Afternoon,
I have a 1979 Toro 524 model # 38040 ser. # 900163 my father bought new when he passed away it became mine. In 2001 the original engine blew so I put a 7.5 h.p. Briggs & Stratton Intek snow on her. One night this year I was doing the driveway & one of the original chains came off & got jammed in the auger after getting it out it started right back up. When I checked the tire was flat (also original tires) I could not get the wheels off they were so rusted on & when I put a tube in the tire it came out through the sides.
So I bought a axle off ebay new wheels snow hog tires & bearings I had to cut the old axle in two and after a lot of work finally got it out. Put the new axle in her mounted the tires on the new wheels & put a ton of anti-sieze on the axle new bearing. Anyway I noticed that the rubber drive wheel was almost sitting on the front pully having the original owners manuel I read where the rubber drive wheel must be equal distance from the front pully & the rear friction disc. So I adjusted it per the manuel but when I put her in gear the rubber wheel did not even touch the front pully so I put it back to where it was.
I just bought but have not put it on as of yet as winter has returned to where I live & our driveway is a hill more like a mountain. What I'm finding is she goes very slow in 1st it has 3 speed forward & 2 reverse as I said I did all the adjustments per the book. Today was the first time I used her since doing this work & find she goes very slow up the hill a lot slower than I remember I'm not sure if the new rubber drive wheel is going to do the trick as even with the old flat tire it was going faster than this. So my question is has anyone had this problem or can come up with an idea as to why she is going so slow?.
Also I was thinking since I can't remember if I ever changed the belt or belts if this could be the problem I might of gotten oil on it. Which leads me to another question how do I find out what size belts I need?. Reason I'm asking is I went from a 5h.p. engine to the 7.5 B&S Intek snow & I would think the shaft is higher on this?.
Truth be told I should of left the old rubber drive wheel in the position it was in I think but after 30 plus years I think that the rubber would be worn this is why I bought the new rubber wheel but have to take everything back out to get it on & right now I need her. This is why I would like to at the very least change the belts. Anyway if anyone can give me ideas as to what they think it could be please let me know?. Thank you very much for your time & help!.
