Value of a D17

Mother in law called out of the blue last night and wanted to know if I was still interested in buying one of my FIL's D17s - he had 4 of them when he died 4 years ago. My son wanted one to refurbish as a 4H project and I wouldn't mind having one to pull my baler. The one I am interested in looks fair and to my knowledge was running OK when he died - but that was 4 years ago. It has seen very little use since then with no oil changes and he was probably the last one to put gas in the tank. This one will come with horribly rusted out rear rims but currently has a set of combine tires and rims on the back. It has the normal rough spots from being used as a feed tractor and as the 4 or 5th tractor he would use - the seat consists of old feed bags, the grill was ripped off by something, the muffler is rusted and leaning, but the rest of the tin is fairly straight.

Naturally she didn't know what she wanted for it and would talk to her oldest son (my BIL) about what they were worth. I told her I've seen them sell from $1000 to $4000. To be honest I figured $1500 would be fair - its not a Series IV (Series III?) but it does have an add on 3 point and I believe a single hydraulic outlet. To my knowledge it doesn't pop out of gear - but then my FIL wasn't the type to worry to much about maintenance or "little things" like that. He was more the type to drain the oil from his car and use it fill a tractor that got low....


What's one worth like that in East Kansas?


Any specific thing I should look for on these besides them popping out of gear? I'm not looking for a big project and if it has any major issues I'll pass on it. I've never run one in my life as we've had IH (now Case IH) tractors since before I was born but my son wanted to work on something grandpa had.

they were good old tractors, had the company not stuck with the snap couple hitch for so long and had changed over to the 3pt earlier, they might still be in business.

I had a D14 and it was a good tractor, old shop Forman told me the D series would starve a repair shop to death, as they rarely broke down, if properly serviced.

the jumping out of gear was worse on the D14, but only as it was going down hill, so you had to have the brakes in top condition. however, my farm is flat, so the problem was almost non existent.

the D17, in my opinion, was one of the best power to weight ratio tractors built back in that time period. The D19 was on the other end of the scale, was told it was heavy for the power of the motor.

do not pass on this opportunity, get one, if you can!!!!!!!!

1200-1500 would be the most it would bring around here. Pull the dipstick see if the motor is over full- if it is look in the radiator see if it is low. Probabaly going to need the carburetor cleaned and rebuilt. If you are uncomfortable doing that, there is a guy on here that can make them like new. Put a battery in it and see if it will run. I think they were positive ground -- but some one else that is sure should post back on this.

Check out the hand clutch....should pull in high or low range, stand on the brakes to see if it will. Should have a good "snap" over center when moving the lever into both positions. Spendy to repair...split and discs.

I looked at a D17 and didn't buy it pretty decent tractor good rims,tires, ran good all sheet metal in place for $1800,the tractor you're describing is an under 1K tractor in my opinion.

I need more information on the hand clutch as I have never used anything like it before. Can you "slip" it without harming it - does it hurt it to go fast or slow when going from low to high - or high to low? Can you shift from 1 to 2 using the hand clutch or do you use the foot clutch to do that? Does the foot clutch also stop the hydraulics? If it has a problem popping out of gear does it do it when starting out or when "over revving" when going down a hill? If pops out of a gear in high will it also do it in low?


He used these for haying in the summer and to feed silage in the winter slopping through the feedlots.

Where are you located? The smaller Allis tractors seem to sell OK in eastern Kansas - bigger 100+ HP units like a 7020 are few and far between with little demand no matter how nice they are. D17s, D15s, XT180s and the like sell very easily.

I only know of the hand clutches in WDs and WD45s. Similar, but without the 2 speed deal. They run in oil, are a multi disc clutch, and will stand a bit of slipping with no harm. The WDs and 45s had shims you could remove to adjust the over center snap, and adjust out slipping a time or two. And it didn't take to much of a pull or snap for the clutch to lock up, a good snap is a good sign though.

Clutch runs in oil, so you can slip it as long as oil is full. Speed of shift doesn"t matter. Transmission shifts should be done with foot clutch...not saying you can"t shift with hand clutch, espec at slower speeds. I"ve never had an issue with 3rd gear popping out....but then I don"t grind gears while shifting...I think that is the biggest cause. Started farming with a Series 1 in "72, still have a Series III since the 80s.

In this area a rough one around $1,000.00 and a nice one in good shape with real good tires and paint maybe as high as $6,600.00.

On a series 1, 2, and 3, the foot clutch does stop the hyd pump and PTO. Series 4 has an external hyd pump that is separate form the engine clutch. Not sure on the PTO on a series 4.

You can slip the hand clutch all day long as long as the oil level is good. Ground speed doesn't matter much, but going from high to low at faster speeds will give you a good jerk.

Value depends a lot on sheet metal, rim and tire condition (rear rims are notorious for being rusted out from fluid weight leaking), wide vs narrow front, and running or not. I'd say one with good rims that turns over would be worth $1000 or so. Sounds like yours is rougher than that. The original rims can be fixed, but that takes a fair amount of money. Muffler is an easy replacement, but the grill would have to be found used, I think. I gave $1800 for a ran great series 2 with wide front and power steering. It had combine tires on it and the sheet metal isn't the best, or it would have been worth more like $2500. A series 4 will bring close to or over $3,000 in good shape. Great tractor and a big step up from a WD45.
AaronSEIA

What kind of oil goes in the rear end?

Thanks for the other info - it filled several gaps.

I'd run a store brand 303 hy trans fluid.
AaronSEIA

There are shims in the hand clutch for adjustment. Unlike the WD, you do not remove them- you transfer them from one half of the clutch to the other half. Details are in the I&T AC-11(?) service manual. Or AC-17...

dh,
here in one listed in the southern il craigslist for $2500
1959 model
looks good, has the after market 3pt hitch.
tires look good
listed for $2500

kind of gives you something to look at to compare condition and price.
good tough old tractors,

What it sells for is the key,tractor can be listed for any amount if its on there for over a couple weeks its usually over priced.