I played with adjusting the cover some more, and was able to finally get it popped on correctly with some pressure. It doesn't go on as smoothly as the new models @ Lowes, but it is on. Hoping now that the water is properly deflected, I think the plate being in place will make all the difference...
I too have the same problem with these 3 parts missing, and got the run around from John Deere earlier this year, and wanted to try to fix it properly. So I bought the parts myself (shaft plate, seal and strip). I installed them all, but now my cover doesn't fit correctly. It is as if the new plate is a little too big for the cover. So I set out to Lowes, to look at the new 928's to see what I could find out, and took these pics. Pictures have explanations in them. If anyone runs into the same issue with the cover fitment, please let me know how you fixed it!
Hello Everyone. I've been following this discussion b/c I have a 928E that has had the same slippage problems, and for around $2 in weatherstripping, I have a simple solution that might help.
I was clearing my driveway in the last snowstorm, and it was raining/sleeting at the same time. I almost immediately lost my drive. Took it back into the garage, and removed the belt cover. The problem is, the rear of where the cover seats, is where the metal from the snowblower frame dips down. Water was going down this metal, and guess what? The friction disc is right below. It gets wet = loss of drive. Once you take off the cover and see the relationship between the edge of the frame and position of the friction disc, you will understand why it so easily gets water on the disc.
So I dried up the water and cleaned up the friction disc using brake cleaner. Then, I used a strip of weather stripping that I attached to the frame. It is a little tricky putting this weather stripping in there, it goes behind the pulleys and the spring, and just lies flat on that metal edge that dips down. Make sure it does not touch the engine. Once on, it will help block water from simply falling onto the friction disc. It works fine now, and the friction disc is able to do its job w/o getting wet and slipping.
As mentioned in this thread, this part should of came standard with our blowers, but it didn't. I suspect JD is fully aware of this problem, but doesn't want to pay a repairman to come out and apply a $2 piece of weather stripping. There should be a better way to protect the friction disc from getting wet. JD could have put a slight lip on the edge of the metal, to prevent water from just falling in.
