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

Just moved to North Dakota from the West Coast. First winter here with little kids, long driveway, hubby deployed, so bought a $150 second hand Yard Machine 2 stage snow thrower, model# 611. First time it ran just fine. Second time was fine till the auger suddenly stopped spinning (engine still runs and thrower still moves fine). Stopped the engine, disconnect spark plug. Found no blockage. shear bolds are still all there. Tried to turn spiral blades by hand and they don't move. Researched on line, found user manual and read up all related articles about auger problems. Open up the covers and found severed auger belt. Replaced with new belt OEM-754-0430A, which fits snugly on the pulley. Now start the engine, engage the drive, move back/forth fine just like before. However whenever engage the auger, not only neither stage would spin but the engine shuts off. Tried a few more times, same thing. What else could be wrong with the thrower? If you can offer insights please tried to be specific or give links. It took me almost a week to finally get a chance to go out and purchase the auger belt. Thank you so much for reading!!!

Luckily auger drive shaft wasn't loose at all. Still not sure how to adjust white tensioner pulley (screw it onto the lower hole on the same arm?), so instead I tighten the auger cable. Actually I've done this before, but this time with the belt cover off, I could see it can be tightened even more. Although the slack on the cable is almost all gone, the auger belt is now more snug. Last night we finally had enough new snow so today I get to try out the snow thrower. It worked beautifully with the new snow, as well as the older, more packed piles. I was so happy I played with it for almost 2 hours, blowing my neighbor's snow as well. Oh... I haven't mentioned that one auger blade is bent at the very end of the spiral (I didn't do it). Should I try to bend it straight, or just leave it? http://www.flickr.com/photos/sssj/5249075808/ I've never seen a snow thrower in real life till 3 months ago and never touched one till Thanksgiving. Today I'm feeling confident using one, and fixing it too thanks to all of you who took the time to help me. Some are really amazing experts and you truly know your stuff!

SSSJ wrote:

Looked at your pictures and I would say straighten it out. Heat it up and bend it back compared to the other auger. Close will do but go for it. Also in one of your pics I noticed oil on the crank case in the area of the yellow oil cap. Make sure you have enough oil or else you know what might be your next chore.

Even without a torch you can probably straighten it out some with just a crescent wrench.  You probably don't want to hammer on it much because your gearbox is only aluminum.  That part of the auger is responsible for pushing the snow back into the impeller.

SSSJ:  Luckily auger drive shaft wasn't loose at all.

 

    That’s good.  You never mentioned squealing noises so the back auger drive shaft support bearing in back of the impeller will probably stay ok for several years.   

 

SSSJ: Still not sure how to adjust white tensioner pulley (screw it onto the lower hole on the same arm?), so instead I tighten the auger cable.

 

You got it and understand the purpose of the lower hole.

 

 The 522’s 611 models were not all exactly the same.  Some had a 1 inch slot in the tensioner arm to adjust the pulley closer to the belt.  Others had the lower hole.  Any further adjustment past the little cable adjust you have left is probably years off. 

 

For future reference: Getting the tensioner pulley nut out will probably require separating the bucket from the tractor section.  That you can do and would require a couple of hours.  -  or - Those models had so much belt slack that you can drop a belt size from 35 inch to 34 and fully back off on the cable adjust.  Belt places usually let you return a belt so trying that is not a big deal. 

Best case it will work fine.  Worse case is the belt will not slip fully and the augers turn slowly when the auger clutch is not engaged.  That’s ok as they will be turning without power by the belt being slightly caught by the pulley.  If you drove into snow with no clutch press the augers would stop and the belt then slip.   With use the belt would eventually stretch and slip like normal.   

 

SSSJ: I played with it for almost 2 hours, blowing my neighbor's snow as well.

   Snowblower fever has set in and never enough snow in your own yard for a fix.  Your 522 is in great shape, is a nicely designed machine and a wicked nice motor.  Check out the link for maintenance info:

 http://www.abbysguide.com/ope/discussions/50431-0-1.html

 Nice job.  I discussed your fine analysis and agressove stick-to-it-ive-ness work in the posts with the forum admin.  You have been promoted two Snowman ranks from Snowman One to Snowman Three the hash marks for which you can attach to your winter jacket sleeve. Congradulations.

Yard Machine Model#: 31B-611D352 So I'll need Shear Bolt 710-0890A 5/16-18 x 1.5, and Hex Lock Nuts 712-0429 5/16-18 Where's a good place to buy and how many more should I get as back ups? Thank you!!!

Don't have experience with your particular blower, so I did some quick online searching for the part number.
These are two places I have ordered from before.

(1) = $0.86: http://www.mfgsupply.com/m/c/41-8627.html
(4) = $6.59: http://www.amazon.com/Arnold-OEM-710-0890-Thrower-Replaces-710-0890/dp/B000BPNVDC   *Note: Picture shows 4, but I don't see a quantity listed anywhere*

You can never have too many :)

If you have only the 2 in the blower now, they will both break the next time you use it.  If you have 20 sitting in the garage, you will never need them.
I would say maybe keep 5-10 around just incase you have a bad spell.  I only broke one last year, but that was in an old Toro that used regular bolts.
For all I know it could have just vibrated itself loose as it disappeared all on its own without me hitting anything, at least at that time.

You are probably just going to have to look around and see where you can get the best deal for the cheapest price and don't forget to add in shipping.
If you are already ordering some stuff from somewhere, you can probably add them too for minimal cost.

If you are in a hurry or like supporting local businesses, you should be able to pick them up at any small engine repair place, hardware store, or some place like Home Depot.
Just make sure to get shear bolts and not regular bolts, however I have read that grade 2 bolts can sometimes be used as replacements.  Grade 5 and grade 8 are no nos.

Go to a hardware store and bring in a piece of your broken shear pin.  Ask them for an equivalent size bolt of low grade steel that can be substituted for the shear pin.  Also  ask for a few  nylock nuts to go with the bolts.  That will cost you a fraction of what a dealer will charge for shear pins.  I've used them with no problems.  Just make sure they are low grade steel.