Leaderboard

Well I finally got an rj58. it took some wheeling and dealing but i finally got one!! lol.. i started out with buying a tractor for $200 and traded 3 times to get my rj! i dont know much about these older horses. it has a 4hp kohler that runs great since i cleaned the carb. and there isnt a spot of rust on it anywhere. the hood is dented a little bit but its nothing that cant be pounded out. im gonna make this my winter project. can u please look at the pics and let me know if its missing anything. thanks ralph

Here's the new 702... with it's red, white, and rusty paint job...fresh from it's first oil bath. Hey, if you can't beat 'em...join 'em...right?

Well guys,had a great day at charlotte today and ended up picking up a 875 today. I've always like the styling of these tractors and wouldn't mind owning a hydrostatic tractor and then I found this one today. I picked this up from bill fercho,he said he is not on here,but I'm sure some of you know him. It runs pretty good but needs some carburetor work. Has a brand new keyswitch in it. There are some changes that will need to be done to it but nothing major. The lift has been changed to a hydraulic lift (which I kind of like) so it will probably get left on there. There are for some reason someone cut the belt guard around the motor,they did it to the frame too by the mower deck. The transmission has been changed to a newer one and it does leak a little,someday I will change it but I will just use it for now. it needs the correct seat and a couple other small things but its a pretty nice tractor. Here is a pic,sorry I couldn't get a very good one,I will try to get some better ones tomorrow. It was rained on so it is wet in the pic.~ Jake don't know why the camera keeps doing this date thing Need to figure out how to reset it.

Hi guys, I have been looking for a while and have finally purchased a tractor. I found a 96 520H with under 500 hours and in great condition. It has a 60" mower deck on it. It does not have a sleeve hitch and I would like to put on one it. In doing my research it would appear I need the actual hitch and a lift cable and a few other items. What exactly do I need and where is the best place to source these parts? Here are a few pictures and thanks for the help!

I have the TP SkatBlast 850 with the vac system, foot pedal upgrade, and final filter bag. I run a 40 gallon single stage Husky (which is made by Cambell Hausfeld) and it works amazing. I used to use much lager SkatBlast cabinets years ago in a welding shop and we never had a single issue with them. I dont have one residual spec of sand anywhere. I do run two moisture traps though. One immediatly out of the compressor and one right before the cabinet itself. If I blast for a long time I need to periodically evacuate the traps but never have issues in the cabinet. They seem expensive out of the gate, but its money well spent in my opinion.

C/L find today, 2nd owner had it for the last 25 years thinking it was an 854, but based on the K-161 and one piece fuel tank...I'm thinking it's actually a 701...hard to tell, wrong seat, steering wheel, incorrect belt guard...anyway to confirm with numbers, or photos, either way? My guess is based on the motor, but I supposed that could've been swapped too at some point. Anyway, it's a running tractor that came with a couple attachments, a working rotary mower deck that's pretty quiet...but riddled with cancer. A front reel mower and mount that he's never used. A snow blade and rear axle mount. Extra set of rims and turfs. Also a brand new Carlisle turfs on the tractor mounted on what I think are virtually new Cub rims. Smoked like a chimney on initial start up, but he said it's been sitting unused for the last two years. Started it up here after I got home tonight, smoked for a minute and cleared right up...even engaged the deck and mowed the back yard real quick before putting it away...looks like a brute, but actually the motor seems pretty strong, and the tranny shifts as it should. I probably paid too much for it but considering the buck fifty I gave for the package...over all...I'm pretty stoked. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1rEs0Y05pE&feature=youtu.be

Nice deal. As for the deck, being a square one, you could actually fab up a new shell for it.

Craig: I like everything about that non-looker tractor and the front reel mower makes it very special. It's a Work Horse -Not a Show Horse! And congratulations on getting to mow the grass -I have done it once this year!

:woohoo: Success! I actually got the reel mower mounted up today. Surprisingly quiet, and extremely smooth while operating too. Overall, this thing cuts like a dream. I gotta admit, I'm really impressed...just too bad my yard is so small. The added weight out front reely(pun intended)makes it want to push through any tight turns, so you have to be ready to lift some of the weight off the front end to actually make it turn when you want it to. Either that or I still need some fine adjustments to make it perfect. Once mounted to the tractor frame, set up was really easy too. Just had to take the idler pulley off the right side foot control, and connect the bar to the pedal to engage power to the unit. Like I said...other than my yard being so small, I've got nothing but praise for this little guy. Not too shabby considering it sat in a dirt floor shed for the past twenty five years, huh? I've included a short video showing the reel in operation today...watch when it first starts up, you can see as I'm coming toward the camera, the front wheels, at full lock...pushing through the turn. Probably wouldn't ever see that on a level yard with nice long straights though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdrVLd5gXoE&list=UUd_ptV1TUpPlW1VhCjxez_Q&index=3&feature=plcp

Looking good! An old Allis Chalmers dealer here in town used to say "A good coat of paint will cover a lot of sins!"

I've blasted in the concrete driveway and just swept up and sifted the sand back into the tank. However the sand covers a large area. I've also built a light weight booth out of four, 1/4 inch, 4x8 sheets of plywood layed on their sides to keep the material from traveling too far. I placed these over a tarp on my then gravel driveway and just swept the sand up and refilled. I framed the plywood sheets with 2x2 and bolted them together with 1/4 carrige bolts. I left one corner open so I could get in and out. This helped to keep the sand somewhat contained. Hope this helps give you some ideas.

Does dual pipes qualify?

I'll chime in with something to ask the dealer. Did he ever have to service the engine? If he sold it or serviced it, was it for the exhaust valve seat.? If so, how many times was it "repaired"? Does he have any service records for the machine? Look to see if it has possibly been taken apart. Next, remove the battery and take a real good look at the electrical connectors under the battery compartment. If the machine spent any time outside, this area will show it. Look for "goofball" repairs and crappy wire splices. Look for anything "bypassed". Check for corrosion on the fuse block and any frame corrosion below where the battery sat. Check the tires. At that many hours, the rear turf tires should be worn but not worn out. If they are worn out, it may have more hours on it than it's showing. That tractor pictured is newer than a 1990. Run the model and serial number on the Toro site and get the real year of it. I won't offer a price you should pay because it is wildly different between people and their preferances. I will say that after I bought my 520-H, the "hype" over it quickly faded. I'll take my 8 speeds over that clunky hydro operation any day. My old 1967 857, the C Series and 300 series tractors I have require much less maintenance and TLC than the 520 and my 416-8 speed. Maybe if I mowed a footbal field, I would appreciate the 520 hydro more. One acre is all I do with trees on it and the 8 speeds work much better for me.