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

I have a Murray made Craftsman 26 inch snowblower with a Briggs 7.75hp engine. I've picked up 1 too many rocks and log (joys of having a 4 year old) and need to replace the impeller and bearing. I haven't puled anything apart or ordered parts yet, but did take a peek at the owners manual. I'm looking for some advice for what I'm getting into. It looks reasonably straight foward, except from looking I cannot see how the impeller seperates from the gearbox. The impeller looks to be combined with a 1 piece shaft that has a key on the gear box end.. Can someone tell me how the impeller shaft will seperate from the gearbox. Will it just slide out or will I have to dissasemble the gearbox to seperate them? Also I had a question on parts availability with the Murray bankruptcy/buyout. If when I go to order parts from Sears and they are not available, is there a Sears to Murray part cross reference available anywhere on the net. Any inputs would be greatly apreciated.

Thanks

Ron

Separate the front bucket from the "tractor" portion - this may or may not be possible. Remove the auger belt pulley. Remove the auger shaft side bearings at the front of the machine. The whole thing should slide forward. Remove the two impeller fan 1/4" steel roll pins (you may have to drill them out). Slide off the impeller fan.

You may want to track down the parts FIRST before you spend a day getting everything apart. If you can't get parts, then sell it & make it someone else's headache LOL!

Much luck - Marty