By
Indianajohn
Newbie to the forum, and also a new 520H owner. It came into my shop with a complaint of "won't move and can't lift the blade". Obviously a hydraulic issue. Looking around underneath, I noticed oil dripping off the frame. Turns out the steel hydraulic line that runs along the top of the lower frame rail and goes to the front of the lift valve had been sitting in old accumulated grass that had gotten wet and it had holes rusted thru it. After doing some major disassembly to get the line out of there (you basically have to split the tractor), the only fix I have been able to come up with is to have a custom line made up. Used ones seem to be unobtanium, and due to the sharp bends and special flares, a DIY replacement looks like a non starter. And due to a lack of space where the line runs between the rear of the frame and the transaxle housing, a custom hose won't fit. And of course wouldn't be cheap either. The owners have told me they don't want to spend a lot of money on repairing it, and with the labor cost plus the price of a custom made line, it will run into more than they want to spend on "that old tractor". They basically told me I could have it for the time I already have in it. So it looks like I'm going to end up with yet another tractor. However, the Onan engine runs good, and the machine really isn't in that bad of condition. Plus I've always admired the 520 series tractors, so I kinda hate to give up on the old girl and part it out. I really hate it when someone parts out a fixable tractor. So far, my google searches have turned up precious little info. Has anybody else ever ran into this problem on one of these tractors? And if so, how did you deal with it?
