Branson 4520R New Owner

JonnyRed · Feb 26, 2016

After much research and several test drives of other brands I ended up purchasing a 2016 Branson 4520R today. I also picked up a 6' bush hog, 6' box blade and a set of ssqa pallet forks. I didn't find much in the way of reviews on this particular tractor on the web so I intend on documenting things here as time goes on. This is my first tractor and I am going to use it on my 7 acre home site.

On to the pics!

Helitech · Feb 26, 2016

Congrats on the new ride! I've got about 30 hours on my 5220r so far and I'm loving it!

JonnyRed · Feb 27, 2016

Did some work on pine trees today.

Found the relief valve on the loader pretty quickly!

After putting the tractor in the garage for the night I attempted to remove the nuts that hold the tire/outer rim on in order to gain some width on the back for next time out.

Quickly realized that when bolts are torqued to 200 + Ft Lbs a 1/2 breaker bar and a cheater pipe aren't enough. Going to Harbor Freight to pick up a 3/4 breaker bar, 3/4 6" extension and a 3/4 24mm socket.

I'll document the width in the rear prior and after I extend both sides, should gain 3-4 " I would guess.

Texasmark · Feb 27, 2016

I assume the 200 # torque is specified in your service manual.

Curious as to why you have ag tires on the rear and industrials on the front. Industrials don't grip like ag tires if you plan on using your 4wd that much. Flip side is that with the almost continuous rib down the center industrials ride smoother than ag. Gotta decide what's important. My 6530 has both ag. to do ag chores. The 2400 has ind and ind and is an around the house helper and grass mower. Don't need a lot of traction but want the soft ride.

If you are going to do something about what they sold you, now is the time to do it. Don't wait.

JonnyRed · Feb 28, 2016

The torque spec is actually 250 # torque on outer wheel bolts according to the manual.

The pictures must be deceiving because all 4 tires are R4.

Fronts are Galaxy 12X16.5 XD2010
Rears are Galaxy 16.9-24 EZ Rider R4

You made me look though. :thumbsup:

coralhead · Feb 28, 2016

These are the agri tires on my 4520R. I purchased mine last fall and am really happy with it. Just did my 50 oil service yesterday. Congrats on your purchase. I spread my rear tires out as well and gained 4" on the spread. Are your tires filled with fluid? When I moved mine out I removed the center dish as well and did the move then put the wheels back on the lug nuts. The fit between the dish and the rims can be pretty tight. I did it this way because I did not want to scratch up the new wheels and took advantage of the fixed studs in the hub to help get the wheel assembly back on the tractor. (Note: picture is before wheel move)

JonnyRed · Feb 28, 2016

Looks good coral, I like the look of agri tires. I haven't had any traction issues worth mentioning yet with the R4's on mine. Just hit 7 hours on it. I do not have any liquid ballast in the rear tires yet, figure I will carry the box blade to help with that. I like your idea of removing the entire wheel to facilitate the width adjustment, I was simply going to remove the outer nuts and rotate the rim "over" the center dish. I don't want to scratch my wheels but I am not going to lose any sleep over it if I do. Did you torque everything back to spec or did you just go as tight as you could? I picked up a 300 ft lb torque wrench at harbor freight for $59 with my discount. Let me know if you have any issues I might want to look out for. So far only minor things on mine like one of the rops pins is a pain in the *ss to get in and out. Upon inspection it just doesn't line up as good as it should, I'll have to see if I can bend it into position or maybe just grind some of the material off of the pin. Also had one of my grease zerks (front zerk on front axle) that didn't initially want to take any grease, I tried again after running machine today and it took the grease. How are you running your machine to make sure that the tier 4 emissions is working as it should? My dealer recommended running the tractor at around 2300 rpms or so the majority of the time. I just don't know if going in and out of reverse on a shuttle shift at 2300 rpms is an issue for the clutch? Learning as I go.

Thanks

DK35vince · Feb 28, 2016

JonnyRed said:
How are you running your machine to make sure that the tier 4 emissions is working as it should? My dealer recommended running the tractor at around 2300 rpms or so the majority of the time. I just don't know if going in and out of reverse on a shuttle shift at 2300 rpms is an issue for the clutch? Learning as I go.

Can't be good for the clutch.
I know I wouldn't do that with mine.

coralhead · Feb 28, 2016

JonnyRed said:
So far only minor things on mine like one of the rops pins is a pain in the *ss to get in and out. Upon inspection it just doesn't line up as good as it should, I'll have to see if I can bend it into position or maybe just grind some of the material off of the pin.
Thanks

I had the same issue with mine, I took them to work and turned them on a lathe to get some lead in on the ends. I will post a few pics of how I modified them. No issues now.