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!!!

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.