Toro proline 724-Z Zero turn Good, or bad

[smoreau 658]

Found this on C list with no engine and have been looking for a zero turn to cut 3 acres. I have herd pour things about the hydro's and the front spinals braking. also that they are a Dixon knock off. Just want some opinions before I invest in another project.

 

[Don1977 604]

There was another post on this back a year or so. I think some said that they had Eaton 700 transmissions.

[bmsgaffer 2,045]

I've wanted to get an engine off of one of those shoe-horned into a C series...

 

All I know is that what people are trying to get for them around here you are better off getting a newer version. I dont know why people think those are gold around here...

 

But if you can get it for a good deal and have a strong motor around, it should work fine. Those are high geared hydro's though so you need some serious horsepower to run them and a big deck... so plan on at least a 24hp going back on there to make it an enjoyable ride.

[wh500special 2,237]

I had one and used it for a while until it blew a second transmission from the donor I also bought. The eaton 700 in these is really the Achilles heel after years of hard use. And the rest of the tractor is pretty crude. They cut well and are pretty fast, but at this stage in their lives (20 years old or more) there are better projects to be had for guys like me who lack time or any discernible talents.

The onan p224 that was on these was directly coupled to the flywheel side of the engine. That piece is probably still attached to the right angle gearbox that feeds power to the two mirror-image transmission units. If not, you'll need to devise a way to couple a new engine on there.

I liked mine when I had it and it was running properly, but I liked it even more when I parted it out for more than I paid for it. Unless you get it for free or extremely cheap, I'd look for other projects.

Steve

[wh500special 2,237]

I forgot to mention that these and the Dixie choppers of the same era are fraternal twins.

That picture looks like it has a nice seat and deck so it may not be a bad deal. There looks to be some type of overhead valve engine on there in the picture too.

Steve