snowblower wont move.

[dustrunner]

Picked up a nice newer snowblower and the wheels won't turn.... any ideas ?

[Scootertrash]

Make and model?

aside from that
Drive linkage broken, disconnected, or out of adjustment
Drive wheel inside housing broken or damaged
Wheel shear pins sheared off

[coolpool]

Like scooter said, the friction wheel is probably out of adjustment; or the rubber ring is damaged or missing. The speed adjustment basically places the driven disc at a certain diameter on the drive disc. When you pull down on the handle it should pull the discs together creating friction/movement. There is also a key from the sprocket to the axle. Sheared or missing?

[200xman]

Check the belts also. My blower has 1 belt for drive and 1 for the blower.

[tripledog]

After last winter I am having the same problem with my snow shovel. Probably just the nut behind the handle.

[Scootertrash]

Loose nut? ;)

[shovelryder]

Most decent ones also have a pin and clip thru the axle and hub, so you can roll them easy in summer........Axle turning?

[DohcBikes]

Picked up a nice newer snowblower and the wheels won't turn.... any ideas ?...Shovel?

[dustrunner]

225746 gears wont spin.

[tri again]

225746 gears wont spin.

any chance it's got some frozen water somewhere?

[RIDE-RED 250r]

I used to work on those... I would start pulling the gearshafts out. As rusty as things look in that pic, it's likely you have some seized bearings. Believe it or not, those parts get get alot of water/moisture on them when running. The heat generated by the moving parts and the engine melt the fine snow that tends to gather on the exterior of the machine, which runs down inside.

Very important to keep the moving parts in the drive lubed..without getting lube on the friction wheel and drive disc. Also, the friction wheel hub, (the wheel with the rubber around the outside) should slide freely along it's shaft. This gives you your varying speeds. I used to see those hubs seized on that hex shaft alot. Again, keep it lubed, but not to the point of flinging lubricant onto the drive disc.

[dustrunner]

225766 got everything sprayed real good. I took the snap ring off and slid this little gear over and the tires will turn . but if slid back they wont .

[RIDE-RED 250r]

OK, can you spin the hex shaft that little gear is riding on??

In other words, grab the friction wheel (the on with the rubber around it's perimeter) and see if you can spin that shaft. If it doesn't spin freely, try and determine what is holding it up. Check and make sure the friction wheel is not in contact with the drive disc when it shouldn't be. With most snowblowers, you have to hold down the drive engagement control handle to engage the drive.. when you let go it should stop moving. So with the drive engagement handle released, the snowblower should be able to freewheel somewhat. Some snowblowers have "steering clutches" and will freewheel but with some noticeable drag.

Anyway... see of the friction wheel hex shaft can spin freely and check back.

[dustrunner]

[QUOTE=RIDE-RED 250r;1394972]I used to work on those... I would start pulling the gearshafts out. As rusty as things look in that pic, it's likely you have some seized bearings.

Correct you are ride red....the very last gear on top had needle bearings that wouldn't let the axle turn.....thanks so much for the help...Snowblower's working great now ....just need Snow ...

[tripledog]

Now that your snowblower is working we probably won't get any snow. That would be fine by me! Glad to hear your machine is up and working. Is there nothing these guys can't help fix?

[RIDE-RED 250r]

Glad to help Sir. :beer


I think it can be said that between all of us, there is nary a problem that can't be solved.. :)


Now that you are getting to know how things are supposed to work in the drive, it shouldn't be too difficult to determine a good maintenance regimen.

Other than belt condition, idler pulley bearings and other pretty easy to check stuff, one thing you want to check is your front augers. They should be bolted to the inner shaft that drives them with grade 3 bolts. If you could take a close up pic of the auger shafts, specifically the drive/shear bolts I can give a couple of pointers that should ensure long life of your auger gearbox. Alot of people neglect to grease the augers and they will end up seized to their shafts, resulting in the failure to shear the shear bolts/pins if an object is picked up and jammed in the augers. This usually takes out the auger drive and worm gears.

[dustrunner]

Is there nothing these guys can't help fix?
Nope ..A Great bunch of sharp shooters ! Always wanting to help each other = To bad everything in the world wasn't like that ! Or at least 1/64 of it .

[dustrunner]

Thanks red ! I will get those pics ....Do you mean the gear oil inside the auger drive or the shaft itself ?

[RIDE-RED 250r]

The auger shaft itself that spans between the gearbox and ends of the auger housing. Some types take a regular shear pin, others take a simple grade 3, 1/4" bolt with a special shearing collar. The type that uses the bolt with collar should not use pins except to get you buy till you can replace the bolt, nut and collar.

[dustrunner]

225957 HERE SHE IS RIDE RED ...How's it look ?

[dustrunner]

225958 Shear pin .

[RIDE-RED 250r]

OK, you have the "newer" style augers where you have 4 separate pieces as opposed to 2 pieces (one on each side) of the older design.

What you have is the correct setup. Do not use bolts in these.

By any chance does each auger section have a zerk fitting?? If so, make sure and keep them greased or the augers will seize to the inner shaft that drives them and the shear pins won't be able to do their job if you pick up a piece of debris.

Check the condition by first ensuring the engine is not running (goes without saying, but I'm saying anyway ;))
-Remove the shear pins
-Verify the augers are not seized to the inner auger shaft by spinning them on the inner shaft. They should freewheel fairly easily.
-If there are zerk fittings (and there usually are) keep them greased periodically as needed.
-If the augers don't spin and seem still locked to the inner shaft, you have a bit of a project ahead to free them up if you can't get them moving by hand.

Note: If I recall, some manufacturers of snowblowers using this type of auger use plastic bushings to keep the augers free on the inner shaft. If that is the case, there may not be zerk fittings to grease. I could be mistaken about this though, it's been awhile since I was working on these regularly.

[dustrunner]

O.K. I will check in the am... I have older snow blower 's so I'm thinking of pulling the bolt's out and checking to see if they spin as well ... Is that correct sir ?

[coolpool]

Yes everything should spin freely with the shear bolts removed.

[RIDE-RED 250r]

X2 on what Coolpool said. :)