New JD 3520 photos

[Whisper35]

Thanks Gary. I was wanting to get the Imatch, but I wanted to know a little bit more about it before I bought one. I don't have too many rear attachments yet. But I have intentions of acquiring a few more.

I did order one yesterday and I can pick it up when I get home. I'll get a feww extra sets of bushings too when I pick it up.

Thanks again

 

[Whisper35]

No Worries Geezer,

I appreciate you getting back to me though. I did order the Imatch and I'll be picking it when I get back home.
I think that it will be a benefit to me as a bad wheel makes it tough sometimes to get on/off the tractor.

I'll check back in the Summer and see how you like than. Enjoy the seat time.

Sorry, Whisper35, I didn't see your post until now.

I wondered about the same thing. The short answer seems to be "no". It's easy to grab bushings from an unused implement and put them on - sort of like moving drilled pins from one to another. It's convenient to have them on each implement ready-to-go though.

At this early stage, I'm not wild about the iMatch. I also wasn't wild about the Pat's Quick Hitch I bought for my old JD755. In both cases, the problems might be just new-gear stiffness and my lack of experience, so... ask me in a year. For now, it isn't saving me any time but it definitely is saving me some physical grunt-work manhandling implements into position. Many of my implements are older and may not be iMatch-compatible, so I still have to see whether that is a big deal.

So far, the top'n'tilt seems to save my bacon when I use the iMatch. Without it, nothing lines up quite right and I imagine I'd be back to wrestling implements around, half-an-inch at a time. My implements sit on gravel or on blocks on gravel, not on a level concrete floor, so no doubt that is part of the problem.

There's definitely a learning-curve and coordination issues in play and (he adds sheepishly) I'm no longer young so maybe those are the main issues.

 

[aigeezer]

extra sets of bushings

Whisper35, my Deere sales guy said he tends to have extra bushing sets on hand from customers who buy implements but don't use iMatch (each new implement comes with one set these days, I think). He brought me an extra set. I didn't notice until much later that my various implements each have different length pins and that the bushings that came with the new implements were also in various lengths. When I looked closely, I found that the spare set he brought me was too long for any of my implements, but I'm guessing I can hacksaw them into two pair. Anyway, you may want to take measurements with you when you get your extra bushings.

While I think of it... I may have to take my iMatch off from time to time if it turns out not to be compatible with some of the implements. It looks easy enough, but they have used cotter pins rather than quick-release pins where it attaches to the 3PH. That might be because of my top'n'tilt rig, I'm not sure, but it might be something you'd want to change if you think you might not want the iMatch on all the time.

One more thing... the iMatch turned out to be really handy for refuelling the tractor from a 5-gallon plastic fuel container. I had wondered how to handle the high fender-mounted fill location. It turns out the container can rest easily on the raised iMatch, supported with one hand while the other hand guides the pour spout. That's a big deal at my age. ;-)

 

[scollins]

God, how I want a 3520 cab tractor! I have been freezing my "axe" off and been getting stuck for 5 years now with an open cab 2305.

I was going to trade "up" until my wife gave up her job and I had to take over her truck payments.

I would get a front angle blade and rear 3 point snow blower. YEHAA!

Right now, I dread pushing snow at -30 wind chill - but it sure beats shoveling. I put my gloves over the exhaust to warm them up and had to put a padded wheel cover over the steering wheel because the plastic gets so cold and goes right through the gloves.

Oh well - 5 months to spring time.

SC

 

[aigeezer]

View attachment 289160

Here's a photo of the switch panel. To activate the hydraulics for the TNT, you turn on the switch labelled in Roman numerals II/III, the one with an image of a gear and a book on it! It sounds ridiculous when I put it like that, but the icons actually make perfect sense once you get used to them. Once the switch is activated, the loader joystick controls the TNT instead of the loader.

Edit: I just added a Frontier AV20H root grapple to my collection. Photos anon, but for now it's worth mentioning that the switch in this photo labelled with Roman numeral I activates the hydraulic circuit for the "thumb" on the grapple. The switch resets whenever the ignition is turned off, presumably for safety. Once the switch is toggled on, the little grey control pad in the main joystick controls the thumb. It's easy to use in practice. The hydraulic hoses are very long and have to go from the rear of the tractor to the very front. I had them snag on brush a few times, both around the grapple itself and also under the tractor. I replaced the dealer-installed hose clips as they broke and made slight adjustments to the routing. So far, so good. When I change back to the bucket (very easy to do) the hydraulic hoses remain and are a bit of a nuisance. I could remove and reroute them each time but it would be a hassle. One last thought - I found out the hard way that the hoses for the thumb cannot be reconnected if there is pressure in the lines (doh) and the easiest way to relieve pressure is to open a T-handle valve behind the cab. It's right there in the manual - who knew?

 

[aigeezer]

Geezer;
Thanks for the picture of the grille guard.. Now I feel obligated to update mine. Wouldn't you know after it is shiney painted and working fine the new style appears out of no where. I have been making some trails and moving brush. It crossed my mind several times to protect the expensive hood / lights.

Agent Blue, I was thinking about your old post the other day when I was clearing brush and somehow wedged an unseen bough between the grille guard and the mesh grille it "protects". Now I've got a shiny grille guard but a dented mesh grille. The mesh looks soft enough to push back into place by hand (like my old 755) but it's actually very stiff and, so far, too hard to get to with the loader on. Anyway, brush and rocks always seem to find a way, no matter how hard we try to keep the green shiny. I bent my new cab step fairly severely too, but that's another story - not too unexpected, the step just hangs in harm's way if you get into mud and rocks. One that springs up out of the way might work better.

Regardless, I hope your grille and grille guard are still shining, whether or not you updated.