Massey Ferguson Dozers??

[Nick Drew]

I have found the following old brochures covers showing some of Massey Fergusons crawlers the D700 dozer was made in conjunction with the German manufacturer Hanomag, to be honest they were Hanomag dozers with an MF badge on them!!

 

[Squizzy246B]

Part of Hanomag was bought by AGCO Corp, which owns MF...the Earthmoving section was sold to Komatsu in the 90's.

 

[Wulf]

Part of Hanomag was bought by AGCO Corp, which owns MF...the Earthmoving section was sold to Komatsu in the 90's.

Hanomag are an old company that built lots of track-type vehicles...

 

[pukeko]

Perkins are OK, they had their "things" but they were generally good to get parts for.

From what I can find the MF crawler was a very limited run, only the one size.

There were several sizes of MF crawlers,The biggest was 125 hp,used V8 perkins.Called the 500.The 400 had a 354 Perkins ,about D4C cat size,two speed converter trans .Ther was a 300 with 4 cyl.Perkins plus smaller agricultural models .Made in Italy .I think Landini made them.I operated a 400 dozer,it went well.Also was a 200.The "100" series were the industrial models.

 

[Countryboy]

This is a little info I found on the MF dozer and loader lines with prodution periods and buy-out info.

They had several Crawlers
dozers & loaders starting
with the
MF2244 1967 - 1971
MF3366 1967- 1971
MF200 1966 - 1976
MF200B 1976 - 1977
MF200C 1978 - 1979
MF300 1969 - 1977
MF350 1978 - 1979
MF400 1971 - 1976
MF500 1968 - 1973
MF500B 1973- 1977
MF600C ?? ??
MF700C 1975- 1978
There was the Hanomag Dozers from about 1975 or 76 till about 1982. Massey sold the Hanomag line to Terex somewhere about 1982 or 83.
link

 

[Taylortractornu]

A couple of years ago I got to run a 300 MF Had mile long tracks a great little finish machine straight with a tilt blade. The only way to see any ov the blade was to look down between the track and hood. It was a straight shift with a power reverser. The pump was worn out and the blade was slow Dad didnt like to run it so he ran the D5. once I got used to the blade speed it was ok. All the smaller dozers in the MF line as well as some of the excavators were made in Italy. I think it was the tank manufacturer Ansaldo that produced them the larger ones were Hanomags. The main pisser I didnt like was the tilt was on another stick beside the blade control like to have bent the blade lever a few times. I would have bought one in a minute but the parts are scarce now. Rollers for them is a top priority. I just recapped a few for a man in Alabama and have a spare set of idlers to build up this spring. A man in Sheffield Alabama had a smaller 200 loader with a rare attachment the track frames had trunion pegs like a straight blade and a set on the loader it had C frame that attached to the trunions and then went up to the loader arms. All factory set up he said it was a little imbalance but better finishing than with just the 4in1 bucket.

 

[Jeff D.]

I mentioned before while looking around at lil' dozers I looked at an MF(200 I think?). The guy that was selling it always has atleast 5-6 dozers for sale at a time. I think he was asking $5500 for it IIRC, it was about half what the other comparable small dozers were he had.

I was kinda suprised to see the "MF" on the side. The dozer was very clean (and not cuz of fresh paint), and fit my criteria for what I was looking for. It had a 6way on it too. It's just the fact I'd never heard of an MF dozer before that, I figured parts would be impossible to find. It may have been why it was price like it was.:beatsme

Might could've been an alright machine for someone who needed something small, and didn't need to try and make money with it. The impression others have given me on their Ag equipment is Massey Ferguson made/makes good stuff.

I stumble across a pic of an old MF excavator online somewhere, but I'll be darned if I can find it again.

 

[OzDozer]

If anyone offers you an MF crawler .. hold out a cross and back away ..

They were a pathetic attempt by a company that made good small wheeltractors, to get into the, reputedly-highly-profitable, small crawler market. They were a POS. They ran a differential instead of steering clutches, a la Cletrac/Oliver small crawlers .. and we all know what a successful system, that is.
Find a soft spot, and the crawler with a differential will promptly turn into it. You have to stand on the brakes continually to get them to steer straight, whilst pushing under load. If the blade bites more on one corner, it will promptly turn that way.

Add in, an Italian-designed-and-made machine, for a company in another country .. and a company that only half-heartedly supported them when they were new .. and you have a liability termed, 'a millstone around your neck'.

Undercarriage for the small MF crawlers is totally unobtainable .. the Perkins engine, is the best part of them .. and anyone who buys one, deserves all the grief they get.
Once you own one, your chances of offloading it again, to some poor unsuspecting sucker, are about zilch ..

 

[rumjerk]

I've got one... great machine

The MF's are like most italian designed machines. Well built, but no parts, lots of corrosion, and always in need of a good tune up.

I'm running an MF300. Been using it for forestry work. Great machine, if you know anything about mechanics. It's a little too big for the small jobs and too small for the big jobs, but it costs nothing to run. I can do a job that my D7 would do for about a third the cost. The perkins starts just by looking at it, and no pups starter to deal with.

The 300 and higher series had hydraulic steering clutches. Has a great floating position for back dragging, and enough mass to take down fair size trees. Undercarriage parts are a bitch to find, but you can modify the machine quite easily.

Lets face it, much of what came out in those days is no picknick either. Parts are getting scarce, or crazilly expensive for the td, and hd's. Even the older cats.

I wouldn't sell mine to a novice, but i'd pick up another in a hearbeat.

 

[Countryboy]

Welcome to HEF rumjerk! :drinkup

 

[Robert M]

Well I don't know a thing about MF crawlers. I can say this much though We tested an 1155 MF tractor at a sod farm I worked at as a youngin. IT had a V8 Perkins in it. That was the loudest most obnoxious thing I've had the displeasure of being around, darn thing sounded like a swarm of angry hornets that you could hear literally 5 miles away.

They are dependable though. Why else would they use them on reefer trailers that are often left unattended for days sometimes.

 

[Serv]

I found one of these the other day. A friend of mine has had it sitting in the very back of his yard for a few years. He says it doesn't move and told me he'd sell it to me for a couple grand. After reading about them here, I don't think I need to have this thing. It's a MF400 BTW

 

[Mike J]

looks like somebody put the tracks on backwards on the left side

 

[digger242j]

looks like somebody put the tracks on backwards on the left side

Very observant! Maybe it's made that way, for going in circles?

 

[OneWelder]

In the late 70S or early 80S I tried A MF . It was very advanced for the time
Hydrostatic trans,very good fuel milage, etc. I found it awkward to run and I hated it
Bill

 

[jamesgpeck]

Landini made MF crawlers

Massey Ferguson owned Landini and Perkins from around 58 until it fell apart in the nineties. Landini is now owned by Argo, and from what i can tell, only makes crawlers now.

Some of these were sold in the US through Massey Ferguson dealers.

 

[JimInOz]

A lot of small operators made good money with the little MF200 Drotts & Dozers.They ran like a top on almost no fuel & almost all were equipped with ripper & 4in1 bucket.Many Australian contractors started out with the 200s & 300s,doing demolition,excavation,tidy ups,etc.
The MF200 had the best dump height on a drott in it's class.It was attractive to owner operators for this reason.
After MF Industrial fell over in the 80s,parts were harder to come by....so a lot of these machines never got the maintenence they required.Many have retired to farms & blocks now,where they still do a good job for land owners.
As for track gear..I can put you in touch with 3 dealers who can get any U/C you need.(Just ask any Berco agent).Parts can be got through wreckers in the UK ,Europe & Australia.
There is a Company in the USA who supplies aftermarket MF parts & a Co called St Joseph Equipment used to deal in MF Industrial.
I owned a 2244 Drott for the past 4 years,& it worked every weekend for me with no problems,& it's Perkins AD3-152 ran on a sniff of fuel.Never,ever had starting/running problems....& it was 35 yrs old.
2244s were sold in Canada & the USA.
I always liked the ripper geometry on the 200 & 300 series machines.Well made & well thought out....
Yeah,I know...if it ain't a C** ,it ain't worth lookin' at...!!! Unless you're just starting out,or a low hour user,or want to cut the fuel bill.

 

[jamesgpeck]

Challenger and Massey Ferguson.

Agco currently owns the Challenger and Massey Ferguson brands. Some wheeled tractors are sold under both brands. The Challengers are sold through Cat dealers and are considered agricultural versus construction.

I often see Challenger rubber track tractors on construction sites pulling scrapers.

 

[opeltwinturbo]

In the late 70's Massey Ferguson sold a line of dozers and crawler loaders that were manufactured by Hanomag of Germany. They were very powerful dozers but the largest was a MF 700 which was just a bit bigger than the D6. The MF 700 cost less than the D6 and would bury it in production. Unfortunately, they couldn't compete with Cat, Komatsu, and IH.

 

[Bo Tu]

I have a 1978 Massey Ferguson (Hanomag) D600C that I purchased in 2005. It has a 3 speed power shift transmission. It has pedal steer which will stop the track if you touch the pedal with your little finger. The dozer starts instantly when you turn the ignition key. I love this dozer. I have used it for road building and land clearing. This German made dozer was ahead of its time. The engine is made by Hanomag as well as the rest of the dozer.