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Al C.

I’m thinking about a 520LXI ?

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Al C.

I’m thinking about picking up a 520LXI that looks to be well cared for and in good condition.  It has a 60” deck and 48” blade.   I’m curious, does anyone have experience with the Kawasaki 20hp twin liquid cooled engine?  I’m comfortable mataining old Koehler 241’s and 341’s.  Will I have any problems handling this Kawasaki engine?

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WVHillbilly520H

Last year there was a post from a fella that had 1 Lxi then bought 2 more and went through them, he said he loved the liquid cooled Kawasaki but a certain year had plastic timing gears that were prone to failure but we're replaceable with metal ones I think, search for "520Lxi" or just "Lxi", I had the 520xi Kohler powered with 60" deck mowed beautiful but the lift linkage was worn badly and all the bolts holding the transaxle to the frame was backed out or loose causing drive issues, some things to look for, Jeff.

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Skipper

The liquid cooled kawasaki, if in good and well maintained condition, will probably outlive the rest of that tractor. They are pretty bulletproof.

 

You do know that machine also comes in a diesel version right ;-)

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Sarge

Early versions of the Kawasaki - the aforementioned plastic timing gears and the throttle body injection models . The injected models had no real seals or bushings on the throttle plate shaft - once they wear they would start sucking air/dirt into the engine and many times had to be replaced . Some also had soft rings - JD had certain model 420 series that would lost compression and start burning oil badly - re-ring it and replace that throttle body head and it was like new again - I did two of them and they are still running . Otherwise , very well built and smooth engines - well worth the money .

 

Sarge

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wh500special

The 520Lxi is a great tractor with a great engine.

 

The engine seems more powerful to me than the 22 hp Kohler air cooled in the 522xi versions.  Like Elmer Fudd, it's also very, very quiet.  The lack of a blaring noise machine under the hood always made me think the engine wasn't reaching full throttle so I even checked it a couple of times with a tachometer to make sure.

 

You'll think the power steering is a gimmick until you drive the Lxi for a while and go back to your other tractors.

 

As a working tractor, the 5xi's are hard to beat.  They are very easy and comfortable to operate, tough as nails, and heavy duty everywhere.  Guys on this forum are finally coming around to them.

 

Steve

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Lane Ranger

I drove a 522XI with 60 inch mower deck  earlier this month!   I must admit I was very surprised at how well it performed and how quiet it was even with the 60 inch mower engaged.  

 

And it could haul that heavy mower deck like it was not even on it!

 

The power steering is impressive also.

 

My place is not big enough to warrant a larger mower and mower deck but for those who do this would be a  nice machine to own and use for a variety of purposes!
 

 

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Video of me in motion!

 

 

 

 

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Edited by Lane Ranger
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DennisThornton

Great machine but do some research on this forum about the plastic cam gear. 

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shallowwatersailor

That version is the only one that I have never owned. Like a number of other members have mentioned, do research the timing gear issue. Otherwise they are pretty bulletproof if they haven't been abused. The three-wire Battery Light Module on the '99 and newer models seems to fail more than the five-wire module on the 1998 versions. All it does is monitor battery voltage. If the tractor starts and runs - the battery is good!

 

If you intend to put a cab on it for winter use, I would assume that it will move more air, like my diesel version does, due to the radiator fan. The air-cooled Kohler version doesn't create quite the wind tunnel!,

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JERSEYHAWG /  Glenn

I had a 522xi with the big kohler, a powerhouse. Best of luck in decision making. They do the job.

 

Glenn

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PeacemakerJack

I’ve never owned the Lxi but my buddy has a Cub Cadet 3205 with the FD620D Kawasaki engine in it! What an engine!  Smooth and quiet yet powerful.  People make a big deal about the plastic cam gears because that is about the only thing that one can point to as a failure point. You would definitely want to upgrade to the metal gears if that hasn’t been done. However, make sure you research the years that Kawi put the plastic ones in because it may not even be applicable with the tractor that you are looking at based on build date.  

On 11/17/2017 at 7:03 AM, Skipper said:

You do know that machine also comes in a diesel version right ;-)

 

My wife’s tractor “RED” is a 523D.  It is the coolest work tractor that I’ve ever owned in spite of the nearly 1200 hours on the clock...

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They are big tractors as you can see compared to my minivan so I wouldnt recommend one for a small tight yard.

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The deuce will handle deep snow with ease!

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All in all a great working tractor...

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I personally think that the xi series :wh: tractors are one of the most underrated (invisible to the public) GT’s ever built. After two years of ownership, I wouldn’t trade mine for anything! 

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plus—Momma would kill me! :violence-blades:she loves her Diesel!

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Challenger

Hey Peacemaker-Jack:  

 

GREAT looking machine!  In my opinion the 5xi series is  one of the finest garden tractors ever engineered.

 

All the best!

Edited by Challenger
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stevebo

The 520 LXI is my main worker for mowing duties. I have the 60" deck and love it. Actually I am spoiled using it now. Hard to go back....

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