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

Hi, Does anyone have a PDF that explains how to replace the friction disc/wheel in a Toro 524 (Model 38040) snowblower? My snowblower goes in 1st, but the friction wheel slips on the drive pulley in 2nd and doesn't touch it in 3rd. My symptoms are identical to this OP's post: http://www.abbysguide.com/ope/discussions/32079-0-1.html Thanks!

This guy has videos up of MTD friction  wheels:
http://www.youtube.com/user/donyboy73#g/u

Have you looked to see if it is bad?  You might be able to get away with just cleaning and tightening it.

Shryp wrote:

Hi Shryp, I saw his videos of the MTD friction wheel replacement. It looks pretty easy, but the Toro 524 is built somewhat differently. I just wanted to see how much harder it was. I did try tightening up the long rod, but like the link i provided mentioned, the arm hits the top of the case and it can't go any higher (i.e., the wheel can't touch the friction plate anymore than it already is). Thanks!

I had an old Craftsman that was out of spec and the rod was touching so no adjustment could be made.  I took a dremal "mickey mouse fix" and filed the case where the rod was touching so it could go a little more and the tire touched the platter.  There was still enough rubber on the friction wheel that was going to be waisted.  Worked like a charm and my buddy still uses it 4 seasons later and going strong.  Just a quick fix to get you by.

Thanks for the info Knee_Biter. I guess I'm also wondering why does the friction wheel make good contact with the friction plate (pulley) in 1st, a little bit in 2nd, but none at all in 3rd? I can't see how that adjustment is made. The long rod simply adjusts how far down/up the friction disc touches the friction plate, but I don't see how it differentiates between 1st/2nd/3rd distance. Does the short rod also make minor adjustments depending on the gear it's in (I know it controls how far in/out the friction disc is on the plate, so maybe it makes minor tweaks to the friction disc as well?).

Your variation in gears is most likely either worn out bearings or a worn friction plate.  The plate might be worn down a bit where it is used most.  Also there might be more rubber build up on it.  Worn out bearings can make the shafts loose and affect clearance.  Something could just be bent.  It is hard to know for sure without taking it apart.  My old Ariens is only supported on 1 side.  Great for replacement as the other end of the shaft is open for easy access.  Not so good in theory since 1 end has the bearings and the other end just floats.  Though, if a 1977 machine still works, I guess it can't be too bad of a design.

Another possibility is the gears that "don't make contact" might just have more grease and oil on them making it slip and seem to not work.

One other thing I noticed:  I believe my Toro 3521 moves rubber to the metal plate whereas the Ariens moves the metal plate to the rubber.

Thanks Shryp, I'm hoping it's just the friction wheel itself and not the plate. How difficult is it to replace the friction wheel? I've seen some videos of other snowblower friction wheels being replaced, but they appear to be better designed in terms of being easy to replace. The Toro 524 seems to be in an assembly of some type, and getting it out seems to be a project -- but hopefully I'm wrong :) Do you/someone have a PDF that describes the process? Thanks!

No.  I believe I pulled the axle out of my 3521 when I changed the engine.  That was last year and I don't really remember.  You are going to have to just dive right in.