Ransomes MG5 Crawler

[Dieselman 63]

I love the simplistic design of the older machines, amazing how many had that same glass fuel bowl.

We did it on a YouTube series on his channel.

I’ve not seen one like that before, is that a priming lever.
Side note, I looked at the earlier picture and made more sense of it.

Yes, priming 20-30 times before you can kick it into life. Turning the engine over slowly enough to let some fuel into the chamber works well on cold starts, as does unfastening the air hose to the filter. It’s an Amal pump, I assume the bowl is a filter of sorts. Ransomes just *had* to go and have a special order, so these 150 type are a bit rare now. Zenith still make glass filters with the gauze, I fancy one but they’re £50!

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Yes, priming 20-30 times before you can kick it into life. Turning the engine over slowly enough to let some fuel into the chamber works well on cold starts, as does unfastening the air hose to the filter. It’s an Amal pump, I assume the bowl is a filter of sorts. Ransomes just *had* to go and have a special order, so these 150 type are a bit rare now. Zenith still make glass filters with the gauze, I fancy one but they’re £50!

Has it bit back on starting yet?

 

[minimutly]

Sudden white smoke is usually a breather that has pulled in a load of engine oil - usually a rocker cover has not been draining, the breather gets oil instead of fumes...

 

[Dieselman 63]

Sudden white smoke is usually a breather that has pulled in a load of engine oil - usually a rocker cover has not been draining, the breather gets oil instead of fumes...

I was climbing a pile of logs in it and had to give it some, the extra load ended in the smoke. Useful info. Thanks for that. I’ll investigate once the pump is done

 

[Dieselman 63]

Has it bit back on starting yet?

I think it may have once. I do the correct hand hold. It throws your hand off...

I got the diaphragm rubbers cut, and the holes staggered as the sheets supplied are too big and already have holes in. It took a bit of time! The old ones are stiff, broken and cracked.

 

[Dieselman 63]

Then it was time to put it all back together. This went well, but I still need to put the pin back in for the arm. The original has some quite bad wear, so I’m going to turn down the supplied one as it’s too long. I need to make another gasket then I can fix it back onto the tractor.

 

[Dieselman 63]

Visited my friend who suggested that the smoke could have been due to the crawler needing sae50 and the 20w50 I gave it not being thick enough. I’m going to flush the engine and give it some Castrol GP50 instead, from their vintage oils range.

I opened up the head and the valves are caked in carbon. I’d like all of that cleaned off. The gasket is a solid copper type.

 

[Dieselman 63]

A bit cleaner in here. With no clue as to torque specs for the head bolts I just used a torque wrench to test and found it started to move them at just over 30ft lbs. The bolts were numbered and then removed in diagonal opposites. Camera phones are great for this sort of thing!

 

[KimB]

A bit cleaner in here. With no clue as to torque specs for the head bolts I just used a torque wrench to test and found it started to move them at just over 30ft lbs. The bolts were numbered and then removed in diagonal opposites. Camera phones are great for this sort of thing!

Had a look in any forums on Facebook or anything for torque spec?
Great job though. I hate leaving carbon build up.

 

[Dieselman 63]

Had a look in any forums on Facebook or anything for torque spec?
Great job though. I hate leaving carbon build up.

The manual is really good, I found a copy online. It’s a pity they didn’t make a service agent manual though, as lots of the jobs I want to do are only listed as being able to be carried out by them.

http://www.oldengine.org/members/evans/manuals/Ransomes MG5 cultivator.pdf

 

[Dieselman 63]

The pump lives. It’s running really well actually, so I decided to dismantle and clean the carb, which is of cast brass construction!

The float bowl bolt had been nipped up with pliers, totally destroying the flats. Some time was spent on this filing it down to 3/16w. The O rings were toast too. Again, replaced along with the star washers which hold the joint. The gaskets need replacing too. It’s just non-stop!

 

[Agroshield]

...It’s a pity they didn’t make a service agent manual though, as lots of the jobs I want to do are only listed as being able to be carried out by them.

Looking around, there is one here [https://www.agrimanuals.com/ransomes-mg5-tractor-operators-manual-8548-p.asp] that says 'additional instructions for service agents' on the cover.

You just need one of these to carry it around in

http://www.freewebs.com/ransomes-mg/photos/mg6_vw.JPG

(from https://www.freewebs.com/ransomes-mg/mgsinholland.htm)

Poster for the wall:

https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/1760063

If you search here: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/ and here http://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/ and here https://www.ipswichtransportmuseum.co.uk/ there is information on the company, but you'd have to sift it for info. on your specific machine.

 

[Dieselman 63]

More toasted gaskets replaced, and new star washers for the carb. The engine ticked over nicely but I feel the 20w50 isn’t good for it, so I’m not going to run it much longer, only for the flush. It could be good to have all the detergents in the oil remove some of the built up crud and the flush should remove deposits too, then to put the low detergent mineral oil in at the correct grade. I also need to buy a push oil gun. I see Castrol make an EP140 which would be excellent for the final drives; the next area I want to have a look at.

 

[Dieselman 63]

Looking around, there is one here [https://www.agrimanuals.com/ransomes-mg5-tractor-operators-manual-8548-p.asp] that says 'additional instructions for service agents' on the cover.

You just need one of these to carry it around in

http://www.freewebs.com/ransomes-mg/photos/mg6_vw.JPG

(from https://www.freewebs.com/ransomes-mg/mgsinholland.htm)

Poster for the wall:

https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/1760063

If you search here: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/ and here http://beamishtransportonline.co.uk/ and here https://www.ipswichtransportmuseum.co.uk/ there is information on the company, but you'd have to sift it for info. on your specific machine.

I didn’t really want to pay £15 for that manual...

The drawing is superb. Thanks muchly for that! I may investigate getting it made into a poster for the workshop!

 

[Agroshield]

I didn’t really want to pay £15 for that manual...

But at least you now know there is a 'dealer' version in existence and in electronic format. Now you just have to find one.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264954573145 (check completed listings to see what they fetch)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/List-Of-Parts-Manual-For-Ransomes-M-G-5-Tractor/264954575289 (same seller - may help economise on postage)

French version (not sure if it is dealer one though):

http://vieilles.soupapes.free.fr/?page=chenillard&marque=Ransomes

 

[Seadog]

It has been listed three consecutive weeks without selling. She also has an original parts list.

 

[Dieselman 63]

The French language one isn’t working. I might have to buy one I was hoping I could get away with internet freebies!

Unrelated, found this at the auto store when looking for engine flush. Very Australian!

 

[Seadog]

 

[Dieselman 63]

Can’t see it

 

[Dieselman 63]

Back on topic

I think the engine sounds like it’s knocking, could it be the oil being too thin? Should I decarbonise the spark plug? Lap the valves? I disassembled and oiled the shift lever, which now works really smoothly. I’m not sure if it was sticking before because of being dirty, or because of the lack of clutch and the gears holding each other in place. I’d have liked to do a lap of the garden to see, but it’s pouring down! Tracks and very wet grass = mud