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Jimmyessbee 
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Joined: 14 Feb 2024
Location: North Dakota
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 Topic: Looking at Picking up a D17
Posted: 14 Feb 2024 at 7:30pm |
I'm new to the Allis Chalmers world and contemplating the acquisition of a D17. I'm curious what it is that I should be looking for as I'm investigating whether or not it's a good idea.
Any insight is appreciated.
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WF owner
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Joined: 12 May 2013
Location: Bombay NY
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Posted: 14 Feb 2024 at 7:55pm |
A couple questions: Gas or diesel? (Diesel is VERY expensive to rebuild and engine parts can be hard to find.)
What Series? (Series IV is by far the most sought after, but they are all good tractors.)
I guess the most important things to check is:
has it been abused and doesn't stay in gear?
How are the rear tires and rims?
Does the hydraulics work right?
Coolant in the oil?
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DrAllis
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
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Posted: 14 Feb 2024 at 8:43pm |
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What do you plan on doing with this 53 PTO HP tractor ???
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Jimmyessbee
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Posted: 14 Feb 2024 at 9:11pm |
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It’s a series iv gas. I haven’t been to look at it yet, but if there’s no coolant in the oil today, there might be tomorrow. Are parts going to be readily available? Are transmission issues prevalent? What’s the likelihood something will happen in the near soon future which would have a rational person saying it’s not worth it to fix? Or possible, even.
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Jimmyessbee
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Posted: 14 Feb 2024 at 9:14pm |
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It’s got a newish snowblower on it along with wheel weights and a loader. I might move some snow. I like the idea of running a generator off the pto. I might move some dirt around.
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DrAllis
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Posted: 14 Feb 2024 at 9:23pm |
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Run it for a test drive for 15 or 20 minutes and check for blue smoke out the exhaust, meaning it's an oil burner. Check for leaks. Loader tractors are often the most abused.
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Joe Goodwill
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Souris Manitoba
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Posted: 14 Feb 2024 at 9:29pm |
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I have a series 1 gas that has blown snow, done field work, mowed, raked, baled hay and loaded thousands of 1200 pound round bales. Take your time be careful and learn how to use the power director hand clutch from someone with experience. Tough old tractor.
Joe
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200Tom1
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Location: Iowa
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Posted: 14 Feb 2024 at 10:49pm |
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I have run 17's since 1959. I've not been on a bad 1. Check to see if it jumps out of 3rd gear, check the brakes, and check on the power director. That's the stick on the right side that controls the 2 speed power director. If they don't jump out of gear, she'll probably be a great series 4.
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im4racin
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Location: Garrison ND
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Posted: 14 Feb 2024 at 11:55pm |
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He is a little rich on price. Based on what i have seen of it 5k is the upper limit
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WF owner
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Location: Bombay NY
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Posted: 15 Feb 2024 at 6:38am |
Engine and transmission parts are readily available, but both are expensive repairs. Transmission problems are a problem on tractors that have been abused (either intentional or ignorance - DO NOT " GRIND" THE GEARS).
Take DrAllis' advice. Run it for a while. Try going down a hill while letting off the throttle. Repeat in every gear and see if it "pops out". Check for "milky" oil, transmission or hydraulic fluid.
Check the rear rims for excessive rust, usually around the valve (rims are ~$500 each new). Check the rear tires for excessive cracking. Run the hydraulics up and down with an implement (or at least a person) on them.
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darrel in ND
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Posted: 15 Feb 2024 at 6:50am |
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I think that I seen the one advertised that you are most likely looking at. I would try to talk him down a little on the price, but series 4 with factory 3 point have some serious value to em.
Biggest thing that I would say, is make sure that you are aware of the fact that when you step on the foot clutch, the PTO stops turning. In order to maintain the pto, and stop tractor motion is by using the power director hand clutch (putting it in neutral) If you can grasp that concept, you'll be golden. I've been running allis tractors that way for over 30 years now, and it works fine for me.
Darrel
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im4racin
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Posted: 15 Feb 2024 at 7:56am |
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It's not factory 3pt. It's snap with aftermarket kit
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Oldwrench
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Location: Northeast
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Posted: 15 Feb 2024 at 8:15am |
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My IV was originally snap. However, any salvage 170-180 factory 3 point will be a straight bolt on, so you don't have to search for a (rare) IV factory 3ph. Best thing I ever did was put a factory 3ph on my D17IV. Once all the hydraulic control linkages are freed up, it becomes a totally modern 50+ hp tractor.
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DSeries4
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Location: Ontario, Canada
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Posted: 15 Feb 2024 at 4:03pm |
 Jimmyessbee wrote:
It’s a series iv gas. I haven’t been to look at it yet, but if there’s no coolant in the oil today, there might be tomorrow. Are parts going to be readily available? Are transmission issues prevalent? What’s the likelihood something will happen in the near soon future which would have a rational person saying it’s not worth it to fix? Or possible, even. |
"What’s the likelihood something will happen in the near soon future
which would have a rational person saying it’s not worth it to fix?"
That's a loaded question! Remember you are buying a used 60+ year old tractor! They are all going to need some work done at some point. If you want a tractor that you do not want to fix, buy a new Kubota for thousands more. Reliability of any tractor comes down to how it was used and maintained. If it was used as intended and maintained according to the operator's manual, you should be in good shape. If it was worked like a rented mule, all bets are off.
Fortunately they are pretty easy to work on and parts are not usually a problem. The only potential weak spot is the transmission. They can jump out of gear if the previous owners ground gears when shifting. That would require a complete transmission rebuild with around $1500 in parts alone - make sure the transmission is good before you buy.
Overall, the D17 Series 4 is one of ACs best tractors. The diesel engines are a little fragile, but the gas engines are near bulletproof.
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'49 G, '54 WD45, '55 CA, '56 WD45D, '57 WD45, '58 D14, '59 D14, '60 D14, '61 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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Orangeade
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Joined: 09 Jun 2019
Location: NC Wis
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Posted: 15 Feb 2024 at 5:32pm |
Not trying to start an argument, but the D17 is arguably the best tractor of its' era from any color. Not being biased just because it was dads favorite. :) Everything boils back to how it was maintained. Some guys can ruin a Sherman tank in a week. Take Doc's advice and then load it up and take it home, your smile will never fade.
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AC720Man
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Location: Shenandoah, Va
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Posted: 15 Feb 2024 at 9:37pm |
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I have a 59 diesel3 bar grill series 1. Have been looking for one for a long time. I purchased it almost 2 years ago and test drove it for a half hour. Ran it forward and backwards selecting between high and low range. On and off the throttle, down a somewhat steep driveway to see if it popped out of gear. Thankfully it didn’t. What I learned was the brakes were bad, wiring was no good, and it had quite a few leaks especially at the injection pump. So I knew that it would have to be rebuilt as well as new brakes. Rear tires were good, no fluid leaks around the valve stems and the rims were in excellent condition even though they were filled with fluid. Some blow by but it ran very well and the transmission seamed to be good. It had a lot of good things going for it. It had obvious signs of some not so good repairs that I knew I wouldn’t be happy until I repaired them correctly. With that being said I factored all the things into my offer as I explained to the seller my plans of a full facelift. I used the tractor the first summer just to make sure I had not overlooked anything. The project started last March and I finished it in October. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. I really enjoy farming with it and taking it to shows. Thankfully the owner understood my thinking and took my offer which was $1,500 below his asking price. He was glad to see it go to a good home only 6 miles away. As said above a gas version will be far less expensive to rebuild in case you have to do that. They are a good tractor and the series IV is the cream of the crop.
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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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