Farm Equipment - UNDER POWERED

UNDER POWERED

Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Allis Chalmers
Forum Name: Farm Equipment
Forum Description: everything about Allis-Chalmers farm equipment
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12788
Printed Date: 31 Jan 2025 at 5:45pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: UNDER POWERED

Posted By: NEWOWNER
Subject: UNDER POWERED
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 10:16am

THE AC 5020 I BOUGHT IS SO UNDER POWERED I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I GOT IT STUCK IN ABOUT 4 INCHES OF DIRT. I'M ASSUMING IT'S POSI-TRACTION BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM TO WORK THAT WELL. IT ONLY HAS 804 HRS. ON IT FOR A 1977. THE ENGINE RUNS GREAT BUT I GUESS IT ONLY HAS 21 HP. THE 430 FRONT LOADER WON'T EVEN DIG DOWN INTO VERY SOFT SOIL WITHOUT BOGGING DOWN. ARE THESE KNOWN FOR BEING A PRETTY MUCH WORTHLESS TRACTOR FOR ACTUAL WORK? ANY INFO WOULD BE VERY APPRECIATED. THANKS

Replies:

Posted By: Eldon (WA)
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 10:29am

Well I would call them 2 cylinders short of a real tractor, but they are good for small projects. I use mine to pull wagons around and move dead tractors around. I found it didn't like to pull a two section drag in plowed ground.....and was too light to use with a 6 foot landscape rake. On the plus side, they are good starters, you only have to fill the fuel tank once a year and they have a real slow first gear!

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Posted By: TramwayGuy
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 10:31am

You bought it without knowing anything about it??? It has a differential lock pedal on the right side to lock the rear axles together. DO NOT USE IT once one wheel is spinning or you will tear up the jaw clutch inside.

I have a 5030 2WD tractor which I really like (same tractor with about 30% more power), but do not expect it to be a 40 HP tractor. I use it with a 5' rotary mower (brtush hog), and it is well matched for that. Also works very well with a tiller, because it has super low gearing.

I suspect you also have a 2WD tractor, not 4WD, so it will not be very good as a loader tractor because it is very light in the back. It also does not have power steering.

In short, I think the 5020 and 5030 are very good tractors, but certainly they have limitations.

Posted By: NEWOWNER
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 10:38am

THANKS FOR THE INFO - I GET A MANUAL IN A FEW DAYS, THAT WILL HELP. I MUST SAY I DID NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT IT WHEN I BOUGHT IT, SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT SOMETHING LARGER, BUT IT LOOKED PRETTY GOOD FOR THE AGE AND PRICE. THANKS AGAIN KEVIN

Posted By: Clay in MI
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 11:23am

If you're getting stuck because of wheel spin then try adding weights or loading the tires. I don't know anything about the newer Allis' but B's, WD's, and WD45's won't live up to their potential without adding lots of extra weight. Unballasted the 5020 weighs 2060 lbs. For the Nebrasks Test they added 1300 pounds (from Swinford).

Posted By: Dick L
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 11:45am

I have never found mine to be underpowered. I plowed with 2 14's. I have back filled tile ditches. Loaded several hundred 10 yard loads of top soil. I took the top soil off for my 70 by 120 foot molding room. Rotary mowed/chopped 45 a acre field of corn stalks several times before plowing. I dug out for a four bay truck dock. I have always been amazed at the power this tractor has for its size.

Posted By: DREAM
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 12:01pm

Just need to get some weight on it. Load the tires, hang some weight off the rear. You could build a 3-point-mounted weight with a drum and some concrete/scrap metal, or just leave the 5' bush-hog hooked up. That would do it. It shouldn't stall down very easily using the loader with no weight, it should spin. If it's stalling, you may have a problem.

Posted By: NEWOWNER
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 12:17pm

I'M NEW TO THIS - I'M SURE I'M DOING EVERYTHING WRONG, WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM A CALIFORNIA CITY BOY. I'VE GOT 12 ACRES TO TAKE CARE OF, MOSTLY MOVING COMPOST AROUND AND DISCING FIELDS. HOPEFULLY THIS TRACTOR WILL WORK OUT.
THESE 12 INCH TIRES SEEM TO GET STUCK QUITE EASILY, ANYBODY KNOW IF I CAN GET LARGER RIMS OR DO I NEED THEM?
THANKS TO ALL FOR THE FEEDBACK KEVIN

Posted By: Dick L
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 12:55pm

You must be mixing up the term power with traction. Weight, weight, and more weight to stop the spinning.

When I bought mine new the dealer loaded the turf tires and put on a set of tire chains. He said I would probably need to have the blade mounted when using the loader for extra weight.. If you have a three point disk you might want it on the back when using the loader.

Posted By: RMD
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 4:06pm

Even larger 2WD fram tractors with loaders are not earthmovers. Even with 4WD it takes a much heavier machine to actually do any digging. A small 2WD tractor with a loader like a 5020 should be thought of as a motorized wheelbarrow. I doubt it could even fill a bucket from a stockpile of loose gravel without 4WD. The smallest machine that can really do any digging/grading of other than loose material is a skid-steer loader, and then only if you learn the technique of how to use the bucket. Small machines with backhoes aren't much good for digging either because you'll push the machine around before digging into any kind of firm ground.

Posted By: DMiller
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 4:21pm

I have a 180 with a factory loader, weight in the tires and has reasonably 70 hp, still wont 'dig', it is a "loader" not a hi-lift.

Posted By: Allen Dilg
Date Posted: 22 May 2010 at 10:18pm

HELLO NEWCOMER When you talk about STUCK do you mean the tires quit turning, or they just SPIN???? I like Dick L have used mine for construction, farming, and snow plowing. The reason I ask is that my clutch SLIPS under load and I havent had time to fix it