Snowblower prep

[AuroraGirl]

So I have never replaced shear pins before but I bought a box of "MTD Shear pins" from farm and fleet and since its an MTD(I know) I am going to try to put them in. These are rather simple things right just a pin that has a designed break point that is low enough to protect the augers and the spider gear thing? Should I replace even the good ones? Cant be more than 10 years old. Its one of those cheap chinese dime dozen ones you toss if the engine dies which isnt unheard of.

I am gonna do a simple spray out of the carb, gas is already gone, , etc etc. But I haave looked for grease points and I havent seen many, i see one inside the thing on the setup but anyone know if there is something that could be hiding

And I need more traction with this thing. It likes to spin tires. Since it has tires, And self propelled, would liquid ballast for tire fill be enough or should I look for tire chains and also do they make them down that size. This snow blowerr is definitely a mid size unit comapred to some things I have seen in my hometown because Its not so wide but they have larger tires which I thought had chains but who can remember.

I was also gonna paint the chute with my graphite paint. well, the intake area and the chute to my ability I guess.

 

[SirRobyn0]

I cannot answer your questions specifically for a snow blower but can give some general thoughts that maybe will be useful. First Shear pins. Basically you have it right they are simple, but fit tight, so they maybe quite a bit challenging to get in and out or maybe fairly easy, but most often are difficult. Probably the right answer is to do them all, but I'd gauge that based on how hard it is to do them.

We don't get a lot of snow here but we do get rain and mud. Both chains and ballast will help, which is better I couldn't really tell you. I prefer chains mostly because if you get a flat you can loose the ballast. If you do decide to ballast them, or ballast them yourself, picking something non-toxic or less toxic so it doesn't mess up you lawn or anything like that would seem like a good choice. Of course you'll want something that won't freeze.

Not sure if that was really all that helpful but it's what I got.

 

[Ellie Niner]

No. You don't need to replace shear pins until they shear. MTD snowblowers have a particularly dainty gear reduction box for the augers, so I'm glad you've got the right shear pins for it... the gearbox will self destruct the next time you get an obstruction that stops the auger if you replace a shear pin with a regular old bolt.

And that's the only time a shear pin will come into play, is if something like a rock gets wedged between one of the auger halves and the outer case and makes the auger bind and stop. Your snowblower could live its whole life without shearing one, or you could go through a couple a week, depending on the terrain and surface you're clearing. Obv paved is easier on things than dirt and gravel.

Also pay attention to the skid shoes on the side of the auger housing. Those can wear out fast on an MTD, as they don't put much meat on them.

 

[Blue Ox]

Can't speak specifically to an MTD, but I've never had to change a shear pin in my life. However, considering the so-so quality of the MTD, if you have access to them and they're not too challenging to remove you may want to pull them and check for bent or worn.

Chains. Skip the ballast. My dinky little 3-1/2 HP Ariens has chains. You can get them pretty near any size, and sometimes wheels spin is kind of like a shear pin. Except you don't have to replace parts. Also, no chemicals that might rot the tires or kill the dog.

My last and best advice for snowblowers is synthetic oil. Makes them much easier to start and really doesn't cost much since it's usually only a quart.

 

[AuroraGirl]

No. You don't need to replace shear pins until they shear. MTD snowblowers have a particularly dainty gear reduction box for the augers, so I'm glad you've got the right shear pins for it... the gearbox will self destruct the next time you get an obstruction that stops the auger if you replace a shear pin with a regular old bolt.

And that's the only time a shear pin will come into play, is if something like a rock gets wedged between one of the auger halves and the outer case and makes the auger bind and stop. Your snowblower could live its whole life without shearing one, or you could go through a couple a week, depending on the terrain and surface you're clearing. Obv paved is easier on things than dirt and gravel.

Also pay attention to the skid shoes on the side of the auger housing. Those can wear out fast on an MTD, as they don't put much meat on them.

I should check the shoes thing since ive never heard. its 2 stage walk behind self propelled has a electric start you use a cord for or pull. It doesnt like to be taken all the way off choke and hunts at idle since it was new (lol) but I was gonna live with it since I found on a yt channel working on one that said the cheap chinese carb on it prob doesnt have any adjustment that will fix that without modification and that point iti would be easier to adapt a different one or repower LOL.
The electric start is a nice cheating help i just leave an extension cord near where It parks its butt

Can't speak specifically to an MTD, but I've never had to change a shear pin in my life. However, considering the so-so quality of the MTD, if you have access to them and they're not too challenging to remove you may want to pull them and check for bent or worn.

Chains. Skip the ballast. My dinky little 3-1/2 HP Ariens has chains. You can get them pretty near any size, and sometimes wheels spin is kind of like a shear pin. Except you don't have to replace parts. Also, no chemicals that might rot the tires or kill the dog.

My last and best advice for snowblowers is synthetic oil. Makes them much easier to start and really doesn't cost much since it's usually only a quart.

I definitely would like synthetic oil since both starting easier and high temp stability because air cooled motor and surprising how little cooling happens from shear ambient conditions. I think a lot of engines that air cool in the cold depend on the rpm to be higher to pull cold air through because I havent seen a flywheel but Im sure whatever it is isnt moving a lot of air at least best i can tell.

Also in my case the snowblower traction need is so often the elevation partially changes or it doesnt clear next to surface because uneven or just crusty top layer of snow will make the thing start trying to climb over and then hold its wheels off the ground and spin or if not that, just didnt weigh enough to hold its butt grounded I frequently am pushing downward while it walks forward. Definitely a better time when im doing in front of the garage on sidewalk we have there or the nice flat parts of the driveway but the inclines and the other areas gets worse for sure.

based on when the auger definitely sheared a pin, it was ice chunk that was inside a snow pile. lol.

Only a couple times have I had issues with the chute plugging but that was mostly after the auger would have been not spinning with its bretheren, only once or twice otherwise. Surprsied me because of how cheap and ****** it is that is works decent.

as one can tell i hold little respect for this machine.
I have given my dad an old Orange one that I got for free and it only needed a coil. Has a small 2 or 3 hp briggs White panel vs orange machine. Cant remember the brand but out of the 70s or 80s. Apparently its been doing well but burns some oil, but He asked if i wanted to trade once and I said no but I wouldnt mind a narrower machine if it was better quality.,.. No I cant that would be horrible on me lol! Definitely not going to bet on this thing lasting any amount of time because even a good owner will see these things fail from the plastic intakes to the plastic everything else to the cheap steel to the dinky augers to the engines with plastic crankshafts(Joking but apparently the engines are copies of some other brand with bottom bin parts so its only a question of when and how.)

But being I can fix small engines relatively well for someone my age and compared to a lot, I should just keep my eyes peeled. A lot of people I come across need "some old stuff" gone and Ive been near a nicer snow blower here or there, just gotta keeep an eye peeled for a deal or fb where it doesnt run etc. Because I have a slew of old small engines that were dime a dozen on equipment like 2-10hp horizontals from briggs, kohler. Trades and the like wouldnt be hard to eventually make another one come into play for a fraction of buying one from a dealer or privately that works. I cant actually stomach the idea of spending more than 500-1000 on a machine the size I am thinking I would want, which is unfortuante because they start at WAY more than that lightly used lol.

I have an idea.... get a machine that takes a horizontal shaft with a nice big open platform, figure a way to utilize 20hp kohler 2 stroke from a snowmobile....... mount a gas tank... get into the habit of premixing a lot of gas when the snow is about.. lol.

I need to mount my Snowblower on my 1988 white LGT1655 yard boss with a 16hp opposed vertical twin Briggs, light use machine so the engine has years of service yet. Good shape. Has wheel weights, chains, and the rear wheels can easily be set in or out. Tall narrow tire(22-7.5) with weights + chains = success. The single stage blower is on the smaller size for these days.. but if it proves to work out on what I try to use it for, perfect. It doesnt have much value sadly to most but the machine is a solid ass frame with a stout motor and takes a sleeve hitch on the rear.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Also I did a lot of googling and it looks like my gpa must have had a sleeve hitch machine at some point... maybe that means i have the setup somewhere.. also I saw some mid mount setups online and homemade things.. my gpa bought this machine for an unknown reason but the long ass frame thats heavy duty with a level raise and a ****** deck + things around makes me think he was eyeing a homemade grader setup. cant tell how far he would have gotten tho lol.

 

[Ellie Niner]

@AuroraGirl The EPA is the one behind the non-adjustable carburetors. It's not uncommon for four stroke snowblowers to surge a bit at maximum governed speed with no load on the engine (the stock carb jetting is usually a touch lean), but it should even out once you're throwing mud and rocks... or snow. Some of them surge at idle, too. Still, it should be able to stay running with the choke off, and smooth out when you're putting a load on it. If you have to choke it to get it to stay running or the thing falls on its face when encountering snow, the carburetor needs to be cleaned.

I'll second the vote for synthetic oil... just make sure you're not running anything heavier than 5w-30. Air cooled engines (especially the ones with fan forced cooling) are kind of like reptiles... their operating temperature is heavily based on ambient air temp.

Here's a picture of the skid shoes:

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[AuroraGirl]

@AuroraGirl The EPA is the one behind the non-adjustable carburetors. It's not uncommon for four stroke snowblowers to surge a bit at maximum governed speed with no load on the engine (the stock carb jetting is usually a touch lean), but it should even out once you're throwing mud and rocks... or snow. Some of them surge at idle, too. Still, it should be able to stay running with the choke off, and smooth out when you're putting a load on it. If you have to choke it to get it to stay running or the thing falls on its face when encountering snow, the carburetor needs to be cleaned.

I'll second the vote for synthetic oil... just make sure you're not running anything heavier than 5w-30. Air cooled engines (especially the ones with fan forced cooling) are kind of like reptiles... their operating temperature is heavily based on ambient air temp.

Here's a picture of the skid shoes:

You must be registered for see images attach

thanks for the shoe thing. I learned there is maybe a blade that scrapes on the bottom edge that can be adjusted while those shoes then stand the machine off that?
I also learned from donyboy channel how to fix the carb thing with a small drill bit. Youre right the main jet works when under load, but normal otherwise is surging. EPA!!!!!!
Its annoying as all hell to hear lol.

 

[Ellie Niner]

@AuroraGirl Yep. There's a scraper bar on the bottom of the auger housing. It basically performs the same function as a snow shovel, scraping the snow off the surface you're clearing... those (and the skid shoes) wear a lot faster if you're clearing paved areas. The skid shoes are used to keep the scraper a little above the ground if you're clearing stuff like a gravel driveway.

Your scraper bar (shave plate in MTD parlance) probably looks like this:

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The color of your original parts will match whatever color the machine is painted... MTD makes just about all store brand power equipment, so there are a rainbow of colors.

 

[AuroraGirl]

@AuroraGirl Yep. There's a scraper bar on the bottom of the auger housing. It basically performs the same function as a snow shovel, scraping the snow off the surface you're clearing... those (and the skid shoes) wear a lot faster if you're clearing paved areas. The skid shoes are used to keep the scraper a little above the ground if you're clearing stuff like a gravel driveway.

Your scraper bar (shave plate in MTD parlance) probably looks like this:

You must be registered for see images attach

The color of your original parts will match whatever color the machine is painted... MTD makes just about all store brand power equipment, so there are a rainbow of colors.

mine is MTD itself, red. Black plastics / engine stuff but red everything lol

 

[AuroraGirl]

Finally did it
took a while to find a damn plug ended up with a "premium" champion

Somehow there was no gas in the thing, I recall not being smart and leaving gas in it. wack. But i sprayed out the bottom of the carb where the screw is and some gunk came out, put it back into the bowl. put a little ATF in the cylinder because I had the spark plug out for like a week and then manuallly pulled the rope a little bit before putting plug in and stuff.
Drained the honey that was the oil, it was low and not very much like oil(behavior)

I figured air cooled john deere oil is better than 0w-40 castrol synthetic.. the only thing I had that wasnt 10w40 conventional lol. 10w30 air cooled engine oil in a snowblower? win. I had plenty of partial quarts and I had a extra one somehow.

The augers in center were bent pretty bad somehow lol. I used a mower blade to negotiate them back. Put some marine grease around where those bushing/plastic spacer things had gaps and worked it in, same with linkages and stuff.

The remnants of the shear pins can be seen. I didnt have to punch one of them out it was already gone. I used copper antiseize on the shear pins I installed

I used some dielectric on the coil boot for the plug
I found my 1 foot long feeler gauges and it was at .030 out of the package and the online manual said .020-.030 and I didnt feel like trying to change the gap since it was on the extreme and I had a feeler gauge not a spark plug tool in my hand

I managed to fill the oil to perfect spot first attempt, didnbt have to dipstick and run it and add more.

I primed it a few many times on the bulb, gas came out when its pressed a lot....

I pulled the cord instead of hooking a cord to the starter but I only pulled 3 good pulls, started. I never had it start on a pull before except when warm so my tune up made it better than factory. It hadnt run in over 1.5 years. I also had summer gas in it, and it was 10 degrees and windy. My powers are frightening it seems

I Must be magic.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[AuroraGirl]

Can't speak specifically to an MTD, but I've never had to change a shear pin in my life. However, considering the so-so quality of the MTD, if you have access to them and they're not too challenging to remove you may want to pull them and check for bent or worn.

Chains. Skip the ballast. My dinky little 3-1/2 HP Ariens has chains. You can get them pretty near any size, and sometimes wheels spin is kind of like a shear pin. Except you don't have to replace parts. Also, no chemicals that might rot the tires or kill the dog.

My last and best advice for snowblowers is synthetic oil. Makes them much easier to start and really doesn't cost much since it's usually only a quart.

37 ounces according to MTD for their 277 cc because who doesnt love just pouring out 28 ounces and then trying to nanny in 9 more from another quart.

 

[Blue Ox]

37 ounces according to MTD for their 277 cc because who doesnt love just pouring out 28 ounces and then trying to nanny in 9 more from another quart.

Well,... either get a smaller snowblower or invest in a graduated cylinder to measure your oil.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Well,... either get a smaller snowblower or invest in a graduated cylinder to measure your oil.

Decisions, decisions.

I own a graduated cylinder

the john deer quarts have Oz readings on the spine of the quart, I just poured in the 28 from the one and 9 from another, wasnt hard but the marks are far apart so I guessed well