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

I've repainted my blower housing, impeller, auger and chute (pictures to come) and replaced the impeller bearing and got the engine purring like a kitten.  I've got the whole thing back together...almost, when I notice that there is some play in the axle where it penetrates the tractor housing.  I was going to address the tractor in the off-season but with no snow in the foreseeable future and backup equipment available just in case, I'm thinking of replacing the bearings and any related h/w.

My problem is twofold.  How to disassemble the drive axle and how to identify what needs replacing.  I can't tell if the wear is in the housing or the washer that fills the opening or the bearing or the bearing retainer or all of the above.  When I put the blower on the housing and remove the bottom plate, I wiggle the axle and see some movement in the space between the housing and the washer and possibly between the axle and the bearing.

Looks like I'm going to have to disassemble it to know for sure.  Anyone who has been down this road, feel free to share your experiences.

The parts I was looking to replace, according to the parts manual:

(2)  05417700 Bearing-Ball 1.45 x 2.19 x 0.63
(2)  06417000 Washer-Flat-Steel 1.140 x 1.718 x 0.134

Here's the starboard side:


Here's the port side but the bearing area is not visible:

manjestic, I just did that to my "new" ST824 (looks just like yours, with the high-mounted control panel), so I'm happy to help where I can. My machine had very worn wheel bearings. But, as jrtrebor mentioned, the inside of my bearings, and the outside of the axle shafts, were also worn. New bearings did a lot to reduce the slop & play. But it's still not perfect, the bearing is loose on the shaft currently. What I want to do is have the axles welded up where the bearings mount, then machine them back down to size. Barring that, you could try something like JB Weld on the area, then file it back down until it was about the right size, so the bearing can slip over it. Loctite also makes products for taking up gaps between a shaft and bearing. But using that would make the bearings difficult to remove in the future, without using heat. This all assumes that you have some axle wear, and that it's significant enough that you want to try and address it. Hopefully you *don't* have any wear on the axle.

I had enough wear on my axles & bearings that my gears don't look as nice as yours. My smaller spur gear's teeth are quite rounded. But the new axle bearings appear to have eliminated the occasional skipping that I was getting between the gear teeth.

If it were me, I would drive out the axle roll pins, and try sliding the axles out through the bearings, before spending a lot of time trying to get the rust off the axles while they're installed. If the inside of the bearings have worn larger, then they may slip right over the rust. If not, then you can worry about cleaning the rust up while the axles are still in the machine. But maybe they'll come right out.

I did not have to remove the 4 bolts for the bearing mounts when removing my axles. They do need to come off to remove the bearings, but that can be done later. Note, however, that mine were rusted up, and the nuts would not simply come off. The bolts have little splines that are supposed to keep them from spinning in the frame. Unfortuantely, several of mine started to spin, so I had to cut the nuts off. I replaced them with stainless hardware. But I would start putting some penetrating oil on the 4 bearing mount bolts on each side, to hopefully make them easier to remove.

As jrtrebor said, make sure that everything that slides is greased. I also put a thin film of grease all along the length of the axles themselves, to help keep them from rusting up again. I also greased the teeth on the differential and mating gear. My chains also have much more lube on them than yours do (previous owner used some sort of heavy oil, it seems). Check that the tension on the two chains is correct as well, while you're in there. I also replaced the bearing on the port side (for the intermediate chain shaft), the small bearing with the grease fitting on the outside. That was worn for me as well.

I'm jealous of the condition yours is in Mine appears to have led a harder life. All my paint is in rough shape, more things are worn, etc. You did a beautiful job painting the housing!

manjestic wrote:

This is curious and must be a typo (1.45).  Ariens Parts Radar does show the dimensions for the bearings as being 1.45 x 2.19 x 0.63.
But the axles are 1 1/8" (1.12) OD.  The ID of the axle washer is 1.14 and any searches for the bearing (05417700) sold by different parts places
show the bearing ID as being 1.129 .  

jrtrebor wrote:
I referenced the Ariens Parts Manual (part no. 024046E dated 7-95).  I verified that the typo was not my doing.  Good catch.

Thanks for all the advice and wisdom.  I'm sure we'll get a blizzard as soon as I snap off the first rusty nut clear.

Dismounted the axles two nights ago...snow's coming.  I think those two events are cause-effect.

manjestic wrote:
Please continue to take it apart, I heard there might be some snow heading for us too.

I agree, continue to dismantle that snowblower.  A big storm is coming this way.  Nobody buy another snowblower!

Good thing I have backup machines.  I'm storing my brother-in-law's 6.5hp Craftsman and I have a Toro CCR 1000.  My neighbor comes by occasionally with his Bobcat with a poly blade, too. 

I was wondering why you were so brave to open up the snowblower in January.  Yeah, I got a back up snowblower too, and that one has its back up.  :)

Ordered new axle bearings.  I now am checking other wear items in the reduction gear drive.  New concern...when I disassembled the differential, I didn't notice parts 36 or 39 as shown below.  I'm wondering if they are missing or perhaps I have the wrong parts manual.  Anyone?  Bueller?