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

I want to first thank some of the commentators here who I found via Google, and who mentioned that several modern snow throwers are poorly-built with stamped metal "pulleys".

Here in Minnesota we got an astounding wallop of a storm the last week of February 2007 and first couple days of March.  Possibly the worst storm since a major event in 1991.  My 9 hp dual-stage electric start 29 inch Craftsman was NOT up to the job.   It lost power to the wheels, and changing the traction drive belt was no use.

I ended up getting a local guy to weld the cheapo pulley into they way it ought to have been coming off the factory floor for $10.  I detail my trials and tribulations with modern American engineering here for your amusement & enlightenment: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~brams006/snowthrower.html

Again, my hat's off to those who mentioned the cheap "pulley" (I hesitate to even call it that).  This website gave me a clue in terms of what to look for.  And I think my $10 expenditure saved me a future bundle.

I bought a Sears 11.5hp snowthrower Feb. 2006.  Would you happen to know if the Sears manufacturer(s) made corrections and improvements in their machines

You can purchase cast pulleys as an aftermarket part. If you do get diameters that are either identical or very close. Make sure you get the correct size for the output shaft of your motor.

This is the first time I've heard of a pulley "breaking", maybe you should buy a lottery ticket, it sounds like you may have used up all your "bad luck points" for a while.

I read your story, sounds like a lot of frustration. One thing to take from the starter motor part of the story is that if something doesn't seem right try and figure it out, machines don't "get better" on their own. Of course a lot of that is experience and it seems you've been gaining a lot with this machine.