New To Me 520 h

[danno676 34]

I picked this up over the summer but just now am getting a chance to post it up. I always wanted a 520, found it on CL and drove 4 hours to get it. Got a great deal on it, at least I think I did. Got it home, serviced it up and has been great since. The deck, unfortunately, was toast and the tires are all rotten but I am getting ready to replace them, put a nice seat cover on the nasty seat. Steering is nice and tight, much easier than my 416 or my Workhorse. Only has 352 hours on the working meter. Hopefully I will be repainting it and putting new decals on it over spring.

[slammer302 2,154]

looks good 

[Xjchief 128]

nice welcome to the 520 club 

[JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,487]

real nice. best of luck. looks like the anniversary model with the gold badging on it.

 

Glenn

[Tankman 3,515]

Nice! A 520-H is on my "wish" list. Grandsons prefer hydro, I don't mind. My 520-8 purrs,

Edited January 11, 2016 by Tankman

[DougC 2,641]

Congratulations on your 520H low hours purchase! A little TLC and it will be just like new.   

[whtractors24 2,898]

good score cant wait to see the finished product

[Kurt-NEPA 755]

Nice Score.  Especially with the low hours.  You are going to love it.

 

Welcome to the 520H Club,

 

Kurt

[Martin 2,130]

Dan, thats a nice 520 to start with. Should clean up ok. Going to look good with those new tires on it!!

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

Nice horse. Any idea what the bracket on front is for?

 

[Gernzz8 38]

Nice Horse, Danno.

 

Nice attachments as well, what is the bracket for on the front attached to your frame? Is that a Grader I see or a Plow?

[HokieAg07 129]

Nice tractor, also nice 3/4 ton 'Burb in the background!

 

Think I remember that tractor off Craigslist as well

 

Edited January 12, 2016 by HokieAg07

[danno676 34]

8 hours ago, HokieAg07 said:

Nice tractor, also nice 3/4 ton 'Burb in the background!

 

Think I remember that tractor off Craigslist as well

 

It is a 3/4 burb that bought as a big block organ donor for a very rare suburban find, a completely rust free 4wd with 57k miles and a 4 speed manual. It's an ex military Burb that I found in GA, just ordered a 6" lift for it and a set of 37 Military BFG tires.

12 hours ago, WNYPCRepair said:

Nice horse. Any idea what the bracket on front is for?

 

No idea what the bracket is for, neither did the guy I bought it from. Whatever it was for, it was very weak so I just took it off.

 

10 hours ago, Gernzz8 said:

Nice Horse, Danno.

 

Nice attachments as well, what is the bracket for on the front attached to your frame? Is that a Grader I see or a Plow?

Rear blade, gave me an excuse to put my sleeve hitch on!! Also came with a nice de thatcher. Now I just need to find the extension piece for the Wheel Horse snow plow.

Edited January 12, 2016 by danno676

[danno676 34]

16 hours ago, Tankman said:

Nice! A 520-H is on my "wish" list. Grandsons prefer hydro, I don't mind. My 520-8 purrs,

My daughter prefers the 520 H to the 416H, the steering is much easier. She has all but abandoned the Work Horse GT1600 I restored for her. She couldn't reach the clutch pedal at 5 so I bolted a piece of flat steel from the attachment lift to the clutch pedal, she had a blast shifting and driving carts around the yard helping out. Don't mind the fenders, it's an ongoing project that I plan on putting tall ags on the rear and some tri ribs in the front, adjusting their height and other sheet metal as necessary.

Man I'd love to find a nice 520-8 like yours as a puller for my camper, the hydro screams when I move it.

19 hours ago, JERSEYHAWG / Glenn said:

real nice. best of luck. looks like the anniversary model with the gold badging on it.

 

Glenn

That makes 2 anniversary models that I have

[elliot ness 1,916]

Enjoy your 520 H, I have 4 of them and love them all,

[WHX?? 46,736]

Nice !!! hard to believe that seat like that with that low hrs. Must have been corralled outside??   Comtemplate Matt's pedal kit for one or both. I been told by guys here they are the cat's meow... just ordered one so will find out for my self.

[danno676 34]

13 hours ago, WHX6 said:

Nice !!! hard to believe that seat like that with that low hrs. Must have been corralled outside??   Comtemplate Matt's pedal kit for one or both. I been told by guys here they are the cat's meow... just ordered one so will find out for my self.

I was thinking about doing the pedal kit, that may come after the tires and paint. Can you use the throttle lever too, for cruise control? Yeah the seat, the person I bought it from said he got it from a neighbor after he passed, it has been stored outside for years and was the reason for the deck being in such bad shape. Everything else is good, love the steering!

[WHX?? 46,736]

11 hours ago, danno676 said:

Can you use the throttle lever too, for cruise control?

I don't believe so Dan, I think the under wheel gets disconnected. PM @mattd860 or perhaps he will chime in here about that.  The only beef I have about my new to me 520 is the jerkyness of the motion lever. Lubing the pivot points helped but still a pain. I have alot of forward/reverse when mowing so think this will be worth it.

[WNYPCRepair 1,875]

1 hour ago, WHX6 said:

I don't believe so Dan, I think the under wheel gets disconnected. PM @mattd860 or perhaps he will chime in here about that.  The only beef I have about my new to me 520 is the jerkyness of the motion lever. Lubing the pivot points helped but still a pain. I have alot of forward/reverse when mowing so think this will be worth it.

From the manual:

*** For models with column levers, at this time you can remove the steering column lever or reconnect it. However, I have designed my kit to be used WITHOUT the lever connected. If you wish to keep the lever connected, you will need to modify the bracket (reverse detent) that the neutral safety switch is mounted onto so the lever and pedal can freely go into reverse. ***

*** For models with the floor lever can be reinstalled at this time however, I suggest leaving it off. If there is any device that prevents the new foot pedal from freely traveling in reverse, do not reinstall it.***

-NEUTRAL SAFETY SWITCH on models with steering column lever – This switch may have to be bypassed but this must be done at the user’s discretion and responsibility. I advise seeking an alternate method or location for the switch to retain its proper function. 

 

 

 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/99750546/Wheel%20Horse%20Hydro%20Foot%20Pedal%20Instructions%20V3.pdf

 

 

 

[muz123 1,191]

Now thats a deal with this hours!!! Welcome to the 520 club!

[cheesegrader 433]

Matt's hydro pedal is a great addition.  It is set up to be installed with the hand control lever disabled/removed.  

I THINK it could be modified to keep the hand lever operational, but it would take some fabricating skills, and I just don't think it would be worth it.

I have two 520's with the foot pedal.  I removed the hand control levers on both, and have never missed them.

For jerky hand control issues, look at the control plate on top of the hydro.

Make sure the pivot point is lubricated--there is supposed to be a felt washer to hold oil, but it seems to be missing on some units.

Also make sure it is adjusted to give similar speeds both forward and reverse.  I had one that was adjusted with almost no reverse speed, and it jerked horribly until I put it back to a more balanced position.

[WHX?? 46,736]

Thanks for the info Cheesy. I did lube that point on the hydro as it was the only one I could see to get at. Didn't see the felt washer but didn't really look.  Seems ther must be something up under the tower as that's where it seemed to be binding. Not gonna worry about it cause first thing this spring when the pressure washers can come out she gets taken all apart for a good cleaning, full lube and matt's kit. Will go thru all the adjustments at that time.  Might try and retain the hand control if not too big a pita..

..see what it looks like and keep y'all posted.

Thanks for the heads up on the install instructions Brian.

[danno676 34]

Thanks for all the info guys. I only just saw the pedal but didn't exactly know it's function. For some reason, at a quick glance, I thought to was a throttle pedal. Stupid me..... My 520 has an absolutely fluid hydro lever. My 416 was very jerky but with some adjustments and lubrication it works very good now, it only took me 2 years to do. Now the pedal makes more sense and I want to do it even more.

[cleat 4,952]

A lot of manufacturers now offer a cruise control function to go with the foot control hydro. I have not attempted or really needed to add one to any of my 520's with Matt's kit.

 

A poorly designed cruise could be a safety concern. I am not sure exactly how I would do it.

 

Cleat

 

Edited January 14, 2016 by cleat

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

24 minutes ago, cleat said:

A lot of manufacturers now offer a cruise control function to go with the foot control hydro. I have not attempted or really needed to add one to any of my 520's with Matt's kit.

 

A poorly designed cruise could be a safety concern. I am not sure exactly how I would do it.

 

Cleat

Cleat, I know you like to fiddle and fabricate items with great success. You might want to look at the 5xi (except the 518xi) parts and electrical diagrams. They are equipped with cruise control. There might be something that would work.

 

For me, the cruise isn't needed as I have to dodge a number of trees while mowing. Maybe it will be handy for the next house where I can use the 60" deck.