Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hoping someone out there might have an auger shaft assembly they could sell me for a 2 stage 5hp / 22" width craftsman snowthrower. Model 536.918200 from the late 70's - early 80's. Originally made by Western Tool & Stamping for Sears.   It didn't do very well after sucking up a piece of concrete on the neighbor's sidewalk. I've looked at sears.com and they do have it listed, but the parts I need are no longer available. Thanks for any help!

Jon Davidson

jdavidson wrote:
If its mainly a bent shaft thats the problem after you get it disassembled, perhaps it would be easier to purchase a piece of 1 inch shatt & fabricate what you need. Keyways are easily & inexpensivly cut by a competant machine  shop  & any pins or bolt holes can be reproduced easily with a little careful measurement & time at a drill press. This might be more expedient than trying to straighten the existing shaft, & the possibility of getting it as straight as remanufacturing one is nigh well impossible, as well as the time & cost it could take to straighten it sufficiently. another factor in having a not true shaft is the excess wear and pressure on gears, bearings etc, from running out of true.
What ever method turns out to work the best for you, dont forget a coat of anti sieze on shafts/sleeves, & any fasteners. it'll sure help disassembly time should the need arrise again.

There are some augers for sale on eBay, you might get lucky.

To get the rakes off the auger shaft of  a couple of old Ariens machines, I had to slit them as shown, and heat them in a 40 ton hydraulic press to get them off.

I covered the slit with epoxy and painted over it to keep water out, and you can barely tell. Painful at the time but I now have a spare auger assembly as a result: once I replace the seals...