Sold Bike Bought 520H

[cschannuth 3,817]

I've wanted a tractor with a FEL for a while but needed to sell my motorcycle to fund the loader tractor.  Over the summer I was talking with Duke (Horse Fixer) about his 520H but even if I sold my bike, the distance to get his was holding me back.  In late July I thought my Honda was sold and I saw Larry (Elliot Ness) had a C-195 and a loader for sale that might have worked.  He's just an hour up the road from me so that was very close.  Unfortunately, the sale of my bike fell through so I was forced to back out on Larry. (I still feel terrible about that.)  It looks like he has since sold one of his tractors and one of his loaders so I'm happy about that.

 

Well, a few weeks ago my bike sold and I started looking again.  Denny Clarke mentioned that Duke's 520 was still in the classifieds.  Denny also offered to haul it to his house in central Illinois if Duke and I worked out a deal since he and his wife would be in Michigan near Duke's place.  Based on his generous offer, I decided to call Duke.  I called and his wife answered.  As most of you know by now, Duke had a stroke over the summer.  I had no idea at the time so she filled me in on what had happened.  I asked her not to bother him since he was in the hospital at the time but she insisted since he still had the tractor.  Long story even longer, Duke was home and healing by the time the Clarkes made the trip to Michigan and the deal was done.

 

If you remember Duke's add, the 520 was in good shape with a few dents and scratches on the hood and seat pan.  He had decals for the hood and seat pan that he included in the deal.  Since I got it home I started pulling it apart to do some freshening and repairs.  And, as all of you know, once you start digging in to a tractor, you can always find more items to address.  My original plan was to fix the hood, replace the front tires, and a new seat.  First off I'd like to say that Duke had gone through the machine and cleaned and serviced it thoroughly.  He did a great job making this machine nice.  Once I started to pull off tins I found some surface rust and pitting under the floor mats so I decided to work those over too. 

 

I also noticed that the drive belt was really bouncing/slapping inside the belt guard.  As I looked more closely I found the pivot rod that holds the drive belt idler pulley was really sloppy.  It turns out the bushing was gone and a groove had worn in the rod.  I wasn't able to find a rod but I filled it and ordered the inexpensive bushing, wave washer, and shim.  When they come in I hope to put everything back together.

 

Below is a before pic showing how nice it was to start with and then some other pics of my progress.  Sorry for the long winded post.

 

Before:

 

 

 

Here's pics of my rattle can painting.  Remember this is going to be a worker so my painting isn't perfect.

 

 

I was able to heat and remove the existing running board pads and re-use them.

 

 

Since it will eventually get a FEL I put some loaded Ags with inside wheel weights on the rear that I had from another tractor and some 5 ribs on the front.  Since I couldn't find any ribs in 16 - 7.50 I upsized to an 18 - 8.50 Vred 5 rib.  They are big but the tractor is still pretty level and it steers with almost zero effort even when the tractor is sitting still.

 

[953 nut 56,164]

10 minutes ago, cschannuth said:

Long story even longer, Duke was home and healing by the time the Clarkes made the trip to Michigan and the deal was done.

Great to have members help close a deal.    This site is populated by so many great people.   

[cschannuth 3,817]

2 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

Great to have members help close a deal.    This site is populated by so many great people.   

 

It would be tough to find a better guy than Denny Clarke.

[KC9KAS 4,741]

Looks good!

[WHX?? 49,486]

Yup Denny's a strait shooter and knows how to do a  mean 520 himself! Always nice to hear members helping members. I had no idea Duke suffered a stroke...prayers.

Nice work Craig

[cschannuth 3,817]

24 minutes ago, WHX12 said:

Yup Denny's a strait shooter and knows how to do a  mean 520 himself! Always nice to hear members helping members. I had no idea Duke suffered a stroke...prayers.

Nice work Craig

 

Thanks. Denny's 520 is nice. I bought his 701 from him last year. He is a craftsman. 

[cschannuth 3,817]

Got her back together. It's about a 20 footer but I like it. 

 

[dclarke 4,046]

Looks good, Craig! 

[cschannuth 3,817]

19 minutes ago, dclarke said:

Looks good, Craig! 

 

Thanks for the advice and the lead on the seat. It and the switch worked like a champ. 

I was wondering what the size difference would be compared to my 314-8 so I parked them side by side. 

 

[ohiofarmer 3,280]

That idler pulley shaft eating through the bushing can be a real problem. The transmission support tunnel is so thin that there is a cutting action on the bushing. It is in a hidden area, but you need to OIL THEM. I did a farmer repair with one of these--a bronze flange sleeve bearing.

https://www.fastenal.com/products/power-transmission-motors/unmounted-bearings/flanged-sleeve-bearings;jsessionid=B0ABBD78833CAB826C981A93157C9C4E.jvm3?r=~|categoryl1:"603582 Power Transmission 9and Motors"|~ ~|categoryl2:"610631 Unmounted Bearings"|~ ~|categoryl3:"612463 Flanged Sleeve Bearings"|~

 

   I happen to have a 400 series that is a newer tractor, and there is a gas shock which applies tension on the idler pulley. It is much superior to the little spring that tensions my 520,and belt flopping is not an issue. This tells me that Toro knew they had a problem with the tension spring being too short and stiff and therefore not a constant force spring. I finally found a solution to the problem. A strip of rubber band cut from a bicycle or motorcycle tube applies constant tension on the swing shaft and vibration is all but gone. It really does not take gobs of tension on the belt to drive that Eaton because of the tremendous mechanical advantage. Of course, I just mow my yard and don't push snow.

[dclarke 4,046]

9 hours ago, cschannuth said:

 

Thanks for the advice and the lead on the seat. It and the switch worked like a champ. 

 

 

 

Good deal.....Bob Maynard told me about the bolt pattern being different than most and I have the same seat that's on his 416. 

[cschannuth 3,817]

4 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

That idler pulley shaft eating through the bushing can be a real problem. The transmission support tunnel is so thin that there is a cutting action on the bushing. It is in a hidden area, but you need to OIL THEM. I did a farmer repair with one of these--a bronze flange sleeve bearing.

https://www.fastenal.com/products/power-transmission-motors/unmounted-bearings/flanged-sleeve-bearings;jsessionid=B0ABBD78833CAB826C981A93157C9C4E.jvm3?r=~|categoryl1:"603582 Power Transmission 9and Motors"|~ ~|categoryl2:"610631 Unmounted Bearings"|~ ~|categoryl3:"612463 Flanged Sleeve Bearings"|~

 

   I happen to have a 400 series that is a newer tractor, and there is a gas shock which applies tension on the idler pulley. It is much superior to the little spring that tensions my 520,and belt flopping is not an issue. This tells me that Toro knew they had a problem with the tension spring being too short and stiff and therefore not a constant force spring. I finally found a solution to the problem. A strip of rubber band cut from a bicycle or motorcycle tube applies constant tension on the swing shaft and vibration is all but gone. It really does not take gobs of tension on the belt to drive that Eaton because of the tremendous mechanical advantage. Of course, I just mow my yard and don't push snow.

 

 That is very interesting. I was actually thinking that maybe I needed a new spring because the old one had lost its ability to provide enough pressure. How did you attach the rubber without it  easiky breaking?   The changes that I made by rebuilding with the original bushing have calmed the jumping belt enough that it doesn't slap the guard any longer but I can still see it in there jumping around more than it probably should. Thanks for the great insight. 

 

 

[ohiofarmer 3,280]

No great insight, just trial and error brought forth by necessity. I was away from home and used what was laying around, but it worked better than OEM  Maybe I can get a picture of the garage queen 416 and its air piston spring.which also serves as a shock absorber and keeps the belt from vibrating

 

All I did was to put the band over the floorboard peg and cut a slit in the band so the bolt that holds the idler pulley to the swing shaft keeps it in place. My band is from a 3.5 " motorcycle tube and is about 2" wide. You could use about any bicycle tube and experiment with band width or double the number of bands in your assembly. Inner tubes are tough and last a long time.You can get a lifetime supply from just one tube

 

I also have a c141 auto and Wheel Horse used an angle iron against the transmission tunnel for the belt to ride over. The belt probably only deflects a half inch , but that seems to keep it from vibrating. The surface of the angle is polished mirror bright by the belt.

There are pre-drilled holes in the transmission tunnel on my 520, and it certainly looks possible to add another pulley in the path of the belt to calm it down some more.

 

When you think about it the manual transmissions have the clutch pulley to ride over to calm them down. Not so with the auto transmission

Edited September 16, 2017 by ohiofarmer

[Mikey the Monkey 697]

Love the 5 ribs! That is BA

Edited September 16, 2017 by Mikey the Monkey

[cschannuth 3,817]

3 minutes ago, Mikey the Monkey said:

Love the 5 ribs! That is BA

 

Thanks. I have the tri ribs on my 161 and I like these as much, if not more, than those. 

[doc724 925]

I think your rattle can paint job is pretty darn good.  I wish mine came out as nice.

[cschannuth 3,817]

2 hours ago, doc724 said:

I think your rattle can paint job is pretty darn good.  I wish mine came out as nice.

 

Thanks. You can't see all the imperfections in the pics but it looks decent and the metal is protected. 

[WHX?? 49,486]

Just catching up here Craig but looks good from here..... absolutely boss...  with those tires! Rattle can or not looks good when the mud flies!