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

I recommend you do some troubleshooting before worrying about the worst case scenario, which would be a broken auger gearbox. It’s normal to not be able to turn the auger by hand as the worm gear in the gearbox prevents that. However, you should be able to reach in and turn the impeller by hand (make sure the engine can’t start before you try this) and turn the impeller in the direction it normally turns (in your case that’s counter clockwise looking at the impeller from the front like in the photo). The impeller will likely turn hard, but it should turn and as it does you should see the auger move a bit. If so, then the auger gearbox is likely ok and the cause of the problem is something you should be able to fix once you find it.

If you look at the photo showing the auger you can see that someone put bolts through the auger’s hollow axles into the auger shafts that go into the gearbox. Normally, that’s where the shear pins go. The shear pins act just like fuses in your house to prevent damage when there’s an overload. Replacing the shear pins with bolts puts the auger gearbox at risk if you hit something that jams the auger. I recommend that once you fix your machine you make sure you have proper shear pins installed. You should be able to get them on-line or at a local dealer. Even if they are not for your specific machine they are better than bolts that may be stronger than the gears. Even if your machine has shear pins, get some extras so you have them when they do their job and shear off.

Is there a way to tell if the bolts are shear bolts or just regular bolts someone stuck in?

I went out and tried turning the impeller by hand on my 928 (with the ignition switch off) before suggesting timh310 try it. It turns, but not easily and I did worry about getting my hand stuck in there. Yes, maybe using a stick would be a better idea and you could come from the front, which gives a better view of the auger anyway.

Glad you found the problem and that it was something easily corrected. As for the lube in the auger gearbox, check it and if it’s ok or only a bit low, leave it until you find out what to use as borat advised.

However, you might find there’s very little lube in the gearbox and/or you might not be able to find out what lube was recommended. There is a solution.

Newer machines are going to liquid grease rather than gear oil. The difference between grease and oil is that grease also contains a thickener such as lithium compounds, molybdenum compounds, or PTFE’s (Teflon). All grease contains an oil base, so a good gear oil won’t damage seals that a low temperature liquid grease won’t damage. In a pinch you can use a synthetic 75w-90 gear oil. A synthetic gear oil will have excellent low temperature properties and higher shear strength that any conventional gear oil. Using it even if you don’t know if it’s the right lube is much better than having little or no lube in the gearbox, which is not uncommon on old machines. If you do find the gearbox is nearly dry and you add gear oil, the gearbox will likely leak oil for a while until the gaskets swell up. Just put something under the gearbox to keep it from messing your garage floor. Also, keep an eye on the level.