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

Hi gang. With more snow coming down right now, I went out to the shed this morning to do a pre-check on the blower to make sure it's ready to go tomorrow morning when I get home from work. Started ok, and ran ok for a couple minutes. Out of nowhere it just stopped going forward or reverse. Auger is working and drive belt is working. It's not making any funny sounds either. I didn't have time to pull the back cover off to check the chains or drive disk yet. I had to eat and now it's off to get some rest for tonight. It's a circa 1990 JD 726. Here's a pic, with my back up next to it if I don't get it running. It's supposed to be another sloppy mix. Snow now, sleet later then rain all day tomorrow. This stuffs no fun!  LOL
                               Any help or what to look for is appreciated,    Kevin

Belt  loose? disc shot?  driver  engage lever adjusted correctly????  without you yanking the cover, it's hard to tell, could be alot of things.

Don't know your machine so this is my "shotgun" attempt to fix your problem.

I am assuming you opened the machine up and saw the wheel drive v-belt is not broken and has tension. Also assuming the machine worked previously.

I wonder if you have a friction disk and it needs replacement?

Or the friction disk needs an adjustment for wear?

Or you have 2 click pins and you accidentally placed them both  on the outer holes on both axles which will disengage both drive wheels?

      Your JD 726 is a heavy duty Ariens model where it shows the cast  gear case in the photo.  Does it have the lock out differential also? Try to adjust up the linkage to the drive.  I don't think it would stop dead  if just a little out of play. The drive disks on these machines are somewhat involved to replace. If it runs good fix it.

When I was lubricating the drive I had some oil drip onto the plate that the friction disc contacts   . This stopped the drive  from working.     I cleaned off the oil and it started working. 

Jgreen,

               When you put oil on the friction wheel, it became a slick wheel, thence no movement!

 Glad you solved the problem!

                                           Fred

jgreen wrote:
By gum, that'll do it everytime. 

Thanks for the heads up on possible problems guys. I did have the belt cover off yesterday and the belts were fine and had tension. I do need to tight up the auger belt a touch though. I got home late this morning from work and didn't have a chance to pull the back cover off yet. It does have the lock out differential. One thing to check. Actually I was thinking on the lines of oil on the drive disk. I will report back as soon as I can get to it. Tomorrow should be better. It's supposed to get close to 60 degrees here tomorrow. Most of the snow will be gone by Friday.  LOL

                                                                         Thanks again,     Kevin

Hi Gang. I found out what the problem is. The left wheel axle is coming right out of the blower. As I was getting ready to put blocks under it, I noticed the the left wheel was sticking out more than the right. I put the blocks under there and was able to just slide the wheel right off the blower .  I slid the wheel all the way back on and was able to run it around with no problem. Well, now the problem is....What holds the wheel into the gear case. This axle goes through a chain sprocket, then into a gear case on the inside wall. This is the wheel that has the differential lock out wing nut on it. The machine runs great and  I would really would like to solve this one.  Heres a few pics. any help is appreciated.
                                                                                                   Thanks,  Kevin

 

 
                                                         

VG,

    Looking at the axle, appears there was a pin holding axle in the Diff. You may have to open the Diff and see!

                                                                                                Fred

Hi Jubol. I guess  the diff would be what I'm calling a gear case.  LOL  I've stated on the forum before my mechanical knowledge of OPE is limited, but I suprise myself sometimes. Is the pin actually like a shear pin? Looks kind of involved to get the diff apart, but I'll check it out more over the weekend.              Thanks,  Kevin

Vangellis wrote:

Vangellis:  Don't open the differential !!  It is full of gears and with the limited knowledge that you stated, you could create more problems than you need.

What you need is to replace the small roll pins that hold the axle (actually called the differential connecting rod) together.  They are 1/8" x 1" long.  You should need 2 of them.  I keep them on hand always as they have a habit of shearing from time to time. 

From your picture, you can see them at the top of the axle. Drive them out, reconnect your axles and install new ones.  They should be about 10 cents each.  You may need a helper to hold one of the 2 axle/wheel combos to slide the 2 together.

If you need more info, I'll check in later tonight or you can PM me.

HTH

Ken

Get a Craftsman - they won't break down on you.

Now I have no proof of any of this, but hey, no one else does either, so my opinion should be GOLD.

after reading your other post and now this post i cant wait for you to get your craptsman snowblower. once you have your first problem you will be right back here crying. now this poor guy is out here trying to get a little help fixing his machine and you felt the need to highjack it for no sane reason SnowRemover wrote:

SnowRemover wrote:
Your opinoin is as golden as anyone elses.

Kevin,

Don't over or under estimate your abilities. If you can get that mower deck on and off, you should be able to get some roll pins out and back in. Take your time and look closely, plenty of light. You might need a half way decent drift if it is stuck in the shaft. Luckily you have guys like Snowpro around to help.

Vangellis wrote:

The valve stem mounted on the inside means that  he has 5 or 6 reverse gears and only 2 foward ones.

nibbler wrote:

  Wouldn't that make it an older Italian model, WW II vintage?

SnowRemover wrote:

Chopper...That be you.   LOL

I picked up some roll pins on the way home from work this morning and will check it out tomorrow after I get home.
Rob, I do ok with the basics, it's just sometimes I don't really know what I'm looking for. Thats why this site is priceless
as "was" WTB. Is it past 3:00PM yet.  LOL The help I get here is great and much appreciated.                                                                                                              Kevin
Oh yeah BTW, that stem is on the inside. It's on the outside on the other tire. Have no idea why. Bought it used.

VG,

             Can you mount the axel on the other side of the wheel?

That way your both valve stems will be on the outside.

                                         Fred

Might as well do that too, Fred. That should be an easy one. 

                                                              Thanks,   Kevin

Vangellis,

It will be a lot easier to check the tire pressure and to inflate after you put the tire the right way on that flange. Probably someone changing the tire some time ago didn't pay attention to which way they bolted it back on.

On some things I own I keep the valve stems on the inside because I think that makes them less likely to hit on something.

Actually the valve stems on my Simplicity tractor are all on the inside. Again, thats the way it came. It's really not that hard to get to on the blower. My son's last weekend home from college and we are going out for a family breakfast this morning. Only things I'm doing after that are putting that pin in, cleaning my woodstove pipe, then it's football, football, football.

                                                                                                            Kevin

Some other manufacturer's did that and maybe still do.  I know that MTD put the valve stems inside the rim.  I inquired and they told me just what Robmints did.  People were catching the stems on something and doing who knows what with them.   

     Well it turned out to be an easy fix. The old pins came out the the axles easily. I slid the solid left axle and wheel into the hollowed right axle, lined up the holes, tapped the tension spring or "rod" into the hole and done. Even the wife got to help by tipping the blower back  while I was underneath it. Thats trust. LOL.  I even thought I'd take it for a spin and have the wife take a pic to post on here. Couldn't start it. 2 weeks ago in the slush/snow that I was blowing, the recoil starter was acting erratically. sometimes it wouldn't catch. Today, nothing. I have a repair manual for the tech engine and it looks like the "dog spring" is missing. I'll check with the local OPE dealer for a part Monday.
     Honestly though, the other day when the axle and wheel came right out of the blower, I thought this was going to be a major fix and mucho bucks. All it cost was 25 cents for a 3/16 x 1" tension spring or "rod". The best part is, I got more OPE education, thanks to all that replied with suggestions and solutions. It never hurts to get up close and personal with your machines.

                                                                                                                                           Kevin

 

Good job Kevin.
That was brave, I don't know what came over her. Maybe after she saw you had some skills you might be worth something after all.

robmints wrote:

She's quite a gal. Most unselfish person I ever met. Geez, I was gonna write something funny here, but I'll leave it at that.       
    Kevin