Pros and cons of a D-15

I am looking at a D-15 tractor. Can anyone give me some of the pros or cons of that tractor? Is there any common problem with the D-15?

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I'd be cautious about parts availability.
WDs had hundreds of thousands built and many are out there, so used and new parts can be found more easily.

D15 had quite a few more built than D14 which I have think had only ten thousand or so, but not like WD, C/CA, etc. Some guys actually like limited run tractors for restoration challenge, like a big puzzle. If you are getting a tractor for regular work you'll want repair and maintenance parts.

Check tractor data web site for production build rates plus horsepower etc.

Does the tractor you are looking at have a proper three point hitch? Many more implements available.

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Pros,
Very handy size for chores and small farm. Does not use a lot of fuel for what it can do
Parts are available new and used. If snap coupler the various AC implements work well with ot

Cons,
Rear hitch if snap coupler is proprietary to A-C.
If factory 3 point the hitch attaching point is not very rugged and easily hurt.
Hydraulic system is high pressure low volume and single acting and stops with the foot clutch.
PTO also stops with the foot clutch however continuous of you use the hand clutch to stop the tractor as is the hydraulics.

Those of us who grew up on ACs and the two clutch system do not have troubles using them. If you can adapt to it and live with the hydraulic limitations they are a better choice than most other utility tractors of that era, I have owned two of them.
Factory snap coupler tractors can be converted to a 3 point that works well enough for most uses.

I forgot to add that they are notorious for being gear jumpers.I have never had that issue but it is often mentioned.

D-15 production according to this site 19525 and D-14 22292. Not really low production. I think most parts can be
had.Just my 2 cents

I have a NF and a WF D15 really like them.

The hand clutch on the Allis D series had a high and a low side. Neighbor we traded help with and farmed 80 acres with had a D-19 gas nfe as his big tractor in the late 1960's, it replaced a D-17 series 4 he bought new, the 17 & 19 both pulled 4 bottom plows. I was pulling 4-14's with our Farmall 450 gas one Saturday morning. The whole farm is rolling hills, I pulled the TA about 4-5 times per half mile trip across the field, the neighbor was shifting between hi and lo on the D-19 as much, but there was a break in the flow of power, tractor would stop, then the front end would rear-up and Forward progress would resume, when the load reduced he would shift from low to high, with another jerk of the frt wheels into the air. I was also pulling the frt wheels into the air with the 450, but it was gradual, no jerk, in fact it would ease the frt wheels back to the ground, and if there was a streak of clay it would lift the frt tires a good foot in the air. The very back of the farm had a steep hill, steepest on the farm, the 450 would almost spin-out in low 3rd pulling that hill.
Most D-14's I've seen have trouble staying in 3rd gear due to being forced into gear by force too many times. Same thing on high hour D-17's, I imagine the '15's have the same problem.
My Buddy has a huge shed full of orange tractors, his Dad farmed with them so he's been around them his whole life. He's even bought a couple 7000-series. They were WAY ahead of the competition on styling.

Unlike an IH TA the high/low on the D19 doesn't have to be replaced every year if you use it.We had a D19 for years and never worked on the high/low plus its a true high/low will hold back going down hill and the D19 will smoke a IH 450

Hesitation from low to high and from high to low?? An Operator who isn't fast enough with the lever is the problem there !!!!! That P/D clutch was far better than any old free-wheeling Farmall TA and that's just a fact.

Quite a few reports of them jumping out of gear. A wear issue I would guess. They're basically a D14 revved up from 1650 to 2000 RPM to give it additional HP over the D14 but if you're running it to power PTO equipment, then, in order to run that equipment at 540 RPM, you would have to run the engine at 1650 which would produce the same HP as a D14 (about 7 HP less than at 2000 RPM). Allis Chalmers, in my view, pulled a slight of hand on this model and was able to advertise it as a more powerful tractor, which it was, but for PTO work it was the same HP as a D14. The D15 II was a little different story as it had more displacement and higher compression and did deliver more HP. I began falling out of love with Allis Chalmers tractors and, for that matter, with the rest of their machinery lineup at about this point. In my humble opinion, there are better tractors out there but, at this point, after 60 years? Hard to say. If you find one in good shape, go for it.

The series 2 model had 160 cubic inches, a slight increase in compression, larger carburetor and different gearing on the PTO, so that 1800 RPM was 540 on the PTO, which yielded 42.35 HP instead of around 34 HP on the earlier D-15's. I grew up on a series 2 and it was the favorite tractor to run on the farm. It always amazed neighbors when we filled our 60 ft silo's how it was the go-to tractor on the blower. As far as plowing ?? I never felt it replaced a good WD45 that had 14.9 x 28 rear tires. After 60 years of use, you may find one that has been pampered, but many have been hammered.

This post was edited by DrAllis on 09/26/2022 at 04:16 am.

Ran a D-15 series II with factory 3ph for years for my father baling hay using a N.H. 273, was a great tractor for the operation. Wish I could find that tractor now.

That hydraulic issue would depend on the series for the D series.

Not on a 15, series one and two both had the same system, I have owned both.

I owned a D17 for years and I do believe in some (most) ways the power director was superior than the TA - but if you are replacing your TA every year you need to take the handle off and quit using it because you don't know how to use it. The problem many people had with the TA is that they thought they should ease the handle back and forth when actually they should move it as fast as they can. The Allis power director running in a bath of oil can handle being abused (slipped) many times batter than the IH mechanical TA on the small frame tractors. The power director is also the reason why Allis got away with running a live PTO for so many years after most manufacturers had moved onto an independent PTO.

I think about 9 out of every 10 IH tractors I've seen with a TA needed the TA repaired.

(quoted from post at 16:13:33 09/27/22) I think about 9 out of every 10 IH tractors I've seen with a TA needed the TA repaired.

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I knew an auctioneer years ago, that whenever he sold a Farmall with a TA, the TA was guaranteed to have a problem and sold as-is. If the TA worked, then good for you !! He had been burned soooo many times being told by the seller the TA was good only to have the new owner come back and say it wasn't.

I just sold a 65 year old Farmall 350 with with over 5000 hours and the TA was working fine. A gas tractor that ran like it did when it was new - burned a quart of oil with every tank of fuel. I currently have a 56 year old Farmall 706 with only 4800 hours and the TA is perfect in it. I'll take the TA in a Farmall that will only need replacement if you abuse it over the brakes in a D17 that will need to be replaced just through normal wear. Who ever dreamed up that setup spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make a normal service part as difficult as possible.