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

I'm in WAY too deep on my latest project/mess - I wish I had never even seen this darned thing...

I have another older Sears 5/22 snowblower (model 536.918200) that is giving me grief with just about everything on it. The engine runs good now (another LONG story) but the impeller shaft has about an INCH PLUS of play fore & aft in the auger gearcase. Well, after heating, beating & air chiselling all day (and with only 2 hours sleep all day long), I finally have the auger assembly separated from the machine. I need to get at least one of the auger "rakes" off so I can inspect the auger gearcase. I have already heated & beated on both of the rakes but they haven't budged. Can anyone suggest any other methods of removal? Hydraulic press perhaps?

Thanks!
Marty

I have run into this a few times and  since there usually isn't anything on the auger suitable for a puller to grab I have welded a pair of 3/4 hex nuts to the auger tube and positioned them so a puller would get a good bite on the flats. You can grind them off after or even leave them. Then with a big puller, an impact gun, some Kroil and heat from a torch (keep it away ftom the gear case seals) it will probably move.

Pete

AJace - I have really busted a nut on this project & can't wait until its done!

Pete - Thats an excellent suggestion! Thanks! I failed to mention that I did try a regular gear puller (for about a minute) until I realized that there was nothing to grab onto - just like you said. I have a large harmonic balancer puller - all I have to do is drill 2 holes into the auger rakes near the shaft. Then I would put tension on the tube/shaft with the puller, keep hitting it with oil & heating the Bejeezus out of it. If I find that this works easilly, I may attempt to do both sides. If not, as long as I get ONE off, at least I'll be able to ascertain whether this thing gets fixed  or TRASHED ...

Regards & Thanks!
Marty

I just went through this with my ST824 Ariens.  I had a place to put a gear puller, but it didn't help that much.  I used PB Blaster for about a week.  I used about half a tank of MAPP gas to heat the augers.  I kept the gear puller on and in tension all this time. 

What really seemed to get the job done was to jam a 2x4 into each auger assy (you have to figure out how they go in until they jam themselves in place),  then tried rotating the augers against each other.  When one started spinning, I put the shear pin back into that one and continued until the other was loose.  I still needed the gear puller to get them off, even after they spun on the shaft.  I thought I was going to break the shear pin.  They were tight. 

I found that almost all of the rust was closest to the gear case.  I guess that is the best argurment for greasing and spinning them every year. 

Good Luck

Ralph

Ralph -

YOU MADE MY NIGHT! Using the 2x4's to spin the augers in opposite directions is a GREAT IDEA! I cannot THANK YOU enough for suggesting this. I will certainly post my final outcome on this "mess"...

Regards!
Marty

I attempted the trick to remove the auger rakes. I placed the assembly between my 28" gate door outside. I used my floor jack pipe handle (5 feet long) & an 8' 2x4. Provided PLENTY of leverage & I was able to spin one auger rake quite a bit & quite easilly. However, when I adjusted the pipe/2x4 & tried again, somehow I jammed the rake against the LH side half of the auger gearcase & made my normally 2 piece gearcase into a THREE PIECE UNIT.   Now I'm really screwed, as neither Sears or Murray stock the case halves. IF I can get everything apart, including the impeller off the shaft, I'll attempt to MIG weld the broken 2 pieces to make them one & seal the inside with 77B Permatex. I did find that the worm gear has some wear, but nothing major. The front/rear shaft bearings are extremely worn & the reason is there was NO LUBE/OIL in the gearcase! Thats why the shaft walks back & forth over an inch. These bearings are really toast. There are shavings all throughout the gearcase! So now the impeller MUST be removed.

I'm a blink away from aborting this. WAY TOO MANY HOURS into it & more fun ahead to just get it apart. UGH...  

Marty

Still no luck...

Tried heating with Mapp gas/oxygen, spinning with an 8' 2x4, even had my local gas station guy attempt it with a 30 ton hydraulic press & the darned thing won't budge.

HELP?!?

Marty

Could you get a small grinding wheel/cut off saw in between the auger and shaft?
Cutting a slot and following the auger around the shaft to the other end?
When you get it off, Try glueing sand paper strips to a dowel, that is smaller
then the shaft size,spinning the dowel and sand the rust and grime from the inside.
I know that this is just a silly wild @ss guess,but I would try anything
and everything to get it off. Just to see if I could!
My $.02
T.J. terry

MAJORXLR8N:

Any chance that you could post some pics of the offender?  Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

bbwb

Man I feel your pain!  Your story is mirroring mine almost exactly.  The rake on the left side of mine was also rusted solid to the shaft,as well as having a bend in the shaft further sealing the rake to the shaft.   The right side slid right off.    (my whole ordeal started when I sucked up a piece of concrete on the neighbors sidewalk, and bent the auger shaft)

I opened the gearbox and removed the shaft with the left side rake still stuck, along with the left side of the gearbox sandwiched between the rake and the gear.   I work for IT at the local school district here and went to the auto shop class at the high school  to see what they could do to get the rake off.  They had a press but it would not budge.  What finally worked was a long lengthwise cut with a grinder along the rake to relieve the pressure, and then with lots of penetrating oil and the press it came free.  But in that process the left side of the gearbox which was in between got broken.  I found and ordered the gearcase halves, got the shaft straightened out, and reassembled and am back in action.   

I was hoping to not cut the auger tube, but it may be the only way left to get the auger off the shaft. I would hate to reassemble it all & leave the frozen auger, as I'll have another mess onhand if something jams in that left auger. With all the new parts coming, that auger must be freed. I'll try to post a pic tomorrow...

Thanks Guys!
Marty