To The Resident Dealer Owners/Mechanics
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=177207
Printed Date: 07 Apr 2026 at 3:24am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: To The Resident Dealer Owners/Mechanics
Posted By: FREEDGUY
Subject: To The Resident Dealer Owners/Mechanics
Date Posted: 01 Jan 2021 at 6:09pm
| In your opinion, what model of any vintage of tractor is/has been the cheapest as far as parts/labor to repair after the warranty was up ? Thanks |
Replies:
Posted By: MACK
Date Posted: 01 Jan 2021 at 9:18pm
| I would say D17. MACK |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 6:09am
| Agree with Mack. If you bought a new series 4 gasser, changed the oil/filter faithfully, weren't brutal on the brakes, didn't grind gears etc, you could expect 3500 to 5,000 hrs out of the engine and probably only bought one battery, fan belt, PS belt and several sets of spark plugs/points and an air filter all that time. And when you did overhaul the engine, didn't even need to regrind the crankshaft (at the first OH). |
Posted By: victoryallis
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 7:50am
But 6000 series are good for 8-10,000 before opening motors up, trannies nearly forever, main odd quirk is the pin coming out of the rearend ------------- 8030, 7060, six 6080’s grandpa’s D17, 8760, 8100, and 8970 Deere. |
DrAllis wrote:Posted By: DougG
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 8:50am
| In my opinion Id say your correct with a 17 gasser- but I know several 180 diesels out there running with 15000 + hours on them, one has been overhauled and were primary tractors on the farm plowing to hay |
Posted By: Lonn
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 11:19am
|
From what I remember the 6000 series' thrust bearing pto debacle cost Allis-Chalmers Corporation and the 6000 series owners lots of cash. ------------- -- --- .... .- -- -- .- -.. / .-- .- ... / .- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. .. -. --. / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. / .-. .- .--. .. ... - Wink I am a Russian Bot |
Posted By: Lonn
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 11:26am
|
My Dad's D17, a 1961 model he traded for in 1973 and used for 20 plus years (until 1997) as his do everything tractor on his dairy farm in Minnesota winters, loader, cultivating, mowing, raking, baling, disking, some planting, etc etc, a tractor that rarely went a day without being run, had one over haul, one governor replaced, and just normal items like tune ups and the like..... one manifold..... it just didn't ever need much money ever stuck into it. It wasn't overhauled until 1992 which I did for Dad in the garage. It truly is a low cost tractor to own. I think a WD would fall into that same category.
------------- -- --- .... .- -- -- .- -.. / .-- .- ... / .- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. .. -. --. / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. / .-. .- .--. .. ... - Wink I am a Russian Bot |
Posted By: FREEDGUY
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 5:19pm
Thanks for the replies !! Yes, the '17 was/is an AWESOME machine, we ran a series 2 from as early as I can remember ('70?) until it got traded in on a '19 (late '70's)  . For some reason I thought the consensus would have been the " WD" series  .
|
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 5:40pm
| While the WD45 was a great tractor as well, I've seen a PTO or two ripped out of one of them and never on a D-17 s3 or s4. |
Posted By: FREEDGUY
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 5:44pm
| OUCH !!! |
Posted By: Lonn
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 7:50pm
|
Talking with my 80 year old dad today, he agrees with the D17 being low cost to maintain but he thought a WD and he added the WC as just as low cost, if not lower cost. Back when these tractors were being used he just never heard of a WD or WC having trouble. They would just go and go and being abused a bit didn't seem to affect them much. My own second thoughts would be although Dad's D17 has never needed a transmission repair due to popping out of gear I've never heard personally of a WD or WC jumping out of gear or needing transmission/rear end work unless ran out of oil. So maybe the WC and WD deserve that title of lowest cost of ownership after warranty. ------------- -- --- .... .- -- -- .- -.. / .-- .- ... / .- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. .. -. --. / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. / .-. .- .--. .. ... - Wink I am a Russian Bot |
Posted By: victoryallis
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 8:06pm
My ‘84 6080 I bought from original owner he forked over all the service records. I was the first to open it up and that was to goto the 16:1 kit. It came from dealer with the support. The ‘85 didn’t have paperwork with it but original owner said it was original. The ‘83 doesn’t have its original motor but I believe has 16,500 hours. ------------- 8030, 7060, six 6080’s grandpa’s D17, 8760, 8100, and 8970 Deere. |
Posted By: tbran
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 8:18pm
|
D17IV.... the issues after many hours - front pivot (seldom greased) wear, power steering pulley loosens, orings in the special fittings eventually leak, hyd spools, draft spool sticks, orings in relief valve wear, lift cyls packing, and the most numerous - brakes - especially the left on as this is the one that locks for parking and forgot when resuming work if not really set hard :-) - throw in a starter, voltage regulator and resistor & lights- and that is about repair issues one ever finds on a scale to remember. That is SMALL compared to every other tractor we service. There are dozens we know of - even mine, that have 15,000 + hours and still run great. If ALL the tractors had a 12" shift lever ........... :-) :-) !!! ------------- When told "it's not the money,it's the principle", remember, it's always the money.. |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 8:24pm
| A 12 inch shift lever MINUS the rubber grip !! |
Posted By: tbran
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 8:28pm
|
They had a rubber grip ?? :-) On second thought --- I dreamed many times of a way to fix an electric fence shocker to the seat of our tractors so when my brother and others pushed in the clutch and ground the gears.... ------------- When told "it's not the money,it's the principle", remember, it's always the money.. |
Posted By: MACK
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 9:09pm
| I can remember in mid 60s at a service school in KC. they ask us to be sure and turn in any warranty so if there was a problem, they would know about it. Not that way today. MACK |
Posted By: HD6GTOM
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 9:21pm
| Dads series 1 D17 had 30000 hours on it when he got rid of it. It had been overhauled 3 times, it needed the power director rebuilt and had started coming out of 3rd. The guy that bought it completely rebuilt everything it needed, repainted it. He even replaced the steering wheel. I'm sure it will be good for another 60 years. Although I liked it growing up, I liked my series 4 diesel better. |
Posted By: Lonn
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 9:25pm
------------- -- --- .... .- -- -- .- -.. / .-- .- ... / .- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. .. -. --. / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. / .-. .- .--. .. ... - Wink I am a Russian Bot |
Posted By: tbran
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 9:41pm
|
Yeah, the number thrown out was about 30 million. Engine division did not take the hit - tractor division did. Been discussed here ad nauseum.. low compression , slow starting , tremendous clutch thrust loads... Took about year and a half to conquer the issue with front thrust brg - then wider thrust brg/crank surface... pins did not want to stay in differential - hyd was in rear end and if the level got low - many a wipe out when the spider pin cam out and hit the top PTO shaft and some blew out the bottom of the housing. Then the face some did not know there were 2 compartments for oil and many a tranny planetary seized.... but these units were sold in great numbers - AC actually got up to 20 per cent market share - highest in modern history for AC... high torque, peppy great fuel efficient engines sold the tractor... ------------- When told "it's not the money,it's the principle", remember, it's always the money.. |
Posted By: wjohn
Date Posted: 02 Jan 2021 at 11:51pm
I was going to say that the WC doesn't even have hydraulics to fuss with. Or brake pedals to wear out and get sloppy. Really, most of the tractors from that era seem to be pretty bulletproof. They were way overbuilt, and there wasn't much to go wrong. Can't have Power Director/TA/etc. issues if you don't even have one. Can't have too many electrical gremlins, etc...
------------- 1939 B, 1940 B, 1941 WC, 1951 WD, 1952 CA, 1956 WD-45 |
Posted By: Lonn
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 6:51am
Yes but didn't them old A John Deeres eat clutches, especially when equipped with a loader? Didn't they also have loose flywheel issues? M Farmalittles, they had rear axle problems and cracked head troubles and one or more of them Farmsmalls routinely broke cam gears off. I know when I worked at the AC dealer I was told by the older mechanics that Farmsomes M, H etc would break axles while plowing. Dad remembers a neighbor with his Super M sitting in the plow furrow with a broken axle. An IH mechanic I knew said that the IH/McComical dealer he worked at once kept axles in stock and they had a 1066 axle on hand at the time (1990's). Not that a 1066 was ever in the running as being trouble free.  All this I'm digging from memory banks of I guess heresay from mechanics and my Dad, who grew up on IH. I did, in the 4 years I worked at the AC dealer, help drag a Super H and a Super C up on the tilt bed, each with a snapped axle. The Super C was hauling manure and the Super H had a loader on and sat out in the middle of a soupy mud pit of a cow yard. That was fun getting loaded.
 ------------- -- --- .... .- -- -- .- -.. / .-- .- ... / .- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. .. -. --. / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. / .-. .- .--. .. ... - Wink I am a Russian Bot |
Posted By: Lonn
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 7:00am
|
Oh and just so folks here don't think I have a hated of Deere or IH, I'll say I'd love one day to own an open station 1066 and 4620 ................... just so I can show how much better a 7030 really is. ------------- -- --- .... .- -- -- .- -.. / .-- .- ... / .- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. .. -. --. / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. / .-. .- .--. .. ... - Wink I am a Russian Bot |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 7:31am
| The 2-bangers were pretty much obsolete and outdated when they were brand new...…….. |
Posted By: DougG
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 8:39am
| As this talk of the 6000 series I was going thru an AC magazine I have that has the introduction at Vegas -Roy Ulncer was quoted- they are watching us! They were ahead of the game and the others knew it, With the intro of 6000 and 8000 tractors -was anyone on here at Vegas when they were introduced? |
Posted By: AllisFreak MN
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 8:59am
|
T Bran, What causes the pin to come out, low oil or is there no reason, just random?
------------- '49 A-C WD, '51 A-C WD, '63 A-C D17 Series III, 1968 A-C One-Seventy, '82 A-C 6060, '75 A-C 7040, A-C #3 sickle mower, 2 A-C 701 wagons, '78 Gleaner M2 |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 10:43am
| I've personally never seen one that failed, but have heard about it. Always assumed it was same scenario of a 7030/7040…..rear end low on oil and the differential being under heavy load like a moldboard plow where the land wheel is always spinning. A pinion gear welds itself to the pin and shears off the method of pin retention and not long after bad things happen. |
Posted By: MACK
Date Posted: 03 Jan 2021 at 9:01pm
| Operator not using diff-lock when plowing and other heavy loads . MACK |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 6:23am
| And that too, but when you find them 6 or 7 gallons low and oil and a destroyed diff, I guess I always blamed it on the low oil level. The hydraulics still work well even when that low on oil. |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 8:47am
I didn’t know you were supposed to use diff lock to plow. Huh! So, my plow is a lot for my tractor, I should engage diff lock each pass? |
Posted By: Lonn
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 3:17pm
------------- -- --- .... .- -- -- .- -.. / .-- .- ... / .- / -- ..- .-. -.. . .-. .. -. --. / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. / .-. .- .--. .. ... - Wink I am a Russian Bot |
Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 3:24pm
| On a 2-pinion differential, there is always a seized pinion gear to the differential pin. This rotates the diff pin in the diff housing and shears off whatever retention method there is for the diff pin. Sometimes they run quite a while before disaster and sometimes they fail pretty quickly. Moldboard plowing would be the #1 reason to use the diff lock as the land wheel is always scratching for traction. |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 04 Jan 2021 at 6:30pm
| Very interesting. Learned something, and something possibly very valuable. Thanks. |
Posted By: tbran
Date Posted: 06 Jan 2021 at 9:03am
|
The spider gear shaft has a long thin pin that screw into the shaft from the side. When the spider gear seizes the pinion shaft it breaks the retaining pin. If lucky the pin will not fall out. IF it does - we had a customer have this happen at road speed - it nearly threw him off the tractor - popped a 12 " hole in the bottom - bent the upper PTO shaft, broke the back 540/1000 shift plate and gears. We used to be able to get the parts through a knowledgeable NH dealer as this was used in some NH tractors and Hesston units . Part are difficult to obtain for some items. We have been into perhaps 20 or so. We weld a cap over the pin to retain it in case of a failure after welding up the oblong hole and redrilling to prevent catastrophic failure should it occur again.. Not an issue if the hyd is kept 1 gallon over full to allow for leakage before checking. Strangely we have never failed a 6070 or 6060... different design that looks stronger. ------------- When told "it's not the money,it's the principle", remember, it's always the money.. |