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160 question

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=183968
Printed Date: 15 Aug 2025 at 9:28am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com


Topic: 160 question
Posted By: captaindana
Subject: 160 question
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2021 at 11:08am
NOT FOR ME… but I have a friend interested in an Allis160 I’d like to know the good the bad and the ugly from y’all thank you as usual Dana

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Blue Skies and Tail Winds
                          Dana



Replies:
Posted By: AC720Man
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2021 at 12:20pm
Good 40 hp tractor. Made in France for AC. Perkins 3 cylinder diesel has good power and sips fuel. Short wheel base allows very short turns. I use mine for sickle mowing, bush hog, hay conditioning, hay raking, pulling wagons of hay, and it will run a NH 273 baler . The only down fall I’ve found is parts availability on certain items. Really like the tilt hood that allows full access to the engine for maintenance.

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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


Posted By: AC720Man
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2021 at 1:33pm

Handles our Woods Dixie Cutter well. Synchronized transmission and live pto are 2 features AC should have had on their 100 and D series tractors for a long time.

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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


Posted By: victoryallis
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2021 at 1:53pm
Starts good when it’s cold and easy on fuel are about the highlights.   Hood design and battery placement are horrible if you have a loader on it.

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8030 and 8050MFWD, 7580, 3 6080's, 160, 7060, 175, heirloom D17, Deere 8760


Posted By: WF owner
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2021 at 5:42pm
The 160 was a good little tractor. It was made by Renault.

One of the weak points was hydraulics. The hydraulic system was very problematic. Aftermarket hydraulic pumps are available quite reasonably.

Engine parts are quite easy to find, but parts for the rest of the tractor can be very hard to find.


Posted By: AC720Man
Date Posted: 17 Oct 2021 at 9:07pm
That is correct. I just did a full engine rebuild and parts were readily available.

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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


Posted By: AC720Man
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2021 at 9:15pm
Since my 160 is new to me, the only fair opinion I can offer as far as the hydraulics goes is so far they have operated well in my limited use. Ran the Woods brush hog for about 2 hours yesterday. Hydraulics worked well, held to the height I set them. Ran the sickle mower on it 2 weeks ago for several hours with the same results. The previous owner always performed good maintenance on it, he kept a meticulous record of its maintenance. I think a lot of issues are caused by poor maintenance practices. In the case of the 160, keeping the transmission/hydraulic filter clean as well as changing the main filter up front keeps the system clean and healthy. Anytime dirt, metal shavings enter the pump it will cause issues. This goes for any tractor.

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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


Posted By: AC720Man
Date Posted: 19 Oct 2021 at 9:59pm
I feel that the One Sixty, 160, 5015,5020, 5030,5040,5045,5050 don’t get a fair shake in AC history. They are all AC tractors whether you like them or not. AC engineers had their hands in their design and in some cases used USA hoods and fenders to complete them. The 160 used 170 fenders and a modified hood to get the AC look. In some cases their design was ahead of USA AC tractors, live hydraulics, pto, and synchronized transmission’s. I love the good ole USA, and wish everything was made here. But, during the economic crash of the 70’s,80’s, AC tried to compete with its off shore friends help. I know of many happy owners of these fine tractors, and they don’t get the support they deserve. For those in the small HP market they were a good alternative to help AC survive. I’m a proud owner of a 160, and it hasn’t let me down so far nor the previous owner. It has 7548 hours on it with little problems in its life. Yeah I guess I’m venting....lol. They provided the small farmer with a great choice of quality.

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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


Posted By: WF owner
Date Posted: 20 Oct 2021 at 6:10am
The 170, 180 and 190 had live hydraulics long before the 160.  

They also had "live PTO" with the D-14, D-15, D-17 and 100 series with the Power Director, verses the 160, which used a two stage foot clutch for "live PTO". None of these models, including the 160, had independent PTO.

The 160 was introduced in 1970, so I don't think it's fair to say the technology from Renault was more advanced than AC's American technology.

The D-14 and D-15, which were the predecessor of the 160, had the reputation of having bad transmissions (caused by operator abuse), but other than that seemed to have as good, or better, reputation than the 160 and are a lot easier to get parts for. Of course most D-15's were gasoline engines. The D series seem to sell for higher prices, now, than the 160, at least in our area. Even some WD-45's are selling higher.

I admit that I haven't used a 160 a lot (my uncle had one that I used occasionally), but I wasn't very impressed with the one I did use. I also know that it had it's share of problems.




Posted By: AC720Man
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2021 at 1:43pm
Other than our 6060, my 160 is the first AC I can shift gears on without killing the pto since it has a 2 stage clutch. The power director does allow the pto to continue to run by going to neutral but doesn’t allow you to change gears or go to reverse without interrupting the pto. Just a nice feature to have when mowing or bush hogging if you need to back up. I’m a big fan of D series and 100/200 series tractors, just was commenting on this particular nice feature the 160 has that they don’t have.

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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


Posted By: Ky.Allis
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2021 at 5:00pm
I've owned D14,D17 and still have my 200 and on all of them I could EASILY shift gears with PTO running. After oil is warmed up just shift PD to neutral,apply brakes and come to complete stop and shift to ANY gear with NO clash at any RPM. The shift has to be quick. You can't shift gear shift lever to neutral and pause. I've done this for 47 years with my 200 and never touched anything in PD or transmission. It's probably not supposed to work this way but it always has for me.  


Posted By: AC720Man
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2021 at 7:12pm
I’m too scared to try it on my XT lol!! My luck I would cause a major failure on my first attempt. I can see 1st to 2nd, 3rd-4th but not reverse. But, I’m not slick with the stick I guess.

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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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