# Thinking of Getting this Toro 521



## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

I can get this old Toro 521 for $100 locally. Pretty tempting. From what I gather they're pretty solid units and most parts are still readily available for them. This isn't the prettiest one I've seen, but it's been gone through by the mechanic who owns it and he says everything works as it should. He's actually the head mechanic at the Husqvarna shop in town. I saw it in the shop when I was there last week and then just saw it on FB Marketplace. 

Any good reason not to get this machine?


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

i'm tempted to get another 521


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## arienskids (Jan 26, 2018)

Those are good machines, i would reccomend investing in different wheels and tires. Older mtd wheels usually fit.


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

Keep in mind that it is the older version where the drive and auger levers face down. I prefer the newer ones where the levers face up. If you are ok with that, by all means.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

It's niche will be as a small path machine that I can haul on my plow truck along with a single stage. I've got a couple of accounts with long paths across the lawn. The single stages don't exactly shine for that. I have the ST224P for the bigger storms but want a small 2 stage that I can haul around for all "plowable" storms. I'll probably use it for the detail work at my place too rather than spitting gravel from my 224. 

Yeah, the tires are outdated for sure. I'm sure I can adapt to the handles. 

I already told him to consider it sold. It's a running and operating unit that was just serviced by a professional mechanic with over 30 years of experience. I can always give it to my son if it doesn't work out for me. He's in Eastern Massachusetts where they get a good bit of snow and he only has a single stage. I think I'd be kicking myself if I don't grab it.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

put an impeller kit on that 521 if you get it


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

detdrbuzzard said:


> put an impeller kit on that 521 if you get it


I'll probably just hit it with a wire brush and a rattle can, drop the skids a bit and call it good. Chances are that I won't modify it unless its performance is in the poor category.


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

Also, the older ones have a shorter chute than the later ones, but I believe the newer chute would be a drop-in upgrade. Here's a pic of the taller chute:


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

db130 said:


> Also, the older ones have a shorter chute than the later ones, but I believe the newer chute would be a drop-in upgrade. Here's a pic of the taller chute:
> 
> View attachment 189835


The owner of the unit said that he works on a lot of 521s. They used to be a Toro dealer. He says that they don't throw snow very far but they're build like tanks unlike the (expletive omitted) Huskys. I'm sure he got it for free. People give him equipment all of the time. I've given him a fair amount myself.

I'll take delivery of it this weekend. That will be Toro snow blower #4 and 7 total snow blowers but one is on indefinite loan to my son.

I'm not likely to do anything with it except touch it up and spray it with Fluid Film.


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## carguy20 (Feb 8, 2021)

Nice little machine. $100 seems a little high to me, but that may be a good price in your area. 

I would maybe try to talk him down a little bit on the price, or see if he would be willing to put a different set of tires on it for you. Maybe you pay for the tires and he replaces them for free. Or throw in a spare set of skid shoes.


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

carguy20 said:


> Nice little machine. $100 seems a little high to me, but that may be a good price in your area.
> 
> I would maybe try to talk him down a little bit on the price, or see if he would be willing to put a different set of tires on it for you. Maybe you pay for the tires and he replaces them for free. Or throw in a spare set of skid shoes.


Too late, I didn't even try to negotiate price being that it's fully serviced and operational. I trust his word and work. It will be an occasional use machine for me.


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## carguy20 (Feb 8, 2021)

If you are satisfied, then that is all that is matters.


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## BullFrog (Oct 14, 2015)

Darryl G said:


> I'll take delivery of it this weekend. That will be Toro snow blower #4 and 7 total snow blowers but one is on indefinite loan to my son.
> 
> I'm not likely to do anything with it except touch it up and spray it with Fluid Film.


Congrats. For a hundred bucks you can't go too wrong. 👍


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

BullFrog said:


> Congrats. For a hundred bucks you can't go too wrong. 👍


That's my thinking. 

The starter was shot. He replaced that with a used one and went over the machine from scraper blade to handlebar tip. That alone is worth $100 in my book. He might drop it off this evening. 

If it saves me an hour at some point on my plow route it will have paid for itself. Anything to be more efficient. I clocked 30 hours in a 36 hour period working our last storm that was in the 12 to 16 inch range in my area. That doesn't include my own place which is of course done last. That's a lot for me. I'll be 60 in April. I miss having my son's around to help...


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## BullFrog (Oct 14, 2015)

Apparently I'm in denial but my wife says I'm not getting any younger. I'll be 68 this year. We don't get much snow here so for 99% of the time a leaf blower or push shovel is sufficient, but if I can only have one for the occasional heavy storm it has to be a dual-stage.

To me a reliable snowblower is like having an insurance policy, its nice to have when needed. That's why I bought new.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

db130 said:


> Also, the older ones have a shorter chute than the later ones, but I believe the newer chute would be a drop-in upgrade. Here's a pic of the taller chute:
> 
> View attachment 189835


correct the older 521's with hard rubber tires have the thick metal short chute and the tall chute will bolt right on. i do the parking spot in front of my house and with the short chute i couldn't get the snow past my walkway but with the tall chute i can get the snow on the main part of the front lawn, i'm glad i changed the chute


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

BullFrog said:


> Apparently I'm in denial but my wife says I'm not getting any younger. I'll be 68 this year. We don't get much snow here so for 99% of the time a leaf blower or push shovel is sufficient, but if I can only have one for the occasional heavy storm it has to be a dual-stage.
> 
> To me a reliable snowblower is like having an insurance policy, its nice to have when needed. That's why I bought new.


This is my current fleet of 5. I like to have options and backups.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

Darrly your fleet looks a lot like mine did, a few single stage machines and a large two stage machine. sometimes the snow is not enough for my 824 and while my 2450 ( single stage ) will handle it i find the 521 to be a better choice plus its easier to transport. the 824 is better in very deep snow but the 521 will work its way through. i don't know how it works on EOD snow, being in the hood its something i don't have to deal with


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## BullFrog (Oct 14, 2015)

Darryl G said:


> This is my current fleet of 5. I like to have options and backups.
> View attachment 189949


Nice. 👍 Is that a little Honda in the back row? If I had the space I wouldn't mind a little tweener like that. Perhaps after I sell the Gold Wing.


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

BullFrog said:


> Nice. 👍 Is that a little Honda in the back row? If I had the space I wouldn't mind a little tweener like that. Perhaps after I sell the Gold Wing.


Yes, a Honda HS520. Great machine but being north of 80 pounds its a little heavy to lift into my truck repeatedly. That's why I bought the Toro single stage (SS) units. I had refurbished a SS Simplicity 2 stroke but I left that with one of my sons after helping him move to a new apartment during a snow storm. So I got 3 Toros to replace it, lol. Total purchase price for the 3 was $180.


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## tpenfield (Feb 24, 2015)

I have a Toro 521 . . . great machine. Excellent for re-powering with a 212cc Predator. In my experience, the impeller-to-housing clearance is tight enough that you won't need to do an impeller mod.

If I could grab another one for $50-100, I'd do it.


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## 350Rocket (11 mo ago)

Darryl G said:


> Too late, I didn't even try to negotiate price being that it's fully serviced and operational. I trust his word and work. It will be an occasional use machine for me.


Around here $100 would not likely get you a running machine unless you're buying from a friend or family. I just paid $350 for a 1979 MTD, before a looming snowstorm a few weeks ago. Nothing cheaper at the time, after the storm there are a number of them for $200-250 running. My timing was just bad, but I needed it and so far it's holding up.


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

350Rocket said:


> Around here $100 would not likely get you a running machine unless you're buying from a friend or family. I just paid $350 for a 1979 MTD, before a looming snowstorm a few weeks ago. Nothing cheaper at the time, after the storm there are a number of them for $200-250 running. My timing was just bad, but I needed it and so far it's holding up.


Yeah, same here. $100 gets you a 2-stage unit with a blown motor or a single stage that doesn't run.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

i got my hard rubber tire 521 for $85 but it needed a carb ( $22). wanted a taller chute $20
paid $150 for my other 521, it needed nothing


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

detdrbuzzard said:


> i got my hard rubber tire 521 for $85 but it needed a carb ( $22). wanted a taller chute $20
> paid $150 for my other 521, it needed nothing


One of the attractive things about this 521 is that it was just gone through by someone who has been working on them since they were new. He's a full-time equipment mechanic at a dealer/rental yard. I pay $85/hr for his time when he works on my stuff on the clock.

It's not reconditioned, just fully serviced and serviceable. My hope is that it will fit rearward of my truck wheel wells alongside a single stage machine and a bin of sand and salt. I can't do that with my Husqvarna 224 and it's hard to see through/around.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

i had a van and would put the CCR2450e in it and carry one of my 521's on the hitch rack. if i were you i would get the 521 and add an impeller kit for wet very wet snow try it with the short chute and consider getting a tall chute if you need a little more distance


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

detdrbuzzard said:


> i had a van and would put the CCR2450e in it and carry one of my 521's on the hitch rack. if i were you i would get the 521 and add an impeller kit for wet very wet snow try it with the short chute and consider getting a tall chute if you need a little more distance


Sounds like a good plan. 

I fear what would happen if I had a SB on a hitch rack. You should see my rear bumper, lol.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

Darryl G said:


> Sounds like a good plan.
> 
> I fear what would happen if I had a SB on a hitch rack. You should see my rear bumper, lol.


nothing would happen to your bumper, the rack is supported by your trailer hitch receiver


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

detdrbuzzard said:


> nothing would happen to your bumper, the rack is supported by your trailer hitch receiver


You misunderstand. I tend to back into things. The rack and blower would become my bumper which wouldn't be good. I back through some pretty big piles at times too.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

i've backed into a few snow banks with the rack on, looking for another astro or safari for that reason


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## 350Rocket (11 mo ago)

detdrbuzzard said:


> i've backed into a few snow banks with the rack on, looking for another astro or safari for that reason


My dad has a 98 with AWD sitting in the yard. It had an ignition issue that he intended to fix but then he got sick with Lyme disease and it never happened. He bought that when I was 18 so 20 years ago and replaced it with a new Jeep TJ Rubicon in 2005 which he still drives. He loved that van for it's seats and how good the all wheel drive worked.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

detdrbuzzard said:


> i'm tempted to get another 521


I just bought another one, myself.


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## asavage (Dec 20, 2021)

detdrbuzzard said:


> . . . looking for another astro or safari for that reason


AWD vans are slim pickin's.

The last of my five Aerostars was the last year of production: 1997, and AWD, and in 2017 it was getting pretty long in the tooth and though I'd kept it up very well, the writing was on the wall: cracked head (and valve seat recession) meant I had to run the cooling system unpressurized, and I still had to change out spark plug #1 every month -- I got very fast at it, from the fenderwell and 30" of extensions. I was NOT going to do another top end rebuild on a Aerostar, not with a 4.0l. R&R heads in vans . . . BTDT, not again. I hated to sell it, but sell it I did, and replaced it with . . .

. . . a 2010 Toyota Sienna LE AWD, the last year with a truly "flat" floor; 2011-on have trolleys in the floor that the seats attach to, so even with seats removed the floor isn't flat. And I rarely have any rear seats installed.

The Sienna is a whole different class of comfort from the Aerostar, but . . . it's 1000 lbs heavier and 100 HP more oomph. Mileage is about the same, maybe a tad better. The Aero's venerable pushrod 4.0l -- with the one-year-only 5-spd automatic -- turned in around 19-20 MPG at my typical slowish highway speeds. The Sienna's 3.3l gets 20-22 on the same route/speeds. 2010 Sienna's 5-spd auto -- not universal in 2010 -- and 266 HP, and disc brakes all around (the Aero had smallish disks front, drums rear) makes towing much easier than the Aero, and I used to do a LOT of towing.

Truly, I only wish I could have found a late Gen II Sienna in Green with AWD in the Limited trim level, instead of the LE trim I settled on (but it only had 85k on it, in 2018, when I bought it). Green + AWD + Limited + reasonable miles were a hard combo to find within a thousand miles of me, I looked for over a year and settled for LE trim (no leather, no backup cam, no Nav, fewer dome lights, and like that). 

I've only had to replace the rear brakes (everything) in the intervening years, but then I only drive it 3k/year now; we have two BEVs -- _not_ hybrids -- that handle everything except interstate trips with dogs, or towing. The BEVs -- and 9.6kw solar -- are a whole lot cheaper than running liquid fuel.


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

My cousin had a 1995 Astro conversion van, 2WD that he bought new and drove for 20+ years. He finally retired it due to rear suspension issues. Something about fiberglass Corvette leaf springs and bad mounts. I don't remember exactly, but it wasn't worth fixing. I know that they had to separate the body from the frame to do something at some point. That wasn't cheap. 

I drove a 1985 Econoline E350 with a Pathfinder 4WD conversion for a few weeks as the support driver for a backpacking expedition on the Continental Divide Trail. I was actually one of the hikers but our drivers bailed so I volunteered to drive for a while. That thing was sweet but boy was it thirsty. The dual fuel tanks were definitely needed. It wasn't exactly fun to drive on washboarded dirt roads in Montana though, it was really stiff and rattled you to death. I got stopped for speeding hauling a$$ on a dirt highway and the fine was $5. The officer told me that if I get stopped again today to show the officer the ticket and tell him that I already got one today. Seriously. 

I think we're a little off topic though...


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## 350Rocket (11 mo ago)

asavage said:


> AWD vans are slim pickin's.
> 
> The last of my five Aerostars was the last year of production: 1997, and AWD, and in 2017 it was getting pretty long in the tooth and though I'd kept it up very well, the writing was on the wall: cracked head (and valve seat recession) meant I had to run the cooling system unpressurized, and I still had to change out spark plug #1 every month -- I got very fast at it, from the fenderwell and 30" of extensions. I was NOT going to do another top end rebuild on a Aerostar, not with a 4.0l. R&R heads in vans . . . BTDT, not again. I hated to sell it, but sell it I did, and replaced it with . . .
> 
> ...


I remember cracked heads being very common on the old 4.0 ohv. The newer sohc traded that issue for timing component failures. I worked at a Ford dealership around 2004-2005.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

That 521 is being offered free IMHO....the work that was done on it is worth more then $100. Take any blower into an OPE shop that is an operational machine, and it will cost $150 to tune it up and adjust anything, IF it doesn't need any parts. For a snowblower that has been gone through by a truly experienced snowblower mechanic, $100 is giveaway.


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

cranman said:


> That 521 is being offered free IMHO....the work that was done on it is worth more then $100. Take any blower into an OPE shop that is an operational machine, and it will cost $150 to tune it up and adjust anything, IF it doesn't need any parts. For a snowblower that has been gone through by a truly experienced snowblower mechanic, $100 is giveaway.


Yup, that's my thinking. He's very familiar with them. He said that they sold a ton of them when they were a Toro dealer and he still works on a lot of them. He's even going to deliver it to me. And I get a machine that I won't feel too bad about leaving in my truck bed for days at a time or spitting gravel with at my place.


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

I got the machine and it fits with the Honda HS520 with a sand & salt bin. But I can't fit my arched aluminum ramps. Looks like I'll have to take the folding steel ones or lift one of my lighter 2 stage units over the side. The folding ramps are more cumbersome to handle. I'll do some experimenting and figure it out.


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

This is how I'm rolling tomorrow. I just have to fold the Powerlite chute down so I don't break it. The Powerlite is secured separately from the 521 so both it and the bin can come out without unstrapping the Toro.


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

Update: The little 521 failed miserably yesterday in about 2 inches of mostly sleet. Traction from those tires is poorer than I expected. Part of the problem was likely that I had the skids set at 3/4 of and inch because I intended to use it almost exclusively on lawns and gravel. Leaving that much sleet under the tires rendered it unable to make much forward progress. I've raised the skids up but now everything is frozen solid so I'm unable to do any further testing.


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

yeah, those tires are horrible. I replaced my 421 wheel/tire with a set from (I think) and Ariens Compact 24. Much better now.


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## Darryl G (Feb 5, 2017)

Going to get these. Looks like they are for a 1 inch axle but I can add a bushing. The price is right, free.


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## asavage (Dec 20, 2021)

This is the wheel on my 1985 826. I sure wish someone had a pair of Carlisles on those on nice, clean rims around here!

When you pick those up, see if they have the jaw clutches on the backside. They're integral to the wheel, not a separate part.


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