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

hey all, I bought a new craftsman/mtd 28" 9hp  with the 4-way shute controller.after my last 26" hit a rock or something and didnt shear a pin. The impellar moves but the augers do not so I assume its the gear box or something. So the questions start to arise

1. I notice that the snowblower will sometimes just stop moving forward either when hitting stiff snow or sometimes like it will just stop (If I pick it up yeah the wheels are going but if I set it down sometimes it wont go)
 I really don't get this cause I've been over the adjustments- I understand how it works  as I've had them apart over the years so I dont need educated on the friction wheel and the belt. My question is that does the 9hp motor not have the power to push through it or do I have  an issue right out of the box?

2. I notice the chute when positioned down will move up from the force of the snow. Is the user supposed to just keep their hand on the chute controller, or am I supposed to tighten the cable?

The reason that I am asking here is that I have no problem taking this thing back. I dont want to make adjustments and then have some lamer tell me I messed somthing up. Thanks for the help! And I'll provide more info if I wasnt clear.

  whats the model numebr from the unit.   most of these units are made by murray.  stand behind unit and tip onto blower housing. remove bottom pan.  on the left side there should be a gear about 6 " in diameter. this gear is held on the drive shaft with a roll pin and rust. if this pin is shearded, the rust will hold things tight enought for your tire to spin off the round, but as soon as there is a load applied the axle shaft will spin inside this gear.

The new blower is model# 247.88790 its 28" 9hp/Identical pretty much to the whites/mtd model-

I'm taking it back to Sears today to see if it can be adjusted (A sales rep said that the plate can be moved towards the friction plate -Funny-I've had these things apart and I've never seen such adjustments- In person or when reading the manual. Does Anyone make a chain drive snowblower that will power through the crap and not rely on some rubber wheel to slip?

Dont we love craftmens

The problems is that sometimes you want it to slip. I was clearing snow around a wood pile and ran into a log that was lying down under the snow. Furtunatly I hit it length wise and it was too big to fit into the auger. In that case you want the blower to start slipping. At the same time I have noticed that mine is starting to slip too much and I'm about to start reasearching a way to refurbish the rubber rim of the friction wheel, I have a hunch that duct tape isn't going to help.

I wonder if a true gear shift snowblower was ever made?