aloumeyer

Old Jacobsen Homelite 2-statge unit...

Since I was replacing a couple shear pins last night, I picked up a grease gun at Home Depot to grease the axle while I was at it. Mind you it is the first time I have ever used one, and I'm big enough to acknowledge that I would have loved some instructions, but the only directions it came with were how to load the cartridge. I think I was doing it right except that I pulled a grease nipple off on one side -- twisted it back in and it seems solid -- did I break it? How many times does one need to pump grease into each side? Are there other grease points I shouldn't neglect?

Onto the gearbox: I have no reason to believe it's in disrepair but I see that there is an oil plug on it. Does one normally need to replace the gearbox oil? Any tips for checking the level and/or quality of the oil?

Many thanks from a snow blower rookie...

Nibbler: All great ideas -- I think I even have some Locktite of the waterproof variety that should work for this. We're getting dumped on here in Minnesota today, and the blower has been working pretty well. Thanks for your various tips.

Thanks -- the bolt explanation makes complete sense and I will pick up a few to keep on hand. The grease tip is helpful too.

The engine is pretty easy to start with the pull cord, so I won't be too upset if for some reason I am unable to reinstall the electric start.

Next thing I need to work on is the chute (sp?). At its base, the only thing holding it against the gear that rotates it are a few bolts/washers that it looks like someone added at some point. They're just loose enough to allow it to turn, but as you can imagine they rattle loose and frequently need to be tightened.

Thanks for the reply -- thought I'd follow up about what actually turned out to be the problem...

When in much warmer weather, the engine still wouldn't turn, I attempted to turn it manually with a wrench. Finally the electric start motor popped off. It had rattled loose and caused a jam so that nothing would turn. I removed the electric start (looks OK) and will try to replace it in warmer weather. For now, it's starting just fine again with the pull cord.

Here's the next thing though: We had a big, wet snow yesterday in Minneapolis and one side of the auger (noticed by my brother in law) would stop turning the minute it hit snow. Turns out it spins freely on the axle -- the other impeller, which turns and functions just fine, is bolted on by a screw. The "spinning" side looks like it should be bolted on too as there is a hole for a one, it is missing, hence the free spinning. My question is this: should the impeller by bolted on at all, or should it be welded on? The bolts seem an odd way to secure the blades -- was it a "fix" by a previous owner?

The official product description for our snow thrower: Jacobsen Homelite Imperial SNO 826 eight HP Heavy Duty Two Stage Snow Blower with Electric Start and 4 forward speeds with reverse. My description: old, orange and until today, started every time.

Picked this up on craigslist this past summer from a retired mechanic who'd taken decent care of it and recently had replaced the electric start. Started and ran fine at that time and has worked fine for three snowfalls. Tried to fire it up today to no avail -- electric start does nothing and the cord is stuck like the engine is ceased. Oil was fairly recently changed prior to purchase and is full -- no leaks detected. Fuel was added about a month ago. One thing I neglected to do this time was close the valve between the fuel tank and carb before parking it. Was running fine when I last shut it down. Could the engine be shot? We've had a good cold snap, so cars are starting slow too -- no clue if the temp would affect this. Thanks much.