Any tips for splitting a tractor that's not on concrete?

It"s looks like financially I"m not going to be able to concrete part of my shed for doing this. I"ve seen people do it but I"m not crazy about it but I"ll probably not have a choice. I"m going to split my MF 175 to put the auxiliary hydraulic pump back in. I figured I could stack 4x4"s to hold the engine up and put a wedge on each side of the from axle to keep it from pivoting sideways on the axle pin. The only thing I could come up with after that is done is to use my bale mover that slides under the bale and slide it under the rear half and chain it and use another tractor to pull them apart and hold the rear half up until I can get it blocked up. Anybody have any other ideas or suggestions?

Some sort of solid base would be best - like double thickness of 3/4" plywood to start with. then do the blocking on top of that. One half has to be able to roll away, so figure out which half will be easiest to support and how to make it moveable.

Cherry picker like they use for removing car engines - on boards, of course. I have a Farmall 200 with a broken crank - I plan to use a picker for that - on dirt.

We made a little 4 wheel trolly that a small jack fits in to lift it up and down to help line it back up and it runs on 6" long pipe track rails so it moves parallel when you split the to halfs. And then we made up brackets to bolt on around the bellhouseing depending on here you can find bolt holes. we have found it easier to roll the front half way this way on dirt or concrete

I do not and do not want a concrete floor in my shop. I do have a 20 foot I-Beam with 3 trolleys for chain hoists which works perfect for splitting tractors since you can hang them with no problems engine rear end and any thing between

NO!Dont use a tractor to pull it apart!You cant control finely enough and the tractor hydralics will settle. You could/will tear up something.I commonly split on dirt.You need to get a proper splitting stand.Make one as I did. Dont try to save(money)by useing a floor jack as some do.That is an accident/disaster/tragedy waiting to happen.Block/secure the rear half.Placelong 2x6,8,10 etc under tractor.Even 1/2 plywood will work if dirt floor is aomewhat hard.Lay 3 or 4 4x8 sheets crossways on the floor and then park the tractor on them(You now have a 'hard' floor).Put stand on front and rool the front away useing the wood as a 'hard' smooth surface.Kinda a PIA,but it works.And Ive done up to 125 horse tractors that way.I some times use a comealong to help to slide them together(something you can feel).Good luck. If you need to call,pleaase do. cell(970)417-1178 Steve

I've split a few on grass or dirt, on yours, block the front half like you stated. Place a sheet of 3/4 plywood under the rear half, it helps if you can come up with a piece of flat sheet to go over it. Use a 3 ton floor jack that will roll easy. Back another tractor behind it, use a come along to pull it apart after removing the bolts. Or if you have help, you won't need the come along, but by all means, be carful.

Jason I hope you picked up on the fact that you need to roll the front... not the back several reasons besides it makes going back easier. Used to do it pretty regular with heavy timbers on dirt floor. Just go slow and make sure you have the little things like fuel lines and control to fuel pump wire ect.

I've spit several Deere 4020s on dirt. Just jammed some wood wedges into the front axle pivot and put a big floor jack under the front half. Just laid down some plywood for the jack to roll on. When putting back together - I use two come-alongs. It helps a lot when on a rough service. Just have to make sure not to force anything together. Making up some guide bolts also helps.

I mount trailer jacks towards the rear of the engine so the front won't move or flop around. Make up a small 2 wheeled cart with long brace arms. The arms fasten in place of the 3 point arms and holds the cart ridged and level. Then place a hydraulic jack over the cart axle support the rear half.
If you use bigger and wider wheels, the cart will move easier.
The 3 jacks makes for easy realignment.

Depending on the specific tractor and whether it has a cab, it might be tail heavy and tip backwards. So when you block up the back section, block it near the bell housing and make another support crib under the back end of the hitch bar (not the 3 pt). As you unbolt the front and back, there is a weight shift and usually the rear end rises (from the air in tires). This rise may be 1/2" and that can be enough to set the blocking loose. The front end is quite controllable because much weight is on the front tires, but the engine block puts enough weight towards the bell housing that it can be predicted what it will do. I do not know where you have to split your MF, but I have split a 135 Hp Ford 9000 with a lot of ballast weights (rear wheel area) with a heavy Hiniker 1300 series cab. And that required a double split, once at the bell housing, and the second split between tranny and rear end. The rear one is the most unpredictable for weight shift. I think it was a hydraulic pump problem that required the rear split. I have split other similar size tractors on a dirt floor by using 2x10 planks for the splitting stand w/wheels to roll on and moving the engine forward. I have no idea about the size and weight of your Massey. Even though you might be using hydraulic jack(s) to do the lifting, set blocks because most jacks do sag over time. You do not want to come out the next morning and find half of the tractor laying flat on the ground (or maybe even worse!).

Step back every once in a while and look at the splitting with a critical eye. Ask yourself "where is the weight now?", and "how can I support it?". Make the supports be as directly under the weight as possible. Do not set them far back and plan on a cantilever effect to do the supporting.

Think Physics! (Forces).

Paul in MN

This is how I split my 1100. Used plywood as base, cinder blocks to build up to height, 2x12 on top of blocks, then two scrap plates of aluminum for jack to ride on. Also used 2x12s for front tires to ride on. Be sure to chock front half so it doesn't tilt when you split it.

I have a piece of 9 gauge sheet about 2ft wide and 9-10ft long that has had several tractors split on it and couple truck trans done on it.

get trailer jacks and make brackets to bolt them to sides of motor and transmission. You wouldn't be able to tip them if you tried.

We use our CASE 530 or 680 Fork Lifts Some times 580 Backhoe Loader = Be Care full No Matter How you do It .

well 2 weeks ago i split my jubilee on the deck of my trailer, which is diamand plate steel, the way i did it was i used wood blocks to keep the tractor from floping at the pivot pin on the front axle, then strapped the engine to each side of the trailer to keep the rear of the front half from moving , then i got a couple pieces of flat sheet steel i happened to have and a 3 ton floor jack under the rear half and pulled it and the back half of the tractor back by using a come along from the jack to the back of the trailer the sheets of steel made the jack roll easier on the diamond plate trailer deck,and 8x8 wood blocks were placed behind the tires as we moved it just to make sure the rear half couldnt get away from me, after replacing all 4 pieces of the clutch i also installed a new front tranny seal since i was already in there for insurance, going back , the floor jack was pulled foward with the comealong, once the 2 halves of tractor got close i put 2 pieces of allthread the same size as the bellhousing bolts in to line it up and using a tape measure to keep the 2 halves square with each other, it went right togeather

I usually throw a sheet of 1/4 plate under the engine end and roll the floor jack on top of that... I've seen a 3650 MF split on a bottle jack that sat on top of a 2x8... which had 3" pipe rollers between that and another 2x8 on bare ground.
Needless to say... it can be done.

Rod

Do what Deltared says.

Yea, don't.

Thanks for all the replies. There are some good ideas on here. I hadn't ever thought about using trailer jacks before. My MF175 is not a hard tractor to split at all. You can split one in less than an hour but I I didn't know which end would have been better to pull. I guess I will roll the front forward. I might add that I will have to do all this by myself as you all know how it goes when you need someone to help you do something...there is never anyone around.

I blocked my rear and used a cherry picker to lift the front. I used wedges in the pivot as well. I was outside on gravel. BTW, make sure the throw out bearing is in place or you get real good at doing it twice...

Aaron