i was wondering if there are any differnces in the year models of the wd 45 i have heard that some have 3 plate hand clutches and some have 5 plate clutches is this true? are thier anymore differnces? what front end style do you think is best i think the wide fronts stick out to much how easy is a wide front to change to narrow i think the narrow fronts are alot better whAT do you thinK? THANKS FOR THE HELP

I always liked the WFE better; it is more stable on the sidehills we have in my "neck of the woods". However, there are those, like you, who prefer the NFE. I have a WD with the NFE and a WD-45 with the WFE. The WD will turn on a dime and the WD-45 will turn on a nickel and give you change. I don't believe you would have any trouble swapping your NFE with someone who has one and is looking for the WFE. Starting in '54 the WFE WD-45s began outselling the NFEs.

Also used different model power steering pumps that are not interchangeable and that no parts are avaible for, friend has one owned by anouther neighbor in his shop for 5 month fighting this problem

Justin, you might want to do a search of the archives on you wide vs. narrow front ends. There has been alot of disscussion on them before. I have few of each and like them both in there own ways. People will pay alot of money for wide fronts, and you can pick up narrow fronts dirt cheap. If you are looking for one, e-mail me

Yes later ones had 5, earlier ones 3 plates. My parts book lists different parts at serial no. 165056.

Right, the number of clutch discs were increased from 2 to 3 in '54 with tractor ser.#165056. This increased the number of "plates" to 4 from the previous 3. Interestingly the part numbers are the same so it would seem that a 2 disc clutch could readily be upgraded to 3 discs. It would appear that after approx. 19,000 WD-45s were built and in use, A-C felt it prudent to "beef-up" the hand clutch to stand the extra HP and torque of the larger engine. Allis made running changes or upgrades as the need became evident. For example, it was only a short time after the WD-45D (Diesel) was introduced that the stronger 4 bolt WFE mounting plate became standard on all WFE Models.

The late 45's had a different cam,not sure on clutches ,had 55-57's no clutch problem in either.Wide front is more stable in all conditions,front ends aren't hard to change with help ,and blocks and jacks.