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only AC orange 
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Joined: 06 Dec 2014
Location: Eastern Indiana
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 Topic: D-15 series II
Posted: 05 Jan 2026 at 6:27pm |
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D-15 series II with factory 3 point hitch - are the lift arms cat. 1 or cat. 2? If cat 1, is there not enough iron in the set up to handle cat 2 equipment? Has anyone ever exchanged the cat 1 arms for cat 2 arms? What might the consequences be?
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EPALLIS
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Illinois
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Posted: 05 Jan 2026 at 6:54pm |
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i have a D-15 series II with factory 3 point hitch. They are lift arms cat. 1. They are original. It was one of the first models built in 1966. Hope that helps.
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DrAllis
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Posted: 05 Jan 2026 at 9:46pm |
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All D-15 tractors were equipped with a category "1" three-point hitch. It was (for the most part) quite light-duty in design and if used extensively on a moldboard plow for example, didn't hold up well at all for many owners. Broken draft arms and bolts that held the torsion bar up underneath the tractor would work loose and then a catastrophic failure could occur. Changing the draft arms to a heavier Cat #2 design might solve that issue but not the torsion bar bolts or framework. There are lots of previous posts about this subject on this website and mostly negative.
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Nathan (SD)
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: Day County SD
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Posted: Yesterday at 8:28am |
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The D15 series 2 was available with a 3pt carrying system. Allis-Chalmers inadvertently advertised it as a hitch.
The snap coupler is a hitch.
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Ed (Ont)
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Joined: 08 Nov 2009
Location: New Lowell, Ont
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Posted: Yesterday at 10:33am |
 Nathan (SD) wrote:
The D15 series 2 was available with a 3pt carrying system. Allis-Chalmers inadvertently advertised it as a hitch.
The snap coupler is a hitch. |
The whole world referred to it as 3-pt hitch. Including the inventors - Ferguson and Massey Ferguson! Semantics - Lol!!!!! 
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PaulB
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Rocky Ridge Md
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Posted: Yesterday at 10:47am |
The D15II could be either Cat I or Cat II. Mine had the Cat II 3pt when I got it. It also have been welded and patched many way and 4 the holes in the bottom of the transmission case and lift housing where about ruined. I was able to repair the 2 in the transmission, but the 2 in the lift housing had already been enlarged and had those threads pulled out. What a pispoor design, it should have been like the D17 IV. After making the repairs it is now a SnapCoupler tractor and nothing has loosened up since I've owned the tractor.
Edited by PaulB - 1 hour 60 minutes ago at 3:16pm
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If it was fun to pull in LOW gear, I could have a John Deere.
Real pullers don't have speed limits.
If you can't make it GO... make it SHINY
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DSeries4
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Yesterday at 2:33pm |
I have 2 D15 IIs with factory 3 point. Both are Cat 1. One barely has a scratch on it, the other has been welded many times in many places. Definitely not one of AC's best efforts. If you plan on doing lots of 3 point work, get a D17 series 4 with factory 3 point - they are bulletproof.
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'49 G, '54 WD45, '55 CA, '56 WD45D, '57 WD45, '58 D14, '59 D14, '60 D14, '63 D15D, '66 D15II, '66 D21II, '67 D17IV, '67 D17IVD, '67 190XTD, '73 620, '76 185, '77 175, '84 8030, '85 6080
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DrAllis
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Posted: Yesterday at 5:17pm |
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I had to go and dig up my D-15 S2 literature books. The book dated July of 1963 says Category #1 three-point hitch. The newer book dated Sept of 1966 says Category #1 is the standard three-point hitch and Category #2 was OPTIONAL equipment. I've never seen a Cat 2 hitch on a D-15 S2. Were the balls just bigger?? or 2-hole sized balls?? Sounds like they didn't beef it up any from Cat 1.
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PaulB
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Location: Rocky Ridge Md
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Posted: 21 hours 24 minutes ago at 7:52pm |
DrAllis wrote:
I had to go and dig up my D-15 S2 literature books. The book dated July of 1963 says Category #1 three-point hitch. The newer book dated Sept of 1966 says Category #1 is the standard three-point hitch and Category #2 was OPTIONAL equipment. I've never seen a Cat 2 hitch on a D-15 S2. Were the balls just bigger?? or 2-hole sized balls?? Sounds like they didn't beef it up any from Cat 1. |
The balls just had bigger holes and a bushing was used if it was desired to hitch to a Cat I implement. This is shown in the parts book I have (March 1982). The only parts different for the Cat II 3pt hitch are the draft arms and the implement end of the top link.
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If it was fun to pull in LOW gear, I could have a John Deere.
Real pullers don't have speed limits.
If you can't make it GO... make it SHINY
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Pat the Plumber CIL
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: Springfield,Il
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Posted: 9 hours 34 minutes ago at 7:42am |
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Biggest problem with the D15sII is people using it like it was a D17 . I believe Allis Chalmers put the light weight Cat 1 3pt on it to keep the user from trying to use it for more than it was intended. Yes a heavier 3pt like the 17,19 ,185,190 would have been stronger and more dependable but probably would have led to drive train ,rear end and transmission problems. Stick with the cat1 and use the tractor as intended.
Never seen a D15SII with cat 2
Edited by Pat the Plumber CIL - 9 hours 33 minutes ago at 7:43am
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You only need to know 3 things to be a plumber;Crap rolls down hill,Hot is on the left and Don't bite your fingernails
1964 D-17 SIV 3 Pt.WF,1964 D-15 Ser II 3pt.WF ,1960 D-17 SI NF,1956 WD 45 WF.
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AC720Man
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Posted: 6 hours 42 minutes ago at 10:34am |
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Dad’s 1968 Series II is cat 2. He purchased it new. We have never had a failure in the 3 pt. We do however keep check on the bolts.
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1968 B-208, 1976 720 (2 of them)Danco brush hog, single bottom plow,52" snow thrower, belly mower,rear tine tiller, rear blade, front blade, 57"sickle bar,1983 917 hydro, 1968 7hp sno-bee, 1968 190XTD
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Leadoff
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Location: Calgary
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Posted: 5 hours 58 minutes ago at 11:18am |
D15 Enthusiasts
IMHO the D15 served it's owners well IF OPERATED WITHIN THE ALLOWABLE LIMITS OF THE DESIGN OF THE TRACTOR
This thread, and numerous others on the Forum, have the information well documented
The D15 design limitations..........(if exceeded) - TPH arms, frame mounting bolts - TPH drawbar support and mounting bolts - transmission shifter/grinding gears/subsequent jumping out of gear (D17 bulletproof)
All of the above were the result of exceeding design limits, operator abuse, or probably in most cases lack of knowledge
Now, the pot is calling the kettle black here, as a teenager on our dairy farm in the late sixties, operating a brand new D15 Series II, I was guilty of the second and third infractions shown above
We/I smashed the cast iron drawbar support hauling a NH manure spreader with way too much vertical load when the rear wheel dropped down into a pothole and bang #####%%%%%
If I had a dollar (CDN) for every time my father heard me and my brothers grind the gears on the poor D15
Final point in the D15 favour, we often used the D15 to pull our Allis Chalmers 2200 10 ft disc (3rd Low) to free up our D17 for plowing, and it performed this duty very well, but we were probably overloading the tractor
Some D15's were well looked after and survived ................
Very similar to other machines (cars, trucks, tools, etc)
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1963 D17D Series III. 1965 D15 Series II. 1965 D17 Series IV. 1975 185. 1978 716H. 1979 716H. 1965 780 Harvester/1R&DC. 1957 Model 73 SC 4 Furrow Plow
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Gary Burnett
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Location: Virginia
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Posted: 5 hours 30 minutes ago at 11:46am |
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The bolts that anchor the 3pt to the tractor are 1 inch long,but the threaded holes they bolt into are 2 inches deep.Why AC didn't use a longer bolt is a mystery to me.Anyway I got 4 grade 8 all thread rods and ran them to bottom out coated with red Loctite.They won't budge and never had a problem again.
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DrAllis
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Posted: 1 hour 27 minutes ago at 3:49pm |
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I haven't laid underneath one with a 3-point hitch, but if one made a couple of 3/8" or 1/2" thick flat straps 3 inches wide, to attach as close to the outside of that torsion bar framework as possible and go forward at an angle to where the two rear 3/4" bolts are for the snap-coupler spring frame, that would support the torsion bar immensely where it needs some help and be using two new chassis holes to spread out the load. Making these braces a perfect fit would be best, or maybe a large turnbuckle on each one to place the torsion bar under a little tension. This would be accomplishing the same thing a model 200 and 7000 have to strengthen their lower hitch area, and theirs are adjustable with a nut on each side.
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