I've been reading the various discussions for a few days trying to see how many of you have totally stripped and rebuilt an old snow blower.
I have an old JD 826 that I bought back in 1987. It gets lots of use up here in the northern suburbs of Syracuse NY! (about 200" of snow per winter)
This machine has a Tecumseh 8 HP that still runs well. I change the oil once or twice per season.
I just put new belts and a drive disk on it but was noticing that the bushings on the wheel shafts seem sloppy. The auger housing has some rust and probably needs bushings as well. Additionally, I have two busted welds where the discharge chute is welded to the horizontal plate that rotates the assembly. I put a couple of angle brackets on to hold the discharge chute on until I can get this rewelded. It wobbles a bit but the snow shoots out just fine.
Overall, it has aged gracefully but it's looking a bit tired. This machine was built in Moline Illinois before Ariens started building them for JD.
Parts are apparently still available, but are a bit pricey.
I'm a pretty good mechanic but I'm wondering whether the economics at this point are justified or whether I should bite the bullet and get a new machine next winter.
What do you wrench heads think? Does the old girl deserve another 20 years or should she be put out to pasture?
thanks in advance!
