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

ok people need some help here, simplicity 1224l snowblower gear case is leaking i checked and one of the rubber seals on the auger shaft is coming out is it just a matter of pushing it back in and do i have to remove to do it, and what can i use in the gearcase since i'm having no luck finding benalene grease? thanks in advance.

That might not be a good idea bus. The Simplicity mentioned in the initial post uses an NLGI 1 Bentone grease, not gear oil. Also, the Ariens L2 you're referring to is obsolete and superceded with Synthetic Ariens L3 gear oil. It's likely the Simplicity gear case will not be able to seal well enough for gear oil (or they'd never have switched away from it ~5 years ago or so). I can't seem to find it in their owners manuals any longer. It used to be there..? This should be in the maintenance schedule.

I'm not sure how grease is leaking out of your gear box regardless of the disrupted seal. NLGI 1 grease has a "drop point" hot enough to cook a pizza (+350F and higher). That is, it doesn't flow as a fluid until the operating temperature gets that hot (it won't get that hot, at least the lubricant won't). The Synthetic Ariens L3 is fluid to -54F and has far better EP properties. In this application the gear oil (especially synthetic GL5) is far superior. You could try it, but it may leak if the gear case isn't specifically designed to seal gear oil.

An NLGI 0, or 00 would be a better choice if you must stick with grease, but with each grade under 1 you increase the potential for leaks in a gear case not intended to seal lower viscosity lubricants.

The hierarchy of auger gear case lubrication is as follows if you're interested (best to worst, for this application specifically):

Ariens: L3 Synthetic Gear Oil (GL5)
Toro: Conventional Petroleum Gear Oil (GL5)
Honda: Conventional Petroleum Gear Oil (GL4)
MTD brands and MTD-built Craftsman: NLGI 00 grease
Simplicity, Snapper, Murray, Brute, John Deere, Briggs-built Craftsman, Poulan Pro and Husqvarna: NLGI 1 grease

ok if i understand you correctly the grease should be sticky enough that it doesn't leak ? well in my case it doesn't seem that way seems like gear oil too me it drips out when it sits for extended periods, this is the way it came right from the dealer, is it ok to use an automotive type gear oil?

What is the factory model number off the back base of your machine?

trouts2 wrote:

factory #1695326

That factory number does not return machines wtih 1224l. Maybe it's a special build machine for Sears??

Mfg. No. Description

1695324 L1226E, Snowthrower

1695325 L1226EX, Snowthrower (CE)

1695326 L1226E, Snowthrower         

1695327 L1226EX, Snowthrower (CE)

1428 Models

Mfg. No. Description

1695328 L1428E, Snowthrower

1695329 L1428EX Snowthrower (CE)

1695330 L1428E, Snowthrower

1695331 L1428EX Snowthrower (CE)

1530 Models

Mfg. No. Description

1695332 L1530E, Snowthrower

1695333 L1530EX, Snowthrower (CE)

1695334 L1530E, Snowthrower

1695335 L1530EX, Snowthrower (CE)

1632 Models

Mfg. No. Description

1695336 1632E, Snowthrower

1695337 1632EX, Snowthrower (CE)

1695338 L1632E, Snowthrower

trouts2 wrote:

my mistake its a 1226l made a mistake in my original post. does that help any?

uncleglenny wrote:

The reason I asked for the factory number was to get an exploded view of your gearbox. It's an assembly so not broken down.

You understood correcty.

You don't know what grease is in there or how much.  The factory could have loaded with paste or oil grease.  The dealer may have topped off with one or the other.  It's tough to put in past grease after assembly so someone along the way may have added lighter grease.  You could use auto EP grease but better oil or paste greases are not that much more so not a great saving over using better greases. 

Since the machine came with the seal out can't you go back to your dealer?  If not I'd try pushing it back in. 

You could open the fill hole and stick something in there to try to gauge how much grease is in there and what type it is.  Clean off the gearbox and see where the leak is.  If the leak is not from the gasket area and only from the auger seal then you would at least have from the seal down filled with grease (assuming it's not paste grease).  The gear will still be picking up grease.  Some liquid grease would eventually find its way over to the seal but that would probaby be a very slow leak and you could live with it. 

Other than that you could pull and open the gearbox and put in a new seal and proper grease. 

thanks trouts you have been very helpfull! unfortunately i cant bring it back as the dealer went out of business, the leak it seems is coming from the seal and i will try to push it back in, can you recomend an oil or grease to use, i have some synthetic gear oil would that be acceptable?

The oils and greases for snowblower gearboxes are EP rated, extra pressure. I would and do go by Snowmann’s recommendations posted above. I have 4 bottles of Ariens L3I use for gearboxes. If a gearbox will hold the oil I use L3, if not then a good EP rated paste grease from a snowblower place.