XT190 series 3

[ely]

calling all farmers. i am looking at a purchase of a new to me tractor. it is allis chalmers xt190 series 3. i understand that it is 71 or very early 72 model. has a turbo on the diesel engine. my question to those that may know/have an opinion. do you know of any particular weakness or problem with this tractor.

i am purchaseing it for pulling plows and turning the earth only. i have no intention of using it in the woods.

i have talked to everyone else and they have nothing bad to say, so i thought i would broaden the scope a bit by asking some sawmillers. :D

[stonebroke]

I have heard that the transmission and rear end are the same as the 160 with only sixty horse so be carefull of hard work.

Stonebroke

[ely]

ok. my soil type is sandy just about like where the tractor is from. i should not be too tough on it. they told me it was designed to pull a 14 ft disc or something equiv.

[Dave Shepard]

A friend of mine grew up on A-C, I think the XT190 is probably a good tractor. My neighbors had 180s and 190's, they had some trouble, but they were also "aggressive" users. ;) How big a plow you going to pull?

[ely]

i am hoping to appropriate a 4 or 5 bottom plow to use with this tractor. i have seen alot of 2 and 3 bottom plows. i am holding out for what i want now though. i do have access to a 15 ft spring tooth chisel that hooks on the 3 point. i am gonna put some wide sweeps on it and test it out.

[beenthere]

I plowed a lot of acres with a 5 bottom, semi-mounted with one of these for a neighbor farmer. Great tractor, and I believe his son-in-law still has a couple of them.
Don't know of any particular problem, but just needing normal engine overhaul when the hours get up there.

[srt]

Ely,

I've never heard anything bad about the 190 .  In fact, I've heard they're sought after.  Never been on one though.

Stonebroke, 

I think what you heard  may not be correct about the 160 and 190 sharing tranny and rears.  But boy do I hope you're right.  I have a 160 that I absolutely love, but it has a whine in third and reverse. The 160 was actually made in France and has a 3 cyl 40 horse perkins.  I'm fearful everytime I get on it that it will disentigrate internally I'll need some parts that are no longer available.  Do you remember where you heard that info?

[stonebroke]

we used to have a good allis dealer that sold a lot of tractors. It may not be the 160 but I am pretty sure that the 170 thought the 200 all had the same basic drivetrain . You still should be able to get parts, though agco.

Stonebroke

[Corley5]

I looked at one a couple years ago and the research I did turned up some tranny and rearend issues depending on when it was produced.  The tranny issue had to do with gears not meshing fully especially 3rd and 4th and the rear ends in the early ones weren't strong enough.  That's what I recall anyway    We didn't buy the one we were looking it as it was misrepresented on the net and I was concerned about what I'd read about them anyway.  We bought a 706 Farmall instead  8)  Check out ytmag.com's discussion forum for more info

[HOGFARMER]

I had an AC 190XT tractor for several years, pulled a 4 bottom 16" semimounted plow and a 18 ft. AC disc with it.  Confortable tractor to work good power and hydraulics.  The problem with them in our part of the country is that after a while they start hopping out of gear usually 3rd or 4th.  This is an expensive repair and the reason that I got rid of mine when this happened.  Liked the tractor and would still have it if it had not developed these trans problems.  Several friends have had the same problem.  Try each gear by giving it the trottle then pulling it back to idle to see if it will come out of gear.

[ronwood]

ely.

My dad has a XT190 propane original from factory. He pulls a large disk with it. Two years ago he had to repair the rear end.  It been a very good tractor for him.

Ron

[ely]

thanks for all the info guys, i really appreciate it.

[Stan snider]

Ely My first tractor was a 190 XT series III. In light soil they will handle a 5-16 semi mount plow with ease. I've sat many an hour with my hand on the right fender. The hydraulic levers were the handiest of any tractor I have ever run. You could keep the headland as straight as a string after a while. The transmission jumping out of high could be fixed, by welding up one side of the detent in the shifter rails and grinding out the other. I think only the top cover was all I had off. An A C dealer told me how to do that and it worked fine. If it had been run too long with your leg over the gearshift to keep in in gear .it might need gears but most tractors don't spend many hours in high gear. The series III had a heavier rear end than the earlier ones.  That 301 is a good engine and economical to work on. I have wished many a time I still had mine. It had more horsepower for its weight than any of our other tractors.

[Handy Andy]

  I bought a new 986 IH in '81.  Went and bought a 5 bottom plow, and it was about all it could pull.  Talked to the mechanic at  the dealer about it, and he told me to go back to the old 4 bottom, and drive a gear faster.  Said it is easier on the tractor to drive faster than to drive slower with a big load.  Did as he said, and never knocked the gears out of the old IH. In fact, hardly any repairs at all.  Jim

[Dave Shepard]

I'm surprised you couldn't pull the 5 bottom with a 986. We pulled 4 bottoms with the 656's for years, and a 5 bottom trailer plow with the 756 with ease. I pulled the trailer plow in 2nd HI with the 1256, but the dirt wouldn't land in the right place. :

[beenthere]

The ground and plowing depth will make a big difference on number of bottoms one can pull.  ;D

[Norm]

I don't think you could pull a 5 bottom plow on our place with much less than 140hp. I chisel with a 225hp mfwd and still struggle through the rough spots.

My b-i-l lives in central Nebraska and can get away with much less horsepower to pull with. They have a sandier soil that is easier to pull through.

[Corley5]

  There's a sticker on a cab post in the DNR's mfwd 7520 JD that warns that high loads at speeds below 4mph will shorten drive train and tire life.  We pull a JD offset disk with 26" blades at 5-6mph with it in a variety soils.  It pulls hardest in sand  ;)
  Here at home we used to use a five bottom 3pt plow with 14" mold boards on the 180 MF.  It made it work in our sandy loam.  We picked up a 4 bottom semi mount with 16" bottoms that pulled easier and that's what we've used on the 706 Farmall the last couple times we've worked up any ground.  It doesn't have any issues pulling it  8) 8) 

[olyman]

series 1 and 2 190's had lighter rear planetarys--they would break under hard use--there was a update at the time--as not all were tearing up--depended on how hard it was used--wasnt covered by allis--dont know why--but the ser 3 was allright-----and they were easier on fuel than other brands of comparable hp---

[ely]

well guys i went and got the tractor moved to my place now. i will try and get some pics of it later this week.
it came with a semi mounted 5 bottom plow. in my sandy soil it works great so far, but i think i need to adjust it alittle.
when i run with my right wheel in the furrow the 1st plow runs almost out of the ground, hardly getting a bite in the ground.
if i keep it up on top out of the furrow it seems to plow just fine,with all bottoms turning dirt. it is sort of a pain to keep it up on top though.  all the plowing i have seen done and have done you always run in the last furrow with the tire on the next round.

keep in mind i am really new at all this stuff, and i may have trouble understanding some of the terminoligy. :D

[isawlogs]

Alls you need to do is adjust your right side arm on the three point hitch , Most have a hand crank to lower the draw bar , in doing so you will lower the plow . Some of the new tractors this is a hydraulic cylinder ... 

[beenthere]

ely
You are right, that you should plow with the right tractor wheels in the furrow. Is the furrow wide enough to do that with the tires on the tractor?

As isawlogs said, adust the linkage to the 3pt lift arms.

You should be able to adust the fore and aft depth of the plows, as well as an adjustment for draft.
(3pt arms for the fore, and a hyd cyl on the trailing wheel for the aft).

When on a flat surface, run the right wheels up on a block or stack of boards about 6" high. Then set the plows so they are flat to the ground. It will simulate having the right wheels in the 6" deep furrow. Other may have better tricks to do the setting.

[ely]

i guess i am gonna have more trouble explaining myself than i first thought ;D
i am good with the level of the plow and the adjustment front and back. the what i am talking about now is when i am running in the furrow after i make the first round. the first blade from the tractor is mostly out in the furrow behind that rear tire and is barely turning much dirt.
there is a bolt pattern on the "neck" of the plow maybe the tounge, and it seems i can move the plow over to the left using a different set of holes, i am thinking that will put the first blade on the plow back over into new dirt instead of open furrow.

probably i should shut up and just get the camera out there :D

[isawlogs]

  OH ... the off set of the plow . your plow is plowing what has already been plowed ...  :D

  I cant really help there , all the plows I ever used where factory made for the tractor that we had , so it was plowing at the right place .
That being said , I am sure you can get the plow over to where it needs to be ... What kind of plow is it and you'd think I would recall the tractor you have it on , right  : Not so .....  :D :D  Then might be able to help out .

[Corley5]

The plow hitch needs to be adjusted.  I'm not sure about the plow you've got but with JD and IH semi mount plows the piece that hooks to the 3pt arms has an assortment of holes to adjust how the plow tracks.  Take the bolts out and slide it one way or the other