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

Hey, I have had my 826oxe for almost three years and for the first time the two shear pins that bolt the impeller onto the shaft that leads into the auger gearcase broke. I never had any on hand because I was told/it is advertised there is no need for shear pins in these machines. And I couldn't get new ones when this happened because everything was shut down due to the storm. So I had to shovel! When the shop did open the next day they said it was common for this to happen, especially due to the high stress on the machine because the type of snow it was clearing(wet/heavy/hard packed and about 3 feet high). The guy said also that the shear pins in the auger do break on occasion. So I picked up a bunch of extra shear pins for the impeller and auger. I wish they had told me this when I bought the machine so I would have had them on hand for when they were eventually needed. Any other toro owners have this happen? If you haven't, and you don't have any extras in your toolbox I advise you to go buy some!

" I have had readers tell me they have run 2 inch rocks through their Toro and didn’t break a thing!"

There's a big difference between passing a 2" rock and having the same rock jamb the auger.  If a rock anything else stops the auger or impeller from turning, something has to give. 

So, the choice is yours.  A two bit shear pin or $250.00 or more in repairs.

borat wrote:


That's an easy choice, but that is besides the point. The point is, why does is state from several different sources(from the manufacturer, to the dealer, to other third party sources) that there is no shear pins when that is obviously incorrect?

I have zero issues with the fact that shear pins busted, just that I was told that it didn't need them so I never had any on hand which caused major inconvenience in the middle of a huge storm. I can, however say the shear pins will rarely break in the toro because last year my dogs 20' chain got completely entangled in the auger and it kept going(obviously struggling) without anything breaking..

giocam wrote:
The point is, why does is state from several different sources(from the manufacturer, to the dealer, to other third party sources) that there is no shear pins when that is obviously incorrect?

Well it may be a matter of schematics but the bolts that Toro uses are just grade 5 bolts not shear bolts!! The bolts for the impeller are grade 5 tap bolts (a tap bolt is a bolt that is threaded the full length of the bolt). The bolt for the auger should be long enough so that there are no threads in the auger shaft the spacer is so that the bolt can be tightened. This differs from most other manufactures who use shear bolts most often designed with a turned down spot so that the bolt will break in that spot & break easier.

"The point is, why does is state from several different sources(from the manufacturer, to the dealer, to other third party sources) that there is no shear pins when that is obviously incorrect?"

Quite possible that Toro is appealing to the "know nothing - do nothing" generation of people who want a device to make a specific task easier without any committment to maintenance, nor the need to understand how/why things work. 

Our nations are dumbing down in a big way.  Any opportunity that a manufacture can see to capitalize on mental and physical laziness will become a part of their sales philosophy.  Consumers can be their own worst enemy. 

When I was shopping for a Toro 2 stage snowblower, I was under the impression that the shear bolts do not shear easily.  It is there for catastropic event to protect the engine.  For the most part, the load from the auger obstruction was supposed to stall the engine, preventing further damage.  I can't remember if that was a salesman or Toro's stance on how it functions.

I'm not sure why Toro takes that approach.   It is plausible even though I'm not comfortable with that idea.  Their auger, impeller and gearbox aren't built any more tougher than an Ariens or Honda.  Perhaps there's more to Toro's design than I can see.

In any case, if the shear bolts breaks and protects from further damage to the machine, that's what really matter.  If there's a high occurance of broken shear bolts with normal use, then I would see that as a problem and design flaw.

I didn't buy a Toro, but got a Honda.  Toro is nice, I like their ergonomics, but they don't have hydrostatic drive or tracks.  Toro's 2 stage are generally high priced compared to Ariens.  The first year of using my Honda, I was breaking shear bolts frequently.  A couple of these times were due to hitting something solid, a few of them were due to overtightening of the shear bolts.  These would cause the bolts to shear prematurely at a lower load.  I'm not sure if Toro has anything stated in the manual on how the bolts should be torqued down, that's where I would start to look at.

ajallen wrote:

ajallen wrote:
Nope, the bolts on the impeller are only threaded on the exposed end for the nut to screw onto. The part of the bolt that is inside the shaft has no thread.
The toro part # is 321-11 for the bolt and 3296-42 for the nut.

Should be 321-44

The bolt can be seen in this link(third one down):
http://www.repairclinic.com/Toro-Snowblower-Shear-Pin-Parts

borat wrote:
This is multi-faceted.  Consumers aren't the only ones to blame.  Designs are often influenced by ease of manufacturabililty, lower costs, mistake proofing, reducing risks and liability.   Heck, Walmart and Costco drives the costs down even further.  Consumers are too used to gimme gimme the best at the lowest prices.  Plus, they don't want to take care of it since they can get a newer and better one a few years down the road.

The current generation are bombarded with too much information to really spend time to be good at anything.  The days of learning with your Dad are now replaced with carting kids around to soccer and football practice.  Kids are now entertained with Ipads and cell phones.  If they ever need to know anything, just open up Youtube.  It's rare to see kids do household chores, mowing lawn, shoveling snow.  Heck, even parents are too busy to do that themselves.  They outsource them so they can have more time toting kids around soccer practice.

I wouldn't say manufacturers capitalize on consumers mental and physical laziness.  It's a loosing battle, make it cheaper and better to stay in business.  The sad part is price pressure drives manufacturing to outside of the consuming market.  I don't see how a consuming mass doesn't produce what they consume?  They need to produce something to consume.