# Older toro 5/21



## BoRo (Jan 6, 2021)

Hello,

A guy in my neighbourhood has an old Toro 521 for sale. He was initially asking $100. He says it runs but not for long. Sounds like just a carb clean? I asked the last time he had it up and running and he says he doesn’t really know, then offered it to me for $75. I’m not looking to open a can of worms and buy a piece of junk. Does this sound too good to be true? What would you guys do in this situation?


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## BoRo (Jan 6, 2021)




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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

they're great machines and that's a reasonable price IMO. you may have to put money into belts, bushings (impeller, wheel and augers) and possibly new tires or chains since traction would be poor with those tires.

Regarding the engine, it could be fuel but I'm willing to bet those points need to be cleaned (sanded/filed; they're under the flywheel) and it may be due for a valve job leading to low compression.


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

That one appears to be from the mid to late 80s (I used to own one from 1987, I currently own one from 1995).

Are you able to do the work mentioned by @classiccat? If you can't do the work yourself, you could easily spend more $ than what it's worth.


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## BoRo (Jan 6, 2021)

I’m not confident in my abilities, but I can follow a video. I’ve been able to do simple, but getting deep into its bushings n bearings looking slightly above me. Sort of what I mean by opening a can of worms. Thanks for the input, I’ll have to think about it’s little more.


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## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

Do you have an interest in learning and working on the machine? If so, this could be a good machine for you to tear into, fairly straight forward and a well built machine.
Do you have a garage and basic tools to work on the machine?
It looks to be in decent condition and complete. If you find it needs too many $ to get running, or if it is beyond your capability to get running, I'm sure you could recoup your investment.
I would go for it, lot's of help and information available from this site and you tube videos.


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## tpenfield (Feb 24, 2015)

The 521 is one of my favorite machines. Classic Toro durability and throwing power. As you read and learn more about snow blowers and hear about "impeller mods", you will not need to do an "impeller mod" on the 521 to improve the throwing distance, as with many other machines. It is already made to fairly tight tolerances in the impeller housing.

Keep in mind that the machine is 35 years old, so it could use some love (rust removal, painting, etc.). I would buy it at $75 . . . $50 would be a steal. 

You could clean the carburetor/fuel system and see if it can stay running. One thing that you could do to improve the machine is to replace the engine with the Predator 212cc ($100 ish). It bolts right up and uses the same pulley as the original engine.

The other things to check/service/replace on the machine are . . .

1) Gear Box - (front of the machine between the auger drums) make sure there is plenty of grease in the gear box.

2) Impeller Bearing (bushing) - the impeller bearing is actually an oily bushing. See if there is 'play' (up/down movement) in the impeller. The bushing wears out in about 15-20 years and can be replaced fairly easily.

3) Make sure the belts are in good shape.

I have several threads here on the forum about restoration work on my Toro 521. You can also find some videos online of the maintenance, restoration, and improvements that you can make.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

the guy i bought my first 521from told me it needed a carb, he showed me that it did run so i bought it for $85. i paid about $18 for a carb. i had a older toro 826 which got used once after i got the carb installed on the 521 but only because i was having traction issues and needed chains which the 826 had. now i have two 521's, one of them is usually my go to machine


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

It will sit. Offer him $50.


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## BoRo (Jan 6, 2021)

I picked up the blower. The guy told me if I can’t get it running perfectly I can bring it back to him to get my money back and he will just sell it for scrap metal. I cleaned the carb and put in fresh gas and got the engine to run. But there is definitely an issue. A squealing noise and sparks coming from the starter.

Experts please put some knowledge on me

Here’s a video, if you can stand to hear it






Thanks


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## tpenfield (Feb 24, 2015)

Figure out where the noise is coming from. . .

Perhaps it is the belts . . . so remove the belt cover to check

Perhaps it is the air shroud, so see if that has any dents in it that is causing the fan to rub against it.


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