D17 series 1 diesel rebuild
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=209589
Printed Date: 01 Mar 2026 at 5:38pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: D17 series 1 diesel rebuild
Posted By: JosephD17III
Subject: D17 series 1 diesel rebuild
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2026 at 9:27pm
| Does anyone know where I can find sleeves, bearings, piston rings, and gaskets for a good price? I seen a full rebuild kit online that included pistons but it was 2 grand for some reason?? While all the other ones for the gas motors were wayy cheaper. Any suggestions and ideas are appreciated as well as anything to look out for while im rebuilding it. Thanks God bless-Joey |
Replies:
Posted By: RedHeeler79
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2026 at 9:41pm
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Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the diesel engine in the D17 is difficult to source parts for and can be quite expensive to repair. It’s not insurmountable, but it will be considerably more costly, labor intensive, and require much more time searching for parts than the gas D17. Not to mention the high probability of expensive machine work required to the block, if you discover that the sleeves have sunk. Very common on these engines, and if not addressed, a quality repair can’t be achieved. If you tear it down, check the head closely for cracks, have it pressure tested for leaks. Inspect the sleeves for proper standout (protrusion) above the deck surface of block - .002-.004” the common theme is sunken sleeves, blown head gasket and cracked cylinder head. There are plenty of threads on this forum that discuss these issues, if you want to do some digging. |
Posted By: rtwfarm
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 2:08am
| Yep hard to find parts and very expensive to redo a buda these days |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 7:01am
| I'm gonna take the head of and check it, if it is bad, could you repower it with a gas engine? I know they are i4s but I don't know if the hookup is different. -Joey |
Posted By: RedHeeler79
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 7:44am
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There are enough differences between the gas and diesel tractors to make it a difficult swap, unless you find a 262 gas engine in good condition to use as a donor engine. The frame rails, steering shaft, and hoods are longer on the diesel tractor, along with a few other minor differences. The major issue is the difference in length of the clutch shaft, the gas and diesel clutch shafts aren’t interchangeable. That’s quite a job to swap out a clutch shaft (more or less disassembly of the tractor from the transmission forward) and finding a good shaft to use may take some patience and work. What are the symptoms that have you believing that your engine needs overhauled? |
Posted By: NEVER green
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 9:43am
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I thought the sleeves drop only on the turbo D 19 ??? Maybe I am wrong. ------------- 2-8050 1-7080 6080 D-19 modelE & A 7040 R50 |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 9:44am
| I bought it for 500 and it doesn't run, I think someone has added a head as it isn't orange its grey?? I don't know the condition of the pistons. I figured it wouldn't hurt to inspect, plus I don't know the job the previous guy did. It hasn't ran in probably a decade. |
Posted By: Nathan (SD)
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 9:49am
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Get it running. Then make an assessment if it is worth sticking money into. There could be other problems than just the engine. |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 9:56am
| There is alot more then just the engine that needs fixed, I want to restore it and sell it but I want to know if I should just look for a different motor or not. But looking at how much work I would have to go through on changing it out, I think I'll just have to stick to my guns and fix it. |
Posted By: RedHeeler79
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 9:58am
| I agree. Get it running before you open that can of worms. Right now, you’re into it cheap enough. As soon as you pull the head off, everything changes |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 9:58am
| Alright I'll work on getting it running and then go from there. Thank you guys for the help. |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 10:11am
| Well i forgot to mention this but I did take some of it off this morning and I noticed the coolant system was rusty. Thoughts? |
Posted By: RedHeeler79
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 10:28am
| That’s pretty typical of these old machines. Hopefully it had enough coolant concentration in it that it hasn’t ever frozen. You could start by buttoning everything up, filling the cooling system and putting a pressure tester on the radiator. 8-10 psi, leave overnight if it will hold pressure. Drain the oil and leave the drain plug out to see if coolant makes it into the crankcase. This would quickly tell you if you have major problems from the start |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 11:50am
| Oh you guys don't know the project im in for, the radiator and entire coolant system is don't for, radiator has a mud dobber nest in it. And I drained the oil and 3 gallons of water came out jo rust just water and then a gallon of oil. |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 11:52am
| There was no coolant in any of the lines or the radiator. |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 11:58am
| I don't think you realize what you're getting in to. Are you prepared to spend at least $1,000 bucks getting the injection pump and injectors reconditioned so it can even run ??? |
Posted By: Nathan (SD)
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 12:48pm
I don’t want to sound like the school yard bully either. But if you can’t get it running in the conditions it is in, 1. You are in over your head mechanically. 2. You will soon be in over your head financially. If you have no prior Allis-Chalmers mechanical experience, the Buddha is the worst place to start learning. I was young and eager too once. The lessons are time consuming or expensive. Sometimes both. Nobody is saying forget about it, but you need to do an insane amount of research to proceed effectively. Does this thing even turn over with a battery? |
DrAllis wrote:Posted By: Les Kerf
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 1:56pm
I truly hope you do not expect to profit monetarily from this endeavor  Best wishes!
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Posted By: HudCo
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 2:00pm
| i am doing mine right now cam is off geting rebiuld block has been decked and counter bored finally found a head that is rebiuldable pump has been done injectors still need to be done havent got the bill on the cam yet still have to turn the crank this engine will hit 6000$ in parts and machine shop bills if icharged my self our shop rate this would be wellover 10,000$ engine so you had better take the head off and get a real good hard look the head under the valve seats look at your deck and liner projection |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 3:13pm
| 3 gallons of water (not coolant) coming out of the oil pan just cost you more $$$$$$ and a $2K OH kit almost for sure. Engines left outside with the exhaust not being covered well are bad news. |
Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 4:06pm
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sell the trans, final drives, sheet metal and front axle and get your money back... Start over with a gas tractor.. ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: HudCo
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 9:10pm
| let me know how your head looks after the valves are out and its magnafluxed if it gets parted out |
Posted By: Gary Burnett
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 9:19pm
| Google money pit,at best you might get the cost of parts back out of the tractor.For instance I know where there is a nice D17 gas,WF,3pt runs and operates good they are asking $2500 and I'd be afraid to offer $2000 if I didn't want it. |
Posted By: SteveM C/IL
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2026 at 9:30pm
| "You want to restore and sell it"? As long as you don't mind loosing your butt you might sell it. |
Posted By: WF owner
Date Posted: 05 Jan 2026 at 5:20am
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Even if you were to spend $$$$ on an overhaul, there is no way to tell if there are problems somewhere else. (That's why these guys are telling you to get it running before planning an overhaul.) It very well could have transmission or hydraulic issues. it's definitely a parts tractor. That's why you bought it cheap.
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Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 05 Jan 2026 at 5:35am
| Unless the gear shift rubber boot is perfect, there will be rainwater inside the transmission/differential. |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 05 Jan 2026 at 8:18pm
I appreciate your guys help on this, call have been very informative. I haven't got the head off yet I will finish that tomorrow, I'm hoping to have a running allis one day even if it isn't this one. I will know to look for a gas one next time and save the trouble  anyone have a good suggestion for a future tractor? 50-90 horse, would like to do hay with it and some tillage. God bless-Joey
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Posted By: Lynn Marshall
Date Posted: 05 Jan 2026 at 9:58pm
| 185.. Tough, durable, parts availability and hold their value. |
Posted By: DougG
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2026 at 6:38pm
| Im with Lynn there,, 180,185- or enjoy the platform on a 190, or 190 XT!!! |
Posted By: Don Jr NY
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2026 at 4:49am
| If you decide not to pursue this project and are willing to sell parts off of the D-17 diesel I would be interested in some items. Thank you. Don Jr. |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2026 at 8:24pm
| I will continue the restoration, water damage is limited, i will work more on it tomorrow but it looks like this tractor ran just a few years ago, if it didn't have water damage or i had drained it sooner it would've been great but you live and learn. Number 1 5 and 6 have a little rust, number 2 is great and number 3 and 4 had alot of water and when it got cold in December it blew the sleeves, the pistons look great though lol. I'll need new valves and rods, the bottom of the rods were rusted bad,ideas on what needs repairs regarding that? Overall looks great crosshatching is chill prominent. No cracks, I've put stuff in the cylinders to break them loose. |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2026 at 8:25pm
| I'm going to tear it down some more, more then likely fully and I'm gonna clean the block out and the head. Any ideas on that? I was thinking electrolysis?? |
Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2026 at 8:59pm
|
electrolysis is great if you got the room / tank.. I have done that on smaller parts.. For larger cases ( blocks / trans / final drives) i spray them with oven cleaner, let it set 30 minutes and then high pressure water wash.. ------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: HudCo
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2026 at 10:06pm
| you had better magna flux that head with every thing re moved , we just sawed a bad 262d cylinder head up with the band saw at the machine shop to see what the inside of the casting and what the water jacket looks like. and see what mine and the other guys can get away with , my machine shop is doing one for some one for else also. their will have to be welded and pinned. i was just at the machine shop this morning and forgot to take pictures the cylinder head cross sections. if their is any crack under the valve seats its done for |
Posted By: Sugarmaker
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2026 at 10:48am
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Joey, These Allis experts are trying to save you time and money on this D17 Diesel tractor. Story : I had the idea I would like a Allis WD45 Diesel at one time about 10 years ago. I became friends with a member of this forum Don Bradley (rest his soul) He talked me down off the ledge several times about the Allis diesels. Back then he said you better have $5000 extra in your wallet to get a diesel engine correctly rebuilt. Now the price is double that! Not really surprising parts are hard to get! Experts on these are hard to find. Not trying to stop you on this project. But my guess is you may not be able to get your money back on this D17 diesel tractor. I just completed a little Allis CA. I bought it for $800 and probably put $4000 into it to have a light weight pulling tractor for fun. Regards, Chris and Cheryl ------------- D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet. |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2026 at 11:08am
| That would work too, thanks for the idea! |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2026 at 11:13am
| Honestly I accepted it will be alot of money, I just want a orange and white tractor. I will magna flex the head and block to check it. |
Posted By: WF owner
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2026 at 1:11pm
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There are a lot of orange tractors that will cost a ton less and be much more dependable. The biggest problem with the Buda diesels was if you didn't have someone that knew what they were doing do the overhaul, you could spend a ton of money and have serious problems after the overhaul was done. This is not an engine to learn on!!!
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Posted By: 55allis
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2026 at 1:40pm
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Jensales has a kit for a d262t, which would be for a d19 with turbo. https://www.jensales.com/products/ep-915121-allis-buda-out-of-frame-overhaul-kit-buda-d262t.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.jensales.com/products/ep-915121-allis-buda-out-of-frame-overhaul-kit-buda-d262t.html If you look at the 8.25-1 kit for a gas d17 is $2500.. ------------- 1955 AC WD45 diesel with D262 repower, 1949 AC WD, 1963 A-C D17 series 3, several Allis garden tractors 
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Posted By: HudCo
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2026 at 4:10pm
| turbo piston are differant compression ratio if i am correct it is less so it would make it a pig |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2026 at 7:46pm
| I don't know, I'd hate for the first tractor I bought to just be parts, the motor looks good but I'll take your guys experience over my excitement. I'll play with it some more, since it'll be fun. Plus I was going to do a full teardown anyway to clean it. is there a different motor that could be put in? What would the process be to put a d19 gasser in? Anyone got pics and stuff for that? I'd be fine with rebuilding a gas motor, also have another question. Why is the diesel 262 bad and gas 262 good? |
Posted By: RedHeeler79
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2026 at 8:35pm
| It seems as though the gas 262 engine had a more reliable reputation. The relatively lower cylinder pressure (during the combustion event) of the gas engine vs the diesel engine, evidently has much less impact on the fire rings(which seal the uppermost diameter of the cylinder sleeve flange to the cylinder head, respective to the head gasket that “contains” them). The general theory is that the fire rings, of the factory gasket on the diesel engine, were made of soft enough material that they eventually gave way to the compression (cylinder pressure) and the cylinder sleeves were allowed to move up and down in their bores,in the engine block, enough to wear down the already inadequately small outside diameter ledge -think “jack-hammering”, that located them in the block deck at the correct height for adequate head gasket(fire ring) sealing. After prolonged operation, they would bounce up and down enough to wear out the ledge and “sink” into the block. This causes the infamous head gasket issues, and the major repairs required to actually fix the root cause of said head gasket failures, when overhauling the diesel 262. Sleeves need to have a standout (protrusion) of at least .002”, preferably .004” above the block deck. This is why several people have suggested that the machine work and resulting expense to correctly repair the block is extremely common and important. (Not to mention cylinder head cracking issues). Aftermarket fire rings of a harder material have been used, but it’s not widely known what the specific material or dimensions of these rings were made of. A former member of this forum, who manufactured and advocated for these improved fire rings, has passed away. So, the exact specifications of them may be lost. The gas 262 does not seem to suffer from this problem, regardless of hours on the engine. But, they also don’t seem to be easy to find overhaul parts for either. |
Posted By: AC720Man
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2026 at 9:18pm
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That was an excellent explanation of its flaw. I have one, love farming with it, love the Buda sound out of the exhaust, love the fuel economy, good power, but I dread the day when I go down that road that your on….I may not be able to save it. A common problem folks didn’t do was let them warm up before working them and letting them cool down after they worked them. It’s really a shame the D17 didn’t get a 301 stuffed into it. What a monster that would have been! ------------- 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 |
Posted By: 55allis
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2026 at 9:12am
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Just a thought, could someone leave the diesel pistons and swap the head to a gasser so you’d have a really high compression gasser? ------------- 1955 AC WD45 diesel with D262 repower, 1949 AC WD, 1963 A-C D17 series 3, several Allis garden tractors
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Posted By: HudCo
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2026 at 9:27am
| i have thought that myself for a d17 puller would think that the d19 piston would have to be used |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2026 at 9:44am
| Diesel pistons with .200" shaved off the top works good. Also be sure to use the thicker diesel head gasket when doing this. |
Posted By: Jordan(OH)
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2026 at 10:21am
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Read through this post https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/looking-for-d19-diesel-engine-parts_topic204858.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/looking-for-d19-diesel-engine-parts_topic204858.html |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2026 at 8:41am
| A 301 d17 would be a beast lol |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2026 at 8:42am
| The fire rings on mine look new, would you know were to find those aftermarket ones though? Would his posts still be up somewhere? |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2026 at 4:49pm
| Well the sleeves have dropped, but i got a question. Do you guys think if someone made a custom multi layered head gasket it would still be fine? The tractor ran not to long ago i took the fuel filter off and it smelt of new diesel and looked good too, had newer filters in. Fuel lines are clean, don't know about fuel pump but all the lines into it are clean, injectors are a little dirty. |
Posted By: RedHeeler79
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2026 at 5:05pm
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Search for posts by MACK. Others on here have bought his fire rings and may be able to divulge some info on them. I’m not sure of the material used, but here’s a thread with some specific info for you. https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/mack-fire-ring-questions_topic173226.html" rel="nofollow - https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/mack-fire-ring-questions_topic173226.html |
Posted By: evan austin
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2026 at 8:38pm
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There is a guy on youtube that put a 301 into a D17 diesel tractor. Look on there for Timothy Fluegel. It was a couple of years ago, they mostly use it for pulling but they had a 4 bottom plow on it a couple years ago too. He's got a D19 with a 433I in it too. ------------- 1955 WD45 Wide Front, 1946 WC, 1967 Gleaner E (AKA "Gretchen"), 1961 All Crop 72, 443 Baler |
Posted By: 55allis
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2026 at 9:20pm
 Here’s a snapshot of what MACK told me on my d262t. ------------- 1955 AC WD45 diesel with D262 repower, 1949 AC WD, 1963 A-C D17 series 3, several Allis garden tractors
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Posted By: HudCo
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2026 at 9:56pm
| no |
Posted By: 55allis
Date Posted: 18 Jan 2026 at 12:30am
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Happened to run across this site that has a in-frame kit for the naturally aspirated 262 . https://www.larsenlights.com/inframe-overhaul-kit-allis-262-diesel-naturally-aspirated" rel="nofollow - https://www.larsenlights.com/inframe-overhaul-kit-allis-262-diesel-naturally-aspirated I have ordered led lights from them in the past and they are awesome!! Hope this helps. ------------- 1955 AC WD45 diesel with D262 repower, 1949 AC WD, 1963 A-C D17 series 3, several Allis garden tractors
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Posted By: sampsonrepair
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2026 at 1:40pm
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If you are bound and determined to fix this tractor, Mark Pfouts is a great source for parts. But I would suggest saving yourself the time, aggravation, and grief by listening to the guys on here that are trying to tell you, DON'T. As the originator of the "looking for D19 parts" thread, I now know way more about these money pits (D262 engines) than I care to. My customer authorized the insane cost ceiling of $14,000 to repair his D262 in his rough D19. We gave up when the head was junk and we couldn't find another. We went the G262 (gas version of the same engine) route. These are a much more forgiving engine, but still insanely expensive to work on, hard to find, and hard to find parts for. The final product runs like a top, super smooth and responsive, but the rest of tractor is still rough, it needs 3rd gear work some day, and the power director drags really badly in neutral. The guy is super happy with it for some reason. Wish all my customers were like him! I wrote off a huge number of hours on the job, and am still ashamed of how high the final bill was. Unless you have deep pockets, great mechanical abilities, an uncommon level of attention to detail, like the tractor, plan to keep it forever, and don't mind getting three times the money into it that you will ever be able to sell it for, you will be $$$ ahead at this point to sell it for parts.
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Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2026 at 11:13am
| I'm probably just gonna part it out, if yalo are looking for anything let me know. |
Posted By: sampsonrepair
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2026 at 12:05pm
| It's kind of sad anytime an old tractor needs to get parted. But in my business, I've slowly learned that when a tractor has been neglected for decades, that's often the only practical route. |
Posted By: JosephD17III
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2026 at 9:11am
| The even sadder part is if it had just had a can of the exhaust all I would've needed was custom fire rings, but it's just how the cookie crumbles, so im not to upset atheist iv got to own a orange tractor lol |