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

Man, you really worked hard on that thing.  Stop that and try hydraulics or air like you said.  How about getting a used shaft? 

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

We didn't have to cut the auger tube all the way along the length.  Made a cut probably that came within about 2-3 inches of each end.    Tried to cut just enough to get through the tube but not damage the shaft.  That relieved some pressure and let the penetrating oil get where it needed to be.

JD-

    That was a pretty clever idea, to cut lube slots in the auger tube.  Hey marty, you're using something hardcore for penetrating oil(like Kroil) right??  Kroil is phenomanal stuff for times like this.

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   WE GOT IT OFF!!!! Thank God...

What a fight this da**ed thing was...

JDavidson, I ended up doing just as you did - I cut a straight line (well, sort of ) leaving about 2 inches on each end of the auger tube.

Terrapin - I actually have a freon based penetrating oil that I get from a buddy who builds/repairs winches for US Armed Forces ships & aircraft - the stuff usually works REAL WELL, but it hasn't helped ease this task!!

I even bought a new high speed cutoff wheel for this & wonder how I did without it all these years!

After making the cut in the auger tube, I loaded it up with my "magic juice" mentioned above. Then I grabbed the torch & heated it until most of it was glowing orange. I quickly wedged two 2x4's in the augers, grabbed the one on the stuck rake, crossed my fingers & began to exert some good effort on the wood. It gave some - I thought it just slipped, but the shear bolt holes no longer lined up! HMMM. I spun it some more but it started to get tight. More magic juice. Turn some more - its moving real easy now. I then got it stuck on the shaft end - the end got "mushroomed" due to hammering the Bejeezus out it. Cutoff wheel to the rescue - ground it down & we FINALLY got the whole thing off.

Parts should arrive next week, so I'll spend a little time welding up the cut section, sandblasting the augers & repainting them for a nice new look. This baby is going to be like NEW MONEY by the time I get done with it.

Thank you ALL for your suggestions, help, a listening to my rants on this project. It has been a bear. I hope it gets easier from here on in...

Regards!
Marty

Here's my formidable, but losing opponent...

It certainly won a few battles, but eventually LOST THE WAR!

Heres one reason why the impeller shaft was "going for a walk":

The other reasons for the excessive shaft play were that the shaft collar retaining roll pin was busted, the shaft collar steel shim was ground down, and the worm gear keyway was cocked & about 30 seconds more of running time away from shearing. Someone really beat up this poor old boy by hitting a lot of debris. I can't believe the worm gear was actually ok! Everything else took the punishment!

Marty

Some progress pics. The auger gearcase's internals are all new except the worm gear. It rotates like butter. Today we install the assembly & hopefully button up "the auger tragedy"...

Marty

Marty

Great job, you'd make a fine surgeon, can't even see the cuts you made to the auger. Hurry up and button it up and get it out the door, snow forecast so potential buyers will be knocking down your door. Went to 2 Home Depots yesterday, not a single unit on the floors. No time for ebay, as soon as it starts to snow bring it to a busy intersection with a large 4 sale sign, somebody will buy it.

Cheers

Will  

Thanks Will for the kind words! Much appreciated!!

NOW GUYS & GALS - Are you ready for the unvailing? SHES ALL DONE!!! Thanks to ALL, especially JDavidson for the auger case assistance! You all were probably getting tired of my posting on this, so thanks for letting me share!

Marty

Congradulation  this is an awesome job you did

I like those rebuilding story's it reminds me a lot of project I did in the past

Bravissimo

Nice job Marty. I wish I had your patience. That bucket is the bomb!

                                                                                         Kevin

great job marty,

i know it taxed you at times but you showed the determination not to let it beat you......................

with all that effort , are you keeping it now ?

Hmmmmmmmmmm.....................if not .......let me know.............i'll be right there...........

bill

skyking3 wrote:

I think Marty's taking a couple of days of R&R, in the ICU, after that one.

It's up for sale on ebay, hope new owner can appreciate all the hard work that went into it.

Wow Marty...Great Job!!!

It is almost a shame to use it now that it is so nice.

bbwb

WOW - Sure wound up looking a lot nicer than mine!   Looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor!  Glad I was able to share what I knew, wasn't sure how many snowblowers like mine of that vintage were still kickin' 

Great Job!

Jon