John deere 7520 any good?

I'm looking at a 7520 john deere with 3 pt, 3 hyd, 1000 pto and quad shift. Has 7945 hrs. who knows price because it's a auction. What are they usually worth in the upper mid west region and are they any good. What are some of the things to watch out for. Tractor would be a backup incase my 5020 crapped out. body appears to be in nice shape, has front and rear hub duals with 20% left on tires.

I don't know it it matters for what you will use it for, but be aware it does NOT have live PTO.

Would be wiser to find another 5020.
Fewer things to go wrong.

Would be used for chisel plowing, mold board plowing and disking. Also may be used for seeding with a standard double disk drill with packing wheels. live pto will not be needed. but a pto in general would be nice just incase.

I have had a 7520 since the late 90's and it has been a great tractor. It has good power and it is reliable.
The cab is very loud and some parts like the radiator are NLA. If the tires are only 20 percent I would pass on it unless you can get it real cheap.

(quoted from post at 07:43:21 03/20/15) I'm looking at a 7520 john deere with 3 pt, 3 hyd, 1000 pto and quad shift. Has 7945 hrs. who knows price because it's a auction. What are they usually worth in the upper mid west region and are they any good. What are some of the things to watch out for. Tractor would be a backup incase my 5020 crapped out. body appears to be in nice shape, has front and rear hub duals with 20% left on tires.

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I would be leary of any 7520 with those hours. There are a lot of little things that start to wear out and need attention. If the motor has never been rebuilt then I would stay away from it completely. Here in the midwest, decent ones will bring 8-14k, depending on condition, tires, and hours. I gave 9 for mine a couple years ago and was quite pleased. It has 5,400 hours on it, but pretty original overall. Will be restoring it someday, but not sure right now if I want to keep it original or put a sound-gard on it. I don't mind using it for a few acres but would not want to be in it all day. It's hot/noisy and rides rough, but does a nice job pulling. It's def. nicer though than a cab 5020/6030 tractor. The traction advantage is just no comparison. In a pinch it would be fine I think. A part time mechanic/farmer I know in OH told me that if he wasn't a mechanic, he couldn't afford to own one. Like said, the more hours they get, the more intensive the repairs can be. Because of those factors, I almost think that it would be better to leave them to the collector market instead of trying to make user tractors out of them.

If you do check one out, be sure to check out where the steering cylinders attach to the rear end. They were notorious for pulling loose and bending the entire steel hinge housing. Luckily mine had already had a plate welded in to beef up that area to prevent that. I have seen a couple other 75s that have had some unsightly butcher repair jobs to that area.

Overall, I think you might be better served to spend a tad more and go for a 8630/40. Those tractors are getting a little cheaper now and are a lot more enjoyable to run. Once you get a taste of 4wd power and traction, it will be hard to go back to 2wd.

Hi from what I see around here. a lot of the
newer 4wd in those series are starting to want
money spending on them to, if they worked hard
for there keep or got higher hours on.
I just had to tell one guy scrap his 7000 hr
8430, he told me to look at an 8440 for him. I
priced some parts for the bottom 4wd shaft to
the front axle, where it runs through the pivot
and casting that was $3000 plus fitting. the
seller then told me it wouldn't start if the
sun went behind the clouds, They had just
"shoved" a head gasket in and it needed the
motor doing.
At least the guy was honest as he knew the
story with the guys other one, and wouldn't
sell it to him!
Be very careful with any JD 4wd pivot steer.
they can all become money pits fast if your
unlucky, as with any color tractor parts are
getting crazy priced to..
Regards Robert

Most I've seen them go for around here is around $8,000. Still a few being used around here and they seemed to have a better reputation then the next couple of series. A 30 series 4x4 or newer is not going to be any easier or cheaper to work on and so the only thing you would be gaining is a nicer cab. I find it hilarious people bash the 7520 as being a money pit but then recommend a 30 series. Don't be afraid of the 7520 if it goes cheap at the auction say maybe $3,000 to $5,000. At that price you can run it till it breaks. They are not as bad as some make it out to be. And if you are still keeping a 5020 going then you shouldn't have a problem with the 7520. So what if it costs a little bit of money in maintenance or repairs. I haven't been around too many tractors that didn't needed some type of work by the 8,000 hr mark. Plus just look at what a new tractor cost. Let us know how it turns out at the auction.

I have seen two non running 7520s in the last year bring 7k in dead row at auction. I am not quite sure why. They weren't pretty or nothing either and needed a lot more than just a motor. I was hoping to pick one up for 3-4k for a project but no go. Not putting 7k into one and another 5-7 on a motor and then who knows what. The 531 in those is a decent motor but still prone to premature oil pump drive failure, just like in the 6030s. Plust they are kind of a turd a low rpm. On the other side of the coin, many 8630s for example have already had 50 series 619s installed, which is a much better motor and lots of torque at low rpm. Below a pic of the one I had. It alredy had a 50 series engine when we got it and was a mechanically sound tractor.

I'm sure you could argue it either way if you want to, whether it's cost or whatever. But for me personally, there's no way I would farm with a 7520 if I had a chance to snag one of these in decent shape. Both are going to require maintenance and neither is easy to work on. But there are a lot of obsolete parts on 7520s and they can be hard to locate at salvage yards. 30/40 series is going to be a lot easier in that regard. Also, with the 30/40 series, I think you're getting a lot more than just a nicer cab. Much better trans--with on-the-go hi/lo you must admit is darn nice, easier shifting in general, live pto, better seat and a/c, easier cab access, better lighting, much better steering, clutch, and hydraulics, better cooling, larger axles, more weight, better 3pt, etc, etc. They are just easier to run IMO. If you need someone to run it that's not as experienced, the 8630 is much more forgiving in that respect. I would be scared to death to turn just anyone loose in a 7520 and hope they don't tear it up.

Just curious if you remember the serial # of the 8630 you used to own.

I have owned #2092 since 1977.

<img src = "http://www.gondtc.com/~blweltin/Bob/StuckOne.jpg">

(quoted from post at 19:10:12 03/20/15) Just curious if you remember the serial # of the 8630 you used to own.

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I don't, but pretty sure it was a 76 model.

I bought a 7520 about 5 years ago, Had some things go bad on it but got things worked out.
Had the pump turned up to much dinod at 235 & JD quit at that point they thought things might brake if they went further.
Now its at 225, It works good no problems in the last 4 years, Only had to replace a Injector line.
It has the big wide tires on it, Its a good cheaper 4X4.