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

I just dismantle my auger unit and check everything and notice that impeller bearing was in bad condition and worm gear was really in bad condition too. I took off my Clarence kit because i'm not saying it,s not good yes it does throw the wet snow or snow farther but.. snowblower engineer has conceive their machine with a space between impeller and housing, now I understand why do you? I'd like to hear from Borat about that :)).

Of course snowblower are built to throw snow not water is that right? that,s the point, wet snow is too heavy, imagine the weight of wet snow in simple shovel? It the same thing in the impeller and with the space between the impeller and housing has something to do with it. Sincerely I think that Clarence kit used prematured parts on my Ariens since last year, because in the 15 years before i put the kit nothing broke out... I'm I in a panic here :))

So Clarence kit for me is behind now. I'm putting a new impeller bearing and new worm shaft and gear, 2 new gear case seals and 1 o-ring new L" gear oil, forgot to say one of impeller weld gone broken.

Hi Denis.

If the impeller kit created a serious balance issue, it would certainly have an effect on bearings and the rest of the auger drive system.  However, that kind of imbalance would have been felt right through the handle bars and the machine likely would have rattled as well.  If the kit was installed properly (and from your pictures, it looked like it was) there should not have been a balance issue.  The rubber vanes should exact the same force at each contact point and under high speed rotation, the force on shaft and bearing should be relatively even. 

The parts that you say were damaged (bearing & worm gear) were they new or are they original?  Was the grease washed out of the bearings and was their still lube in the gear housing?  

Personally, I'm having difficulty understanding how the Clarence kit would have caused your problems.  Particularly if it is still in good working order.  I'm wondering if you might have an alignment problem with the impeller shaft.  Have you checked it to see if it's gun barrel straight?  That's the first place I'd check. 

While I have your attention, here's the second old Yamaha that I just finished today.  It's a 1974 RD350 with lots of performance enhancements.  Another little rocket!

Wow nice Job BO! you know I love the yellow is that original colour? those engine we're unbreakable...and sounds like mower heheheh good job again yoiur the man :)) beside, my impeller is back as original, probaly a bent impeller shaft, the bearing was 10 years old and the bushing are new, worm gear was original too, but if impeller kit drags on one rubber this could affect something no?

Denis wrote:

Hi Denis.

Yellow is not the original colour.  The 1974 Yamaha RD350s were one colour only.  Purple.  I have one of them as well that I will restore this winter in it's original colours.   I had that shade of yellow mixed for me by the paint shop.  I love it.   That little 350 is modified and tuned for horse power.  It has modern programmable electronic ignition (I have a programmer to input different ignition curves),  carburetors are modified for higher flow, and the air intake and exhaust system are also high performance items.  The engine is also freshly re-built as are most other items on the bike.   That machine probably makes 50 h.p. rear wheel horse power at 9500 rpm.  It can rev to over 11,000 but that's pushing it.  I have the rev limiter set at 10000 rpm on both of my RDs.  The bike weighs in at around 290 lbs.  So the power to weight ratio is pretty impressive. 

Now, getting back to your snow thrower.  I suspect that the the parts were pretty much ready to fail due to their age.   The Clarence kit may have helped put them over the edge by making them work harder.   After all, if the kit improved the ability to move more snow, the drive components would be stressed more to carry out that work.  Right?   I'd say that the Clarence kit installed in a healthy machine will not have a negative effect on the drive components if the kit is properly installed.  If I were you, I'd replace the worn components and put the kit back on.   Good luck with your machine.