so we can do more with it than ever before. I paid $2,000 for the engine and spent a total of less than $4,000," says Juhnke, who put the new engine in last winter with the help of his son Barry. He bought the engine, which originally powered a 1972 International cab-over semi truck, at a local salvage yard. He used the truck's rear motor mounts as well as the dual exhaust stacks, air cleaner, radiator, and intake pipes. He had to lengthen the tractor frame about 6 in. to make room for the new engine. After he put the new engine in, there wasn't room under the hood for the 15-gal. hydraulic oil tank so he relocated it behind the tractor cab. He had a machine shop make a new flywheel drive plate and also a telescoping "dog bone" that belt-drives a pair of hydraulic pumps on back of the engine. "The dog bone makes it much easier to change the belts û instead of having to slide the engine ahead we can just loosen the dog bone and slip it ahead 3/4 of an inch or so," says Juhnke. The tractor's original radiator was designed with top and bottom tanks that bolt together. The radiator didn't have enough cooling capacity for the new engine so he had a radiator shop make it bigger and also increase the number of cooling tubes. The radiator has seven rows of offset tubes û a total of 312 compared to the original 150. He mounted the semi truck's two exhaust pipes on front of the tractor and mounted the truck's air cleaner, as well as its vertical air intake pipe, alongside the cab. A length of 6-in. dia. steel auger tubing connects the air cleaner to the engine. Lengths of smaller diameter flexible tubing, positioned at an angle, connect the exhaust manifolds to the exhaust pipes. "We put a lot of time and work into the project but it paid off because now this old tractor pulls like you can't believe," says Juhnke. "I enjoyed doing the work and wouldn't be afraid to do it again. I paid about $900 for the radiator and $300 for a new drive plate and dog bone. "The original 3208 Cat engine is a nice one for a 2-WD tractor, but I think it's too small for a 4-WD tractor. The new engine has about 100 more horsepower than the old one. We use it mainly to pull a 7-shank subsoiler and a 21-ft. chisel plow. We may change the fuel injectors from 65 centimeters to 75 centimeters which would boost horsepower to about 350."

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