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broken96vr6

520H electrical upgrades and other projects

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bmsgaffer

Yea i think i like them enough to get them... but I am getting the Vredestein v61's for the front. I need the ribs for turning in the slush and snow and seems good for a 2wd tractor

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broken96vr6

I got the front tires in today, came quick! I'm going to paint the wheels when I mount them. I also ordered a set of front chains for them. There is anecdotal evidence that they won't do much for traction, but the weight of the blower on the front should help. I just remember plowing on the 312-8 when I'd turn the wheel it would just keep going straight. I'm thinking that I'll at least get more bite though also a bumpier ride.

 

Aron

 

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Geno

Tractor setup is looking really good there.  :handgestures-thumbsup:

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TT

If someone could help me real quick, the 48" deck shell I got is like new but it doesn't have blades/rollers/wheel/belt. I started looking into it and it seems as though it's from the 60's or 70s and I've seen it on Charger and GT 14 models using google image search. It's very solid, almost new except for the paint being worn and some surface rust. Would this fit on the 520 or should I just sell it to someone restoring an older tractor? Thanks!

 

Definitely the older pre Attach-Matic deck. Although possible to convert, you would need the carriage, gauge wheel bar, and related pieces from a newer 48" deck to simplify the conversion.

I work in State College and might have interest if you do decide to sell it.  :confusion-shrug:

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broken96vr6

Thanks Terry. When I picked up the tractor I put the deck on the back seat of my truck assuming it was made for it and didn't really get a good look until I unloaded it at my parents place. All of the warning and info stickers are on it except for the data plate though there probably is a serial number stamped somewhere on it. Since the 42" RD deck is great condition too and I prefer RD I wasn't planning on using it anyway, just thought it would be nice to have a good spare. I brought it back with me so if you want to take a look at it just PM me.

 

 

Aron

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cheesegrader

Agree with TT about selling the deck.

It would be a shame to modify the crap out of it to fit your 520.

You could probably get a good 48" deck with the correct carriage for what it will cost you to gather all the parts to modify that one.

I'm very interested to see how your front tire set-up steers.

I've had the same problem with skidding when using the snowblower.

I'm using tri-rib fronts this year (might get to test them this week!)

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broken96vr6

I was looking through some threads and found Mr. Foxxx's  about picking up a C-120 and the second picture down on the left of the deck that came with it. That is exactly what mine looks like, and in the same condition too.

 

I'm also trying to find a wheel for my brothers XI. One of the few things wrong with it was there is a dent on the lip, it still functions but doesn't look that great. I noticed that the 520H wheels in 12x8.5 with 1 1/4" backspacing seem to be the same. I need to find one before Xmas so I can paint it and get it mounted for him. I'd also like to find a smart turn delete kit for it but I'm guessing that isn't going to happen. But while I was looking through pictures of his tractor trying to figure out which wheels he had I found a picture of the trusty old Rustmaster 2000! My bother had rattle canned it a few times and you can see just how bad it had gotten. The lights didn't work, the tires were all leaking, if I ran it for more than an hour I had to pull the fuel pump out of the block and manually actuate it until the carb bowl was full, the battery was always dead, but it still did it's job. I guess almost 30 years sitting outside uncovered was not a good idea. If only I knew then what I know now.

 

Aron

 

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Jrblanke

Wow! Awesome looking tractor. I really like the refresh you did. I am planning to do exactly what you have done! Did you get your foot rests from Toro?

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broken96vr6

I got them from RCPW/Sohars. The newer footrests are designed for the newer/thicker foot pads which I wanted because they provide better protection and I can take them off for cleaning. I did have to cut the right one where Matt's foot hydro pedal is so it would have proper clearance which surprisingly the older ones had. I'm guessing they used the same ones for both the hydro and manual models and changed that sometime after 92 to ones specific to hydro or manual. Also the newer footrests don't go up under the fender pan quite as high, maybe about an inch or so and they meet the rear fender pan at the edge instead of leaving the fender pan hanging out by about an inch as you can see below.

 

Aron

 

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Jrblanke

Thanks for the pictures, the foot rests look great! I see you are in State College. I worked at the Juniata Locomotive shop for about 6 months in 2010 before moving to Pittsburgh and ultimately back to NC. Beautiful country up there! I never did make it up to state college.  

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broken96vr6

Finally got the front tires on and not a moment too soon. When I got to my parents and went to back it out the left front was completely flat so I backed it into the yard and removed the wheels and brought them to the local tire shop. They weren't equipped for any wheel smaller than 12" so they did them with spoons, that looked unpleasant especially with 4 ply tires! They had to use tubes because they couldn't get the bead set without them. Don't know about that one but it was only $10 extra so I said go ahead. Got home and put them on, along with the new drive rod that Matt sent me for his hydro foot pedal. The one I originally got was rubbing on the frame so there was no return to neutral and Matt said it might have been made wrong. He got the new one out to me and it works perfectly. Thanks Matt! Anyway, got the front chains on too and got to use it on Wednesday. We had about 11" of very heavy/wet snow that kept turning to ice in the auger. I had to clean it out about 5 times, but it worked great. I see what everyone means about how they work better if you fill the auger versus a few inches of snow. When I was going through the deeper stuff it threw the snow 50' and about 10' when I was going through only about 6". So the front tires and chains worked really good. Even with how the snow compacted immediately to ice I never slid and the tires always answered the steering wheel without any sliding.

 

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Also went and gave my brother his early Xmas present for his XI. I found this almost new 2 stage New Holland snow blower close to where I live and got a great deal. The previous owner has a GT20 and he decided that he didn't want to put it on and take it off every year at a cabin he goes a few times a year. He decided to use his Ford Jubilee with a front blade instead since it was a long dirt driveway in the Allegheny National Forest. Needless to say with my brothers long driveway in the Poconos he's happy having the blower versus the plow. Ran into two problems though. I ordered one of the 2" receiver hitch/quick-attach combos that are made by a guy in Williamsport, PA that are supposed to be compatible with all 3/4/5/xi tractors, but the axle bracket/quick-attach are 1" wider than the stock stuff so the rear support bar wouldn't work and I had to put back on the original stock bracket. No worries though as I'm just going to make my own out of angle iron using his as a template. The second problem is that while my brother was using it the chain got thrown. I figured it was just the tension so I went up before Thanksgiving dinner to fix it and get the driveway cleared. I adjusted the tension and gave it a try. The chain jumped off again. I gave it a closer look and the drive gear had backed off the shaft by about an inch and the key looked like it had moved forward. I dropped it off at the Toro dealer and they're gonna pull the gear, inspect everything, and drop it off at his place when it's finished. I pulled the snow blower and threw on the plow to get the driveway cleared for the feast.

 

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Aron

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bmsgaffer

Lookin good!

 

Interesting with the mini chains on the front tires! I didnt expect those would help much with turning.

 

And the XI: your tire chains and weights fell off when you mounted up the plow! (and your chrome jumped back on!) :ychain:

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broken96vr6

Nice catch! Those were from when we first got it for him (and he was still moving into the house as you can see from the mess).

 

Aron

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Hendricksn

What exactly is color sanding? I have a 1990 520-H and would like to clean it up the way you did

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broken96vr6

It's a way of cutting the paint more aggressively than normal polishing. It involves wet sandpaper and then polishing compound. There's a ton of how-to videos and articles on the web that can help.

 

Aron

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Hendricksn

What products did you use? Any how tos? Thanks

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broken96vr6

I used 1000 grit wet paper by hand then Meguires compound on a buffer after. It depends on what your going for what you'll need. For a car with clear coat you have to be very careful when sanding and buffing because you can burn through the paint.For tractor single stage paint I could sand and buff without much worry. The reason I did it was that the paint was faded and had some white spots on it but all the paint was there and thick so I knew I could remove a bunch of it. If you have rust or missing paint this won't help but if it's just scratched or faded it's a great way to make it look new again. When I do clearcoat paint I'll wet sand up to 2000 and then buff but this didn't need that much attention. Some people will start at 600 but that takes off too much for my tastes. Plus 1000 grit can be buffed out without going up to a higher grit first and it removes scratches and orange peel pretty quickly. I suggest watching some vidoes on YouTube and then practicing on an a piece that you aren't worried about destroying as that can happen when you are starting out. Once you get the hang of it the process really is easy.

Aron

Edited by broken96vr6

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JERSEYHAWG /  Glenn

Aron, I want to complment you on a great job. I did the buffer and got new decals from Terry for my 520. The decals arent on yet, I think after winter I will try your steps, wet sand then buff for a bettercresult, also good find in the footboards. Thanks.

Glenn

Very very very good job. Thumbs up and the crowd roars approval.

Glenn

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JERSEYHAWG /  Glenn

Aron, 2 questions, the footrest pads, just ask for the 520H and they are made specific for them? Look great.

second, on the xi, what 2 stage snow blower is that? I have a xi also, often thought about a 2 stage. Dont know why, never used the single stage yet,,,,lol

ty, Glenn

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broken96vr6

Thanks Glenn. For the footrests and pads I ordered a set from a 1996 520H. If I did it again I would have gotten a set from a 1996 314-8 since that would have had the notch I cut to fit Matt's hydro pedal already there so if you are planning on the hydro pedal go with the  footrests from the manual tractor (you'll also need 16 I believe of the little black plastic screws to hold the pad on the footrest). The xi blower is from a New Holland GT20 that I found close to here. It's the same as the WH 2 stage only black. From the thanksgiving storm and using both the 520H single stage and 520xi 2 stage the same day it looks like the single stage works better in less than a foot of snow as far as throwing but it clogs if the snow is very wet or heavy. Once you get lots of snow the 2 stage will probably outperform it but it really needs the auger to be almost full to be efficient.

 

Aron

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GT14

Very nice, you are ready for the white stuff now.  :banana-skier: 

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broken96vr6

Just got in a complete rear sleeve hitch assembly I bought off CL. I ordered a sleeve hitch weight bar from Johnny Bucket and four #42 Arnold weights. Once those come in I'll start stripping everything and painting them regal red.

 

Aron

 

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broken96vr6

Got in the JB Jr weight bracket. I was going to paint it red but I decided to keep it black to offset all of the red from the weights and hitch. I also received the weights and am not too happy. When I first started looking I found that Arnold Co. had recently stopped making them in solid metal and are now plastic encased concrete. When I first started looking I made calls to a few places and had them visually check to make sure they were steel, and NJ Wholesale Supply was one of them. They told me they were and with free shipping so I pulled the trigger. When I opened the first box they were of course plastic and I'm sending them back. I know I can get Deere green weights for $57 from Home Depot and paint them but I'd rather find unmarked ones so the search continues.

 

Aron

 

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Edited by broken96vr6

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broken96vr6

Finished painting and reassembling the hitch over the past 2 days. Came together well besides painting the pin and ends of the rocker arm without thinking so I'm going to strip those back down when I put it on. Everything was wire wheeled to bare metal than primed and painted with 3 coats of Rustoleum regal red. Still looking for suitcase weights on CL so as soon as 4 of those show up I can paint and mount them.

 

Aron

 

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JERSEYHAWG /  Glenn

Real real nice job. The final product will be sweet.

Glenn

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