gravron

Making progress. Tractor subassembly is now separated from blower sub-assembly. Friction disk and drive belt have been replaced in tractor sub-assembly; both were severely cracked and worn. Next steps will concentrate on blower sub-assembly. See photo below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/norvarg/5891311055/in/set-72157627079486504

The youtube video at the URL below provides an excellent description of how to change the friction disk on an Ariens snowblower. It's by the same author as the video recommended Shryp above. I was able to follow the instructions almost to the letter and it was a breeze!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16wyIncM8Ls

Spinning the augers after removing the shear pins was a critical maintenance step I missed over the years; I discovered that yesterday after downloading and reviewing several maintenance manuals for my snowblower. It's why I did that check and discovered I had one frozen auger. It's also what inspired my summer overhaul project; better in June-July than in the middle of a Canadian winter!!

I've also replaced shear pins from time to time, and that requires aligning the auger with the rake shaft and typically requires rotating the auger on the rake shaft. However, purposely spinning the auger would do a much better job of distributing the grease around the rake shaft. The other factor is that I was not using a marine grease that is fresh and salt-water resistant. That's another bit of hindsight I discovered during my internet research. Now, if the Internet were here forty years ago....

The blower got a new engine in 2004; Tecumseh HMSK110. See image at URL below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/norvarg/5884841593/

Thanks for your helpful suggestions. I had already seen the youtube video you provided and was wondering about the kind of additional options you suggested. I'm the original owner and have been greasing the rake shaft periodically over the years (close to 40 years now!). I have injected new marine grease into all the grease fittings until it was oozing out of the shear pin hole and both journal ends of the rake shaft. I succeeded in loosening all the screws and fittings that hold the rake shaft/auger assembly in the blower housing this afternoon (apart from the drive connection). My next step is to remove the auger assembly from the blower housing and try your methods of loosening or removing the frozen auger from the rake shaft. I will need a second pair of hands for that job; hope to try that tomorrow.

I'm in the process of doing an overhaul/preventative maintenance on an early 1970's vintage Ariens snowblower; in particular, trying to free a "frozen" auger. One half of the auger spins freely on the rake shaft when the shear pins are removed, but the other half of the auger appears to be frozen to the rake shaft from corrosion. I am considering trying to remove the auger and rake shaft assembly from the blower housing, and then dealing with the frozen auger. Any suggestions or advice is welcome.