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

Hi

I bought a CraftsMan 24" 9.0TQ in Januray of this year(has all the bells and whistles but a damn lighteven Electric start)




I only got to use it for 4 hours total as the winter stunk

It has sat from Feb till now

I just drained the tank

What do I need to do before winter comes in a few months to get her going again(Do I grease anything)??

I can't seem to find a video/write up talking about what needs to be done

Also is it normal for the Blades to have surface rust will post a picture if needed

Thanks

Great info trouts. 


One more thing I didn't see mentioned, maybe I missed it.. But take off the wheels and anti seize or grease the axle...  When those wheels rust seize on, its not fun trying to get them off at all.. happen to me after one season of use on brand new machine..  Grease em up now, its worth it!

Yo Denis:

Considering the exhaustive research and excellent level of detail in Trout's reply, I'd recommend that you put that up at the top of the page as a permanent item.

Excellent work Trouts!

Thank you for that big reply

I did not see anything said about Greasing the Owger shaft

Was just told today that I should grease it,Not sure on what Kind of Grease to use through

also it's stored in my Garage,I also should say when I had ice I just left it melt

Yes. Grease the auger shaft. I use marine grease which works well in cold wet conditions. Snowmobile grease is very good as well. In a pinch, any grease you can get in there will at the very least keep it from rusting and seizing.

Very Sweet. keep it up an it will last 20 years...



Friiy

Hi again

Would anyone know what size "TIP" you use for your Grease gun to grease the Auger shaft,

I can not find any info on this and my owners manual tells me when I should grease the shaft(every 25 hours or every season) but doesn't say what size the nipple is on the auger even says what kind of grease to use

I even went to sears and they have never heard of having to grease the auger shaft(Manager Women says we have never done that and have owned one for 20 years)

I don't want to spend $20 on a 50PCS kit for one "Tip" for my Grease Gun to figure the size out you know

I can get a nice close up picture of the Nipple if that will help anyone with telling me the size

I even have the part number but doesn't give me any info on sears site

I never thought maintaining a snow blower is this hard

KMG14 wrote:

I thought the tips of zerk fittings were a standard size (the threaded ends come in different sizes, but that doesn't matter).  I would think any grease gun that has a press-on zerk coupler style end would work for you.

Do you have a link to that 50PCS kit?

I don't know what Zerk Fittings are so I'm lost on that

Here is the link to the fittings,not much info at all

http://www.princessauto.com/engines/fuel-lubricants/grease/8262602-100-pc-metric-grease-fittings?keyword=grease

I also see they have Metric and SAE ones

http://www.princessauto.com/engines/fuel-lubricants/grease/4270294-100-pc-sae-grease-fitting-kit?keyword=grease

This is the Gun I was thinking of buying

http://www.princessauto.com/engines/fuel-lubricants/grease/8084063-pistol-grip-grease-gun?keyword=grease+gun

I looked at the pics of your machine, and I don't actually see any zerk fittings on the augers, unless they happened to be turned to the back side out of view.  Perhaps someone familiar with Craftsmans can comment on whether they have them, or double check your manual to be sure.  It should say under the maintenance section.

At any rate, if you have them they would look something like this.  This is on my Ariens.  The zerks are circled in red.  The shear bolt is circled in blue.  The shear bolt should be removed so that when you pump grease into the zerks, you can spin the auger blades around freely to spread the grease around the auger shaft evenly inside.  Pump grease into them until you see it push out the end of the auger shaft.  The goal is to fill the space with grease to keep water and rust out.  Replace the shear bolt when you are finished.

Here is a close up of the zerk fitting so you can see what it looks like.  It is wider in the middle so that the tip of the grease gun can "snap" onto it.

Here is what the grease gun looks like.  The 4 flanges inside the end are what snap onto the zerk.  You can see grease in the middle of them here.

Hope this helps.

From your comments, I sense a bit of frustration. Greasing the auger shaft is probably one of the easiest things to be done. You can get a small grease gun from any auto supply store for around $8.00. They use suitably sized grease cartridges that cost around $2.00 a piece. If you're buying the grease gun, get some snowmobile or water resistant grease. <BR><BR>I sense that your mechanical abilities might be limited. If so, be patient and ask a lot of questions. Get yourself a basic tool kit with wrenches and a socket set, some screw drivers and a few sets of pliers. Remember, the tools will work on everything pretty much so, they're not just for the snow thrower. You might also want to pick up some white lithium grease, WD-40, light machine oil, and spare engine oil. A spare spark plug would also be a good idea. I keep a couple cans of SeaFoam around and occasionally add an ounce to a tank of fuel. Keeps the fuel system clean, stabilizes and removes moisture in the fuel.

By the way, after greasing the auger shaft, put the machine on a block or floor jack, remove the wheels and grease the axles. Just squeeze out some grease and spread it on the axle shaft with your fingers. Check your air pressure while you're at it.