Massey Ferguson MF255, MF265, MF270, MF275 & MF290 Tractor Shop Manual (1975–1983)

Massey-Ferguson shop manual for MF255, MF265, MF270, MF275 and MF290 tractors, 1975–1983, with separate Perkins gasoline and diesel engine sections.

Searchable PDF and Wiring Diagram Detail

Text search and diagram access: The PDF has searchable OCR text, with recognition errors and incomplete capture of wiring labels. Its 24 embedded bookmarks use numeric labels rather than chapter names. Small wiring-diagram labels are readable when enlarged.

Supplied in English as one printable PDF inside a ZIP file, with 109 PDF pages, including 16 duplicated pages.

Engine, Driveline and Hydraulic Repair Coverage

These are selected manual contents, not a complete index. Other topics include front-wheel bearing service and raised control-quadrant linkage.

• Perkins engine repair: Step-by-step engine removal, cylinder-head service and piston/sleeve replacement, with component inspection specifications and tightening sequences.

• Fuel systems: Gasoline carburetor overhaul and governor adjustment, plus diesel bleeding, lift-pump service, injector testing and injection-pump timing.

• Transmission and PTO: Tractor splitting, gearbox and Multi-Power overhaul, clutch adjustment, and live or independent PTO service.

• Rear axle and brakes: Differential and planetary final-drive repair, bearing-preload adjustment, dry/wet disc-brake overhaul and hydraulic brake bleeding.

• Hydraulics and steering: Lift-system troubleshooting, internal linkage calibration, pump overhaul, pressure/flow testing and hydrostatic steering service.

• Electrical diagnosis: Alternator and starter tests, component overhaul and model-specific wiring diagrams for gasoline and diesel installations.

Suited to mechanics familiar with tractor splitting, precision measurement and hydraulic testing, with suitable workshop equipment for major overhaul work.

Perkins Engine Builds, Fuel and Cooling

Internal components: The engine chapters cover valves and rocker gear, timing gears, camshaft, connecting rods, crankshaft bearings, oil pumps and engine balancers where fitted. Condensed service tables provide Metric (SI) and U.S. Customary dimensions, tune-up settings, capacities and torque data.

Identification: The tractor number plate is at the instrument console; the engine serial number is stamped on the cylinder block.

Build differences: The A4.236/A4.248 section distinguishes early fire-ring sleeves from later non-fire-ring sleeves and warns against intermixing them. Ring-count, rear-seal and balancer changes are tied to engine identification, helping match parts and repair procedures before teardown.

Timing-gear notes explain how independent camshaft or crankshaft movement with gears removed can damage pistons or the valve train.

Diesel fuel equipment: Injector coverage includes opening-pressure, seat-leakage, back-leakage and spray-pattern tests. Injection-pump procedures cover external adjustment, removal, installation and static timing.

Internal injection-pump overhaul is outside this manual’s scope; pump and governor service requires specialist training and dedicated test equipment.

Gasoline coverage includes Zenith carburetor service, distributor overhaul and ignition timing. Cooling coverage includes radiator removal, thermostat specifications and water-pump overhaul.

Transmission, Clutches and PTO Arrangements

Gearbox access: Front and rear splitting procedures distinguish work possible through each opening from jobs requiring complete transmission removal. Internal coverage includes the main/output shaft, countershaft, PTO input and lower drive shafts, reverse idler and high/low planetary unit.

The Multi-Power section explains its hydraulically operated high/low unit and illustrates clutch-pack assembly in the cross-sectional view, Fig. 208.

PTO configurations: Live PTO uses the dual-stage engine clutch; independent PTO combines a flywheel-mounted split-torque clutch with a hydraulic multiple-disc PTO clutch. Single-speed 540-rpm independent PTO is covered across the model range, with the 540/1000-rpm version covered for MF270 and MF290.

Clutch and shaft tools: References include MFN753 for clutch alignment, MFN202C/MFN202D and tool 6179 for release-lever setting, MFN850/MFN850A for PTO-input-shaft bearing and seal installation, and MFN458 for mainshaft installation.

Clutch assembly notes identify possible Belleville-spring damage from driving retaining pins fully out of an assembled unit, while the Multi-Power instructions address PTO input-shaft seal damage from unprotected splines.

Differential, Planetary Drives and Brake Service

Rear-axle procedures cover the differential lock, matched bevel-pinion/ring-gear set, axle seals and complete final-drive/axle-housing removal. Carrier-bearing and planet-carrier preload adjustments accompany the overhaul instructions; MFN265 with MFN764-3 is referenced for planet-carrier removal.

Brake coverage separates dry and wet discs from mechanical and hydraulic actuation. It includes actuator service, master/slave cylinder overhaul and the wet-brake component arrangement shown in Fig. 239.

For major splits or axle-housing removal, the tractor sections require suitable stands or jacks and front-axle wedges to prevent tipping.

Lift Hydraulics and Hydrostatic Steering

Lift diagnosis: Troubleshooting links a hitch that will not raise, jerky movement and lift creep to checks before component disassembly. The manual separates pressure-control and nonpressure-control systems, with lift-cover, piston-pump and auxiliary-pump repair procedures.

Linkage and test equipment: Internal draft/position-control adjustment uses MFN970 and MFN1080D gauges with Nuday 6088/6089 bushings. Illustrations show pressure-control lift test locations in Fig. 258 and the MFN970 position-control gauge block in Fig. 272.

Pressure/flow diagnosis distinguishes auxiliary high-pressure relief specifications for MF255/MF265/MF275 from MF270/MF290, alongside Multi-Power tests and separate single-/two-speed independent-PTO clutch tests. Hydraulic checks require correctly rated gauges and fittings.

Steering variants: Parker-Hannifin, Sundstrand and Aero-Quip pump sections provide overhaul and relief-pressure checks. Early/late hydrostatic hand pumps and steering cylinders have separate service details and bleeding coverage.

Charging, Starting and Wiring Diagrams

Electrical sections cover Delco-Remy, Lucas and Perkins alternator testing, including winding, diode and regulator checks, plus starter no-load tests and service.

Wiring diagrams distinguish gasoline MF255/MF265 installations (Fig. 310), diesel MF255/MF265/MF275 installations (Fig. 311) and MF270/MF290 circuits (Fig. 312).

Crankshaft and Thermostat Specification Examples

The condensed tables list standard crankshaft main-journal diameters of 76.162–76.175 mm for AG4.212, AG4.236, A4.236 and A4.248 engines, versus 69.81–69.82 mm for the MF255 AD4.203 diesel.

Thermostat opening begins at 75–78°C on the MF255 with AD4.203 engine and at 80–84°C on the other covered installations.