WD45 - Few More Questions

Bill VA

Well-known Member
In the years the WD45's were made, were there upgrades/improvements along the way, or the same tractor at the end as the beginning?

Are the gas engines thrifty, gas hogs or something in between?

When looking to buy one, what should/could you reasonably look for/look-out for that is a deal maker or killer? Is there a particular year that is preferred?

Any preference wide vs narrow front end?

Thanks!
Bill
 
As far as I know, once they started calling them WD45's they didn't change anything. Gas engines are pretty good on fuel. Without looking at Nebraska tests, I can't say they were more or less efficient than any other engine of the era. Things to look for are fairly simple. Lot of them had fluid in the rear rims, so check around the valve stems for rust. They can be fixed if not too bad, but new ones run about $400 a pop. I've heard they had problems jumping out of gear, but never really experienced it. I think it was going down hill they'd pop out of 2nd or 3rd. Someone else can chime in. Make sure the lift arms go up and down. Thats about all I can think of. Wide vs narrow depends someone on how hilly your ground is and how brave you get when driving around on them. I hada NF and put a loader on it. Wasn't long before I was swapping it out for a wide front. More stable with the loader.
AaronSEIA
 
As far as fuel we always figured about 2.5 gals/hr for the WD45 and the straight WD burned right much less and didn't notice the power difference doing most jobs.I always like the WD better than the WD45 especially the gear speeds.I have a WD I use some now
but wouldn't want to have to ride it all day.
 
(quoted from post at 19:21:44 04/19/15) In the years the WD45's were made, were there upgrades/improvements along the way, or the same tractor at the end as the beginning?

Are the gas engines thrifty, gas hogs or something in between?

When looking to buy one, what should/could you reasonably look for/look-out for that is a deal maker or killer? Is there a particular year that is preferred?

Any preference wide vs narrow front end?

Thanks!
Bill
Early models probably had the 2 disc hand clutch and six spring foot clutch pressure plate. Later models had 3 disc hand clutch and 9 spring pressure plates. Many have gotten upgraded thru years of hard service. Early model wide front axles had a 3 bolt front pivot bracket and later models were 4 bolts for more strength. Gearshift on later models got one more locating pin for durability. All in all, no serious changes over the years and many got done when repairs were made. Fuel use not bad, but worse if an overhaul included M&W pistons/sleeves.
 
Bill you may know all about these old tractors,
but if not just be aware. If you are going to use a ground engaging tool you need the snap couple type hitch, so the draft control system will work.
be sure you get all these parts.
examples
a189471.jpg

a189472.jpg

a189473.jpg
 

You want a Semi-Mounted 4x14" if that is what you want to pull....the Fully-Mounted makes the front too light when on the Road and is hard to lift out of the ground..

With 4x14" Semi, we averaged 1 1/3 Gal per acre, but that is as high as it would ever go..
3x14" averaged more gas/acre..
On lighter loads, they ran economically

For average field work, figure about 1 1/2 tanks of gas/Day..

Plowing 25 acres used just about 2 1/2 tanks of gas..(One Long Day)..

Ron..
 
Later 45s were definitely different (better) than early ones. Later ones had the factory power steering option; had 14.9 tires on 13 or 14 in rims; 4-bolt wide front option. Kind of easy on fuel as wide open was 1400 rpm. Compare the D-17 with the same cu in engine but revved to 1650 rpm and different carbueration and quite a bit more thirsty.
 
The main thing, and the first thing, is to clearly identify it as a WD45. Go to the right side of the engine. The original, old WD had a plate that was bolted on to the side of the block with 6 bolts. The WD45 had no such plate and the side of the block was smooth, or near so. OK, you've checked that and found that it has a WD45 engine in it. Next, the tractor serial number. Found on the aft side of the left brake housing. It will start with WD and then the number. The number should be 146607 or higher. Ex: "WD150555" is a WD 45. "WD139402" is a WD. Numbers are very hard to read and may have to be enhanced with chalk or a pencil or some other method. The shift lever will be curved on a WD45 although late WDs had curved shift levers. Higher fenders are normal for a WD45 to accommodate larger tires. Don't depend on the decal on the side of the radiator surround to identify the tractor. You could buy one of those and put it on a John Deere. WDs can be fitted with WD45 engines just as WD45s can be fitted with WD engines. All sorts of cobbling has been done over the years so it pays to look close.
 
Even determining which engine block is in the chassis doesn't answer all the questions. Many WC's and WD's got WD45 bare engine blocks from the A-C parts system, if a new block was ever purchased. This is called supersession of parts. The older WC/WD blocks were discontinued at some point in time (probably mid to late 1950's) and directly replaced with the newer, stronger WD45 block. Also, there has been the occasion of a bad WD45 engine being replaced with a used WD engine. Virtually all internal and external engine parts are pretty much interchangeable from a WC thru the WD45. It's hard to know exactly what has been done to many of these tractors over the last 50 or 60 years. The chassis serial number should identify the chassis, but there's always a slim chance the rearend was swapped out at some point for a different rearend !!!!
 
I agree with the Dr. I haven't tore down a lot of WD engines, but every WC and WD engine I have tore down has had a WD45 crank in it and half of them have had M&W pistons. No real way to know what is in it without pulling the head or using one of those fancy fiber optic bore scopes through a spark plug hole.
AaronSEIA
 
Thanks everyone for your replies - the info is very much appreciated.

If I can - a few more questions.

1. The snap coupler hitch arrangement - how difficult is it to convert to 3 pt hitch and back? Would the lower lift arms just attach to the snap coupler? It would be nice to be able to go back and forth between the 3 pt and snap coupler set-up. I like the snap coupler arrangement and just for kicks would like to be able to own/use some of those implements - especially a moldboard plow. I think it would be a hoot to plow with a WD45 with a plow designed for it, but when finished - go back to a 3 pt arrangement.

2. I've done a goodly amount of searching on CL and really see many of the WD45's with wide front ends - much more so than a Deere or Farmall of the same era. Why so many wide front ends? If I buy a WD45, it will probably be with a wide front end - good to know they are somewhat plentiful.

3. Front end loaders. Several of the WD45's I've seen on CL have front end loaders. I assume these are AC brand/made loaders? I wouldn't mind having a front end loader on a wide front WD45 - any opinions of them? Back in the day - what were the farmer's doing with the loader - scouping manure from milk barns, etc.? I'm thinking the WD45 is a smaller foot print than a Farmall M and that smaller foot print with a loader would make a nice/nimble machine for light loader work. I would use the loader for easy chores - but more importantly, loading bulk fertilizer and lime for spreading.

4. What does it take to run a hydraulic remote - like to raise or lower the cutter head cylinder on a haybine? Only one remote possible?

Just looking at the WD45 and other makes of gas tractors from the 50's, it just strikes me that they are a very good bang for the buck - then and today. Low cost and lots of them (read parts). I've priced D15's and D17's and they are many times more expensive than what I've seen with the WD45's and I gather the WD45 is/was a good working competitor to the D15/D17 tractors as well - just not as nice. Very intrigued with these tractors. If I buy one, it would be a chore tractor with some bush hogging, running a sickle mower, tedder, rake and even my NH68 if and when needed. I could also see pulling wagons of hay to the barn too. I have read much about them not being very comfortable to operate - but I don't see this tractor as a full day machine as it would be the 3rd tractor in line to be used when the other two are tied-up (or in my case - broke down... ), so creature comfort isn't necessarily the top priority - but very good to know though what I would be getting into from the get-go.

In addition to continued reading/learning about these tractors, I will throw out a few questions here and there and most likely find an owner or two that has a WD45 who would let me have a test drive. I don't anticipate buying anything this year - to many other $$$'s in the frying pan - but I can read and learn and once I'm ready to buy, pounce on a tractor like it was an impulse purchase - only very informed.

Thanks again for your help.

Bill
 
Converting an Allis WD to a standard 3 pt hitch is very easy and several places sell the kit. Steiner's comes to mind. Or, you can build one yourself. I had mine all planned out with parts available from Fleet Farm but I realized those parts were all Cat 1 and the kit I could buy thru a local dealer was Cat 2. It easily handles any thing the hyds will lift. Converts back to Allis hitch easily. Do it a few times and it would take about 15 minutes.
 
1: You can buy snap coupler to 3 pt adapters. Run about $300-$400 depending on where you buy. Best kind is the one that bolts to the drawbar. That lets you retain the traction booster feature if you pull 3 pt equipment. You can also make one if you have the metal working ability. Look at pictures of them and you'll see it's relatively easy.

2: No idea why there would be more AC wide fronts than anything else. Possibly because it's a very easy job to swap a narrow front out for a wide front, so as machines got salvaged, the wide fronts were put on good tractors.

3: I have a AC loader on my WD. Works great, but is only a trip bucket. I've used it for everything from loading manure, to carrying round bales of hay, to even filling in my septic tank hole. Not as nice as a full hydraulic one,but it gets the job done.

4: They have a single remote line on them. Down side is the hyd pump runs the loader, lift arms, and hyd remote at the same time. I put a vavle in the line to my loader so I can lock it up. If you have nothign on the lift arms, the remote will work as normal. Just remember, it's a one way deal, so no down pressure. It's also 3500 psi at 3-4 gpm, so it's not s speed deamon, and has an off chance of blowing the seals (or entire cylinder) on a lower pressure machine. That has been discussed ad nausium every time the hyd system has come up on these tractors.

I don't think they are an uncomfortable tractor to sit on. Awkward maybe, as your feet sit more in front of you than under you like a newer machine. It's what you are used to, what you can get used to, and what you plan on doing with it. I'll give you fair warning, it's pretty hard to get the lift arms to "stay" where you put them. If you plan on running a bush hog type mower, you may want to use a pull type, or put some gauge wheels on the front of the mower to keep it from settling and scalping. The WD's are also pretty light up front, so you'd want to run a small mower, though a loader as counter weight or some AC front weights would help.
AaronSEIA
 
If you are going to do some plowing make sure the quick change rails on the rims have the stops that fit over the rails with a bolt.
 

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