D17 Series 1

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Welcome to the site and congrats on acquiring a really fine Allis. You can purchase manuals from this site; click on "Allis Store" above. The folks who advertise their parts/products on this site are great folks to deal with; click on "Parts, etc" above to check out their products and services. Feel free to ask any questions about your D17; you will most likely get many good responses-and should someone have a senior moment and give you the wrong answers, most likely someone will jump in and give the correct one.

Welcome, Tim!

Okay, so let's start with some basic facts about the D17 Series 1:

The D17 Series I is the successor to the W-series tractors.  The WC begat the WD, then the WD45... this evolved into the D17.

The D17 had many notable features that came from earlier series-  the venerable 4 cylinder had bore-and-stroke, as well as compression-ratio and goverend-speed increases over the WC and WD, but using essentially the same engine block plan as the WC of 1935.

The WD and WD45's hand-clutch on the DRIVELINE was a major advantage to farmers when operating equipment such as balers, harvesters, and mowers- it allowed the operator to stop tractor motion WHILE maintaining PTO drive to the implement.  The D17's improvement, however, was the Power Director feature... a hand-operated PAIR of clutches (on one handle) that gave a HIGH and LOW drive ratio operation.  It had a substantial advantage over the International Harvester Torque Amplifier (TA) setup in that it afforded a NEUTRAL, and also, it wasn't prone to damage from downshifting when going downhill (how to break a TA in one easy step).

The D17, like the WD45, was available with factory power steering, and I believe MOST were... the only D17's I've seen that didn't, were narrow-front.  The power steering pump is located just behind the governor (gear driven off the engine), and the reservoir filler is located behind the grille, up front.

The D17 Series 1 shared hydraulic lift scheme of the WD and WD-45- a high-pressure/low-volume pump operating a single-acting lift cylinder on the rear-end 'snap hitch'. The snap-hitch system shared same implements as used on the WD and WD-45- an eyelet on the front end of the implement hooked onto the 'pin-bell' device directly beneath the transmission, and two arms on the implement connected to the ends of the tractor's lift-arms.  This allowed implement draft load to be placed below the centerline of the tractor, and kept the implement's center-of-draft very far forward.  The result was excellent maneuverability and control while engaging the soil.  The D17 also shared the WD/WD45's 'traction booster' draft control system.  A servo valve and cylinder located in the 'pin bell' device would monitor draft pressure, and modulate lift-arm pressure to keep constant travel speed while plowing.

In the event that drawbar devices needed hydraulic lift, It also had auxiliary plumbing to operate a remote cylinder... typically like a lifting cylinder on the wheels of a towed rotary mower or plow, or in the case of a grain hopper, the hopper dump cylinder.

The D-series tractors also featured Allis's Power-Shift rear wheel spacing adjustment system- loosen four cam locks on a wheel, apply the opposite brake, and bump the clutch, which spins the wheel center inside the rim, pushing the tire out, or pulling it in, respective to the direction you're turning the wheel.

Electrical system is 12v positive ground, with ignition points and a mechanical voltage-regulator.  Easy to convert to negative ground and/or electronic ignition, if you should desire an upgrade.

Brakes are easy to adjust- there's covers over the adjusters just below the seat on right and left side.  If your brakes aren't working well, check the adjusters first.  Brake linings can usually be installed through those covers without too much difficulty.

Common issues with engines, is exhaust manifold leaks, improper valve clearance settings, ignition points/condensers, cruddy carburetors and fuel tanks... all easy problems to solve, and virtually everything is available through common avenues.

Wide Front ends for a D series is compeletely different than the WD's. Guys have them here for sale once in awhile and ebay quite often. 

To get the continuous PTO and hydraulics, you move the power director to neutral. Pushing the clutch pedal stops everything.

The Power Director clutch is indeed wet, as the lube pump supplies oil up thru the hollow shaft and oil then migrates into the clutch hubs ( with drilled lube holes) and then by centrifugal force out thru the clutch. No way is it dry....oil is supplied from within unlike the WD and WD45 that had no lube pump and depended upon splash/submersion in oil.

I was thinking the same thing Dr. Allis but you beat me to the keypad!! D17s are great tractors. Ryan

Orange Blood,