tgomar

well i have a different take on those supposed unbreakable shear pins.  i have a 6 year old toro model 924 with the drum auger and those darn "shear pins".  i have a gravel driveway and have picked up rocks, newspapers, etc and never once has the machine stopped running as a result.  the belt just seems to either slip or fetch up, which results in having to ajust the belt tension after removing the stuck object.  i finally broke one of the shear pins late last week after sucking in a dogbone.  its the middle of winter and snowing on a regular basis, and the local dealer has a back log of 3 weeks in their service shop, so i am forced to repair it myself.  the shear pin broke flush with the shaft of the auger and after breaking 3 cobalt drill bits and trying a bolt extractor i am still unable to remove the darn shear pin bolt!!!  the next step is to remove the entire auger mechanism and drive shaft in order to heat the shear pin to see if it can break the bond between the bolt and shaft!  This is ridiculous!  toro should get rid of this stupid system and use regular shear pins like most other machines as it usually takes just a few minutes to replace them, which is not that big of a deal in comparison to what i have to go through to relpace mine!!   on top of the difficulty factor, they cost almost $20 to replace each bolt, which in my opinion is outrageous!!  the reason i bought toro in the first place is because i have a bad back which prevents me from shovelling snow and my local dealer recommended the toro as the most reliable.  next time i will buy a honda, or something more conventional, but NOT a toro!