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

I have exhaustively searched for a left side auger gearcase half for my Sears/Murray model 536.918200 snowblower but have come up empty. The Murray p/n is 50217. The national Murray parts distributor has none & shows part as NLA.

The reason I need one is that I accidently BROKE it in two when removing one of the auger rakes.

I am considering brazing the broken 2 pieces back together - any tips to make a successful repair?

Thanks!
Marty

Marty,

I haven't seen brazing aluminum before. My recommendation would be to take it to a GOOD welding shop and have it welded.  One problem with welding is that the part may warp if not welded carefully, in turn throwing off your hole pattern.  It could be possible to have them TIG or MIG weld it. 

Best regards,

Walt

Hi Marty!

Take it to a Harley shop.Not uncommon for the old generator style engines to put "one through the case". I have seen cases put together that looked like jigsaw puzzles.

Marc

Marc,

Great Idea!

walt

That is a good idea.  The process for welding aluminum is called heiliarc. (not sure of spelling  pronounced he-le-arc)  hard to find places to do that.   if a Harley shop can't do it ,  then they will certainly know where to tell you to find one

Ben

You can order replacement parts from sears.  I have the same model snowblower and had the same problem.   I would reccomend both halves as they changed the design along the bottom of the case and added more bolts to reinforce the bottom.   But the 4 orignal holes do line up with the new style gearcase design.  You need Sears part 51278 (murrary #10577)  for the right half, and 51277 (murray #10576) for the left half.    Gasket is sears part #51279.  Cost was $12.14 per half, and $2.16 for the gasket.  I was able to reuse my original seals. 

I found this while searching parts on sears website, and found that 536.9182* brought up a 536.918200, 536.918201, and 536.918202 model.  There are more parts still available for 536.918201 and at least the gearbox is compatible with 536.918200! 

Hey Marty!

Buy Jdavidson a beer. Nobody gonna weld that up for $12 and change per side!

Marc

Hey Marty,your PN showed unavailable for that model blower.Davidson says the other case will fit.There is probably quite a few models with the same gearcase.Different brands probably use the same Mfg. for that matter.The local small engine guy probably has one.

All you guys are AWESOME - I can't thank you enough for the help!

Rob - thank you LOADS for the welding offer but it looks like I have a solution thanks to JDavidson!

JDavidson - YOU ARE THE MAN!! I never thought of wildcard (*) searching on the website. I cannot thank you enough for posting all your hard earned findings, results AND the part numbers to help me out! The only question I have is which input shaft washers/thrust collar OR needle bearing is used - my old case part numbers or the ones for the new case? Otherwise, I noticed the bushings & oil seals are identical to both style cases.

I received prices close to $100 to weld this up which was out of the question. Thanks to "JD" I have a much less expensive alternative which kept this old Sears from either being scrapped or becoming a parts machine!

I actually tried to MIG weld this with steel wire (mistake #1). I couldn't see at all, so I didn't use my welding helmet (BIG mistake #2) & virtually had no eyesight over the weekend. USE EYE PROTECTION WHEN WELDING GUYS & GALS!!!

REGARDS & THANK YOU!
Marty 

I was able to reuse all of my original parts when reassembling except for the gasket and gearcase halves.  Everything fit perfectly.  Only strange thing is one of the halves has a smooth unthreaded hole for adding gearcase lube which you'll have to close off.   I was in my local home improvement store recently that has murray snowblowers and they all had the same gearcase design that I just put on my 25+ year old one!   I was not sure the parts would work, but was willing to take a chance for $26 plus shipping, I could have always returned them to sears. 

jdavidson: WOW man! - Again, I cannot thank you enough for all your help with this. I GREATLY appreciate it!! I need new bushings/seals since my old ones are very worn. I figured since I need new ones, I might as well get the "right ones" per your recommendation. I'll go ahead & place my order this afternoon.

Thanks & Regards!
Marty

Good luck with your rebuild Marty.

They male an aluminum welding rod now for arc welding.Wow, talk about welders price gouging.I should buy a welder and stick it on the back of my truck.Make a fortune.

Nav - I couldn't believe my ears when I got those prices to make a 4" weld on such a small piece.  

I ordered everything Wed night (about $70). Once that frozen auger is freed, then all I have to do is reassemble everything. I'll probably paint the auger rakes as they look horrible from all the beating & heating.

Then, 4 head bolt threads on the engine need to be helicoiled (they're stripped out), a few machine/engine adjustments, then this guy will truely be like NEW.

A word to the wise - if you're reassembling a machine, highly consider using ANTISEIZE on ALL the shafts. This way if you ever have to remove any rakes, pulleys or impellers, they should come off easilly.

Marty

not sure what kind of never seize you have available to you but there is a great lube available from your friendly local mercury mercruiser marine dealer. its called mp101 and it will keep stuff in good shape in saltwater which never seize wont do.

check it out should be reasonably priced in U.S.

later chris

Chris,
You need to get the marine never seize. Just like the mp101. but usually cheaper. MSC and Mcmaster-Carr.

Oh yeah.

Don't get any on you.  Right.

No matter how hard you try, the stuff will be places you don't need never seize.

yes just a note to the friends here ...

if you use never seize you will have it on your pillow the next morning,i dont know how it travels so much but that stuff gets everywhere and i get and more.

later chris

Yipee!  All my parts arrived Monday - Sears was very prompt in sending me everything I ordered! Here's the old & new auger gearcase halves:

Note that the new case part has 7 bolts to secure the case halves as opposed to the old part's 4 bolts. The new case also offers reinforcing bosses to help strengthen the piece's integrity. I messed up the old case half so badly that I just tossed it...

JDavidson - THANK YOU AGAIN for mentioning this to me & for offering your findings & assistance!

Snowshoveller - You're not kidding about antiseize getting EVERYWHERE! Even when you think you have it all wiped off, it magically resurfaces...

Marty