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

Hi - looking for HELP!!

It appears that the shear pin has snapped off of our Craftsman snowblower.  The auger moves freely, however it appears that the rod that comes out of the gear case is stuck/welded or rusted to the auger and when we tap on the hole to force the pin out it seems like we are hitting the rod.  Is it possible that the rod could have shifted from the auger and is no longer lined up with the holes?  

If so, how do we go about fixing something like this??

Thanks so much!!

  

Sounds more like they are trying to tap the remaining bit(s) of the shear bolt(s) out and its(they're) jammed in the hole.

You have to align the holes in the auger shaf so that the bolt remains are centred. You then use a centre punch or drift pin and hammer the remains out. A little penetrating oil can sometimes help. With the ignition key out, the throttle on "Off", the spark plug disconnected and the auger system engaged, you can slowly pull the manual start cord and rotate the axle so the pin is facing forward. This lets you get at it more easily.

Before putting in the new shear bolt(s) inject some grease onto the axle by using the grease zerks on the auger shaft and rotate the shaft by hand, repeat a couple of times so that there is pleanty of grease distributed between the axle and the auger shaft. Now install the shear bolts.

Its a good idea to remove the shear bolts and regrease the axle every spring as part of the end of season, before storage, maintenance.