WD45 Questions

Bill VA

Well-known Member
I've been kicking around the idea to get a gas tractor (vs diesel) and still swerve into something "old" yet usefull on the farm. Chores would be pulling a trailer, tedding hay, maybe raking and if in a pinch - square baling.

One of the "era's" I'm somewhat interested in is a tractor from the 1950's and the styling that goes with it.

Some things I'd like to have are 3 point hitch and live PTO. I know I can get a JD 2 cylinder with both - but they can be expensive!

One of the tractors that intrigues me is the Allis Chalmers WD-45. Live PTO (in a round about way - but none the less live), but no 3 pt hitch?

Live PTO would be nice for baling, 3 pt hitch for just hooking up modern equipment.

What are your thoughts on the WD45? Is it a good baler tractor if needed in a pinch? How thirsty is the gas engine? 6 or 12 volts? Parts availability - good or bad? Can a 3 pt hitch be fitted to a WD45? Not looking for something that would require a crazy rebuild, just a worker. How common is a wide front end?

Any advice, tips are much appreciated.

Thanks!
Bill
 
Not at all hard to turn the snap coupler set up into a 3 point I know I have done it more then once. I own a WD45 with a home made 3 point and it works just fine. I have also used it more then once to run a NH271 hay baler and it does not even notice it on behind
 
Steiner sells a 3pt hitch that actually works as it should for the WD/WD45 tractors,they do a good job with a square baler WD45 will burn more gas than a straight WD.I grew up on a WD45 but don't run one now the big drawback in my opinion is it has only 4 forward gears.I'd much rather drive and use my Oliver 1550 gas or even something like a 770 or 88
over a WD45.BTW just about every WD I have ever seen that has been repainted has the
WD45 stickers on it.A D17 gas would be a way better and more useful tractor in my opinion if you want to stick with AC.
 
Shoot any of the D series would be by far better then the WD45. Comfort being one big thing. I much prefer riving the D-17 over the WD45
 
I"d go along with the others choosing a D17 over a WD45. Yes, pto/hyd are live, but not independent on the WD45, as well as the D17, unless you go to Series IV D17. Series IV also had a standard 3ph as a factory option, with much better hyd. Any D17 is easier to mount, compared to WD45, especially with 3ph. Power Director on the Ds gives twice as many ground speeds as well. Here, wide fronts are very common on WD45, virtually Ds are wide front. D front pulley is drilled/tapped for easily adding a front mount hyd pump for independent hyd.
 
Come on guys, don't be too quick to talk him out of a WD. I've got one I'll be selling this summer :) 3 point is easy to fab or buy aftermarket. They came as a 6v but are easy to make a 12. Wide fronts are fairly common. Not too thirsty, parts are a breeze to find. At the moment I like my WD over my D17, but I need more seat time with my 17 to get comfortable with her. Both would be excellent choices wit the WD falling $500-$1,000 cheaper than a 17.
AaronSEIA
 
Big reason I prefer the D-17 over the WD45 is at 6 foot tall the D-17 is by far much more comfortable o sit on for an hour at a time where as the WD45 causes you to get leg cramps
 
This is my 1956 , very dependable and lots of power and fun!
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Thanks everyone!

A few more questions if I could.

Do the rear lifting hydraulics have position and draft control?

Is the hand clutch something only found on the WD45 vs the WD?

Thanks!
Bill
 
Very good tractor only draw backs I ever see was poor operator seating, could used a little lower gear, some were noted for cracked blocks, not the best wheel traction on 28" rears.
 
Grew up on WD-45's, they did everything,chopper(hay and corn) baled about 60,000 square bales/year, loader tractor, grinder mixer, manure spreaders, mowers, cultivate and plant, had 14.9 x28 tires, loaded and 2 sets of wheel weights,all gassers, probably 1.5-3 gal/ hr depending on use, there was/is a after market 3 pt available for them.
 
No real draft/position control but did have a traction boost sort of thing. Hyds are not live as in you push the clutch down you loose hyds. Hand clutch is a common thing on the AC tractor from the WD up. Later ones it was called a power director. On the D series the hand clutch was a hi/low/neutral.
 
Don't forget, on the D17 you lose hyd and PTO when stepping on the foot clutch as well unless it's a series 4, and then I'm not sure about the PTO. WD had position/traction control in the traction booster, but it's a bit more sensitive and harder to "set" than the D17.
AaronSEIA
 
Them WD's may not be as smooth to operate as the ones a lot newer, but was a pretty fancy tractor in there day. You didn't have to drive very far down the road to see one on someone,s place. Thinking back when dad traded in his CC Case for the WD he had to think he had the world by the a??. It went over a lot of acres. Even pulled a one row Gehl cutter filling silo for a lot of the neighbors.
 
Bill they are a good old tractor. The hand clutch is almost undestructable. I gave My dads 1956 to my son last summer. Motor has been overhauled 2 times in that time period, hydraulics are a high pressure system. You will have no trouble running any small baler with them. Plenty of power and traction for their size. No problem putting a 3 point on them. Wide fronts were not all that common around here. They have a better transmission in them over the straight stick WD. They have a better wide front than the straight stick WD. I did rebuild the narrow front end on mine before I gave it to the kid. Dad had a loader on it for 30+ years and the bearings were shot. Easy job but had a little trouble finding the bearings till I went to our old AC dealer who had everything in stock. Easier for an older guy to get on and off over a IHC H or M. Brakes can be a bear to replace but once done they last for years. Tune ups are easy everything is out in the open. A few had power steering. The AC small round baler had the pickup on the left side of the tractor, with the offset seat, it made it easier to see the pickup and watch the baler. The IHC and jd small square balers I had, the pickup was on the right side. It was a little tough to look over my right shoulder and see the pickup while feathering the hand clutch in heavy hay.
 
Thanks again everyone for your replies.

Another question or two - when running a bush hog, do you need an over running clutch - like on a Ferguson TO-20? Are the WD45's with power steering - reliable or should one avoid the power steering? I'm interested in a gas model, but see they made a diesel model too. How is the diesel in the WD45's for reliability, simplicity, parts?

The gas engine - is it sleeved? I would think every WD45 out there would have had an engine rebuild at some point in their life. Lacking a sleeve, I suppose there is a limit to now many times you can bore the engine. Rebuild - typically inframe or out?

As tractors moved into the mid 50's, more tractors were being offered with 3 pt, live PTO's and other features. My Masey Ferguson 50 diesel comes to mind. How would a WD45 have stacked up against a Ferguson or Ford 8N or similar tractor of the day?

If I had a brain, I'd probably buy another MF - but this tractor buy is more about a piece of the "50’s" row crop styling than necessarily practicality on my part if I go this route. Won't be a parade tractor, but a worker. I'm seeing a fair number of the WD45's for sale in my neck of the woods and prices are much mower than a JD or Farmall. Very interesting tractor for its day.

Thanks again!
Bill
 
Do not absolutely need an over-running clutch, as long as you use the hand clutch for the live power feature. Stay away from the diesel models. Gas and diesels both have wet sleeves. As far as I'm concerned invented wet sleeves in farm equipment.
 
I bought a 3 point conversion, from Tonys Tractors in turner Or. and it snaps into the snap coupler, and gives me draft control. It really works well in sod ground, with my mounted plow!
 
As another mentioned the very last WD's had the same updated rear end as the WD45. The motors are still different though between the 2. WD has the removeable bolt on covers on the side of the block where the WD45 is a solid casting. WD45 internals can be put in a WD block though and if it has been rebuilt in its life then it likely has them.

Before you buy one, I strongly suggest both you (and anyone else who might drive it) sit on the tractor. I bet you will find it quite uncomfortable to simply reach the foot clutch. Worse even if you lucky enough to find it tolerable ergonomically while sitting still the WD and WD45 are notoriously hard on your back and spine due to the way your feet are sprawled out in front of you making it impossible to use your legs for anything shock aborber'ish. (Many people considered these the hired hand tractor in the day - they were the cheapest to buy in their era too which is one of the real reasons for their popularity).

I really wanted a vintage allis for my piddle collection as I think the gas motors are top notch and still do. Found a late WD with the updated rear end. I drove it. It was not comfortable at all. The wife refused to even take it for a test drive so that pretty much sealed the deal of not buying it even the the price was cheap. I need the wife to be able to drive it sometimes while I am at work to rake or tedder hay . (She will drive my other vintage clunks Farmall h, Farmall m, JD A etc with no complaints but refused that Allis strongly).

I do not care for the PTO shaft on the WD or WD45 tractors either. Looks like a total after thought- as do many other things in the design.

I 2nd the D15 and D17 recommendations (8 speeds instead of 4 speeds) and much more comfortable ergonnomically. I actually find the D15 more comfortable than the D17. That said it is likely easier to find a D17 at a good price but the D17 will burn more gas too as it is more hp. The D17 series IV will sell at a premium though and be nearly equal to a 170 which also should be considered.

My 2 cents - off my soapbox now. I would think a Farmall 300 or a 350 or an Oliver 77, super 77, 88, 770 could be found in your area for quite reasonable . These would satisfy your 50's era desire requirement and still have some modern live PTO features too. I personally do not like the Oliver whine in the early tranny's (have to go 4 digit series for that to disappear) so I would be shopping Farmall 300.
 
I had a D 14, it was much like the WD45 as far as operation. The hand clutch was for the roto baler that had to have the forward motion of the tractor stopped and pto kept running to let the bale wrap and eject.

running the bush hog on the D 14, if I wanted to go in reverse, the bush hog blades had to be brought to a complete stop, before I could shift the tractor into reverse. This was a real inconvenience.
I had a 3 pt hitch conversion kit for the tractor and it work ok as long as you were not using a ground engaging tool.

the AC draft control system uses the pull on the under belly snap couple hitch to control your draft or maintain the depth of the equipment, like a plow etc.

I used check chains to maintain the height of my bush hog, that worked fine.

but I later got a massy ferguson with draft control, 3 pt hitch, it worked so much better.

however, I had a lot of proper AC equipment with my D14 and I did enjoy using it.
 
Thanks again everyone - great info. Good to know the good, bad and ugly on these old tractors.

I've been browsing the internet adds on CL and am surprised as to how many of these tractors, parts for them and especially snap coupler implements are available. Prices seem somewhat lower in general than a Massey Ferguson 35 type tractors.

Again I appreciate all the info and will continue schooling myself on the WD45 as well as other gas tractors of different colors.

Bill
 
Want to know the best thing to do? Find a local club and see if you can drive them both. We can go back and forth here about which tractor we like best and why. What ultimately counts is how you like it. Depending on what you are doing, a tractor you are not comfortable with is a tractor that can injure or kill. If you plan on doing PTO work, working around people, and doing loader work, you need to be nearly instinctive about what to do when something goes wrong. That comes with a tractor you are comfortable with and have a lot of seat time on. I can do that on my WD. Been with her for 13 years. I still fumble on the D17 I bought last week. Just need more seat time.
AaronSEIA
 
My opinion is to try a D-15 series 2, Its about with in 2-3 hp of a wd-45, and its got a 5 main bearings on the crankshaft! where all the other Allis's 4 cylinders, are a 3 main brgs! And 8 speeds.
 
I'll re-quote myself the way it should have read., I think A-C invented the "wet-sleeve" engine in farm equipment. A wet sleeve engine is sooooo easy to do a complete overhaul on. Can you imagine 50 to 80 years ago having to haul a block to a machine shop to be bored?? The 1934 model WC had wet easily replaceable sleeves. Keep the cooling system clean and you'll never have any trouble. One engine I have issues with on the wet sleeve thing is the Buda-AC engine. The sleeve lip wasn't substantial enough to hold it up where it belonged in diesel models.
 
Ok thank you, Dr, One of the best Buda engine's was the D-19[262] or the 230 gas in my opionion. I didn't know anything about the lip problems problems with the diesels. Thks
 
They were fine as a gas/LP gas version. Diesels are world famous for blowing head gaskets and then you find the sleeves keep sinking in the block, which caused the gasket to blow to begin with. D-19's were the worst.
 

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