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

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