# Massey 265 stuck in gear



## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

My MF 265 got stuck in reverse the other day when I went to shift while raking. It was stuck in reverse. I pulled the filler cap the shifter rails are both lined up and in "neutral", I can move the gear shit left-right in neutral but not up or down into a gear. Hi/Lo/pto works fine. I tried popping the big gear forward and now its stuck in first instead of R. I haven't pulled the top cover off the trans yet because its still in the field. Going to try and drive it home today in 5th which will take a long time. Any ideas? If its the shift forks am I looking at splitting a tractor?


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

I think this is one of the models with a tendency for getting stuck. I helped a friend unstick one. Just get a pry bar or even big screwdriver down in the filler hole (I think it was the filler hole) as it sounds like you did, and slide the gear. I think I also promptly got the one I did stuck in a different gear but all it too was prying back the opposite direction with a bar of a slightly different angle. Common advice online is to make sure when you shift them that you don't use any upward pull when shifting.

Edit: just remembered the one I helped with was a 165. No idea whether the issue is the same.


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

8350HiTech said:


> I think this is one of the models with a tendency for getting stuck. I helped a friend unstick one. Just get a pry bar or even big screwdriver down in the filler hole (I think it was the filler hole) as it sounds like you did, and slide the gear. I think I also promptly got the one I did stuck in a different gear but all it too was prying back the opposite direction with a bar of a slightly different angle. Common advice online is to make sure when you shift them that you don't use any upward pull when shifting.
> 
> Edit: just remembered the one I helped with was a 165. No idea whether the issue is the same.


It was common also on the MF 30/35/50


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## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

From what I read its common on all the good old Massey 4 spd/HI/LO models. I got it home and in the barn. 5th feels fast in some fields not so much going down the road. I was coasting down some hills with the clutch in and heard a bad thunk come from the trans. Heading up to pull the cover off at some point soon.


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## oliver1850 (Jun 2, 2016)

I want to know what happened when you tear into it. We have a mf165, but have never had any tranny problems (knock on wood).


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## HayMike (Mar 22, 2011)

We pulled the cover a few times, then figured how to do it through the filler hole. This was a 35, back in the 60's.

Mike


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## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

Finally got some time to hang out in the barn and I pulled the cover off. The shift forks lined themselves back up when I pulled it off. And now I can shift with my finger. However, before I put the cover back on anything I should replace? Like the 4 detent springs for the shift rails? The actual gear shift lever looks better than I expected. There is some rounding on the R-1 shift fork. But not terrible.


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

Check for wear at the point where the bottom of the lever engages the shift fork shaft.

Roger


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## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

The bottom of the gear shift lever is square. Points look good. I don't see any wear on the bottom. I guess I should take a couple pictures.


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## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

Well I ended up swapping in a new gear lever. The new one is much squarer. Time will tell if this helps or not. And holy crap I wasn't expecting the new one to cost 250 bucks.

Its back up and running tonight. But now it seems like its slipping when I try to take off in hi range. Not sure if its related or not. Maybe I should adjust the clutch?


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## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

Well I figured out the slipping yesterday. Took the inspection cover off and found chunks of clutch. Looks like this summer just got even more expensive.


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## oliver1850 (Jun 2, 2016)

ouch!


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