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kip in cny 
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 Topic: snowblower problems
Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 3:24pm |
I have a 7ft Mckee snowblower on the back of my 160. The problem I keep having is it keeps blowing shear pins on the impeller. The pin is 7 inches long and 3/8 round. I have been putting all grade 8 in. Due to it pops anything eles way to easy. I was only snowblowing 4 inches of fluff today I broke 2 pins in 100ft. Iam not hitting ice or anything other then fluffy snow. Any one eles have the same blower or the same problem ? 
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160 CA 920diesel 5020 HD-3
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CTuckerNWIL
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 4:10pm |
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Is the impeller free turning? How about after you run it a while? I'm thinking maybe a bearing problem. How sloppy is the hole the bolt goes in? If the bolt hole is egged, that will cause problems.
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Creek Jenkins
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 4:12pm |
Kip -
I have a 7' Lorenz on my D17. It's only about 5 years old. Lorenz uses 1/4 grade 5 bolts for the shear pins, they caution against grade 8 (too hard) and grade 5 (too soft). The Lorenz looks similar to your blower. I have shear bolts at each of the two augers, where the chain sprocket connects to the auger shaft. There is also a shear bolt in the PTO shaft right before the gear case. I had problems at first with the auger bolts shearing, but found they were working loose pretty quick and so I used locking nuts and that seemed to clear that up - still have to check them fairly often as they do work loose a bit.
The shear bolt on the PTO shaft was a real head scratcher, I couldn't finger out why that was breaking all the time when I first got the blower. Light snow, slow speeds, didn't matter. Dang thing would shear all the time. On the side of the blower there is a sticker "Maximum tractor hp 40" or something like that. Couldn't finger out why the blower would care how much power the tractor had. Finally fingered it out or read the manual I can't remember which - it is the angle of the PTO shaft. Larger tractors would cause the PTO shaft to be at a steeper angle and cause it to bind up, especially if you set the blower all the way down so there is slack in the 3 pto and the blower tends to tip back a bit when you hit snow or ice or whatever. I screwed the shoes all the way down so there is 1.5 -2" under the blower and haven't had a problem since. I only use it when we get a lot of snow, so the 2" I leave doesn't really matter. Have been thinking about extending the lip down though.
Dunno if that is your problem or not. If your shear pin is after the PTO then you must have something else going on and I apologise for the long winded response.
cheers,
Creek
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kip in cny
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 4:48pm |
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Tucker the bearing is fine nothing rubbing. I checked all that out. The bolt wont last more then 100 ft in light snow. Creek I have the shoes at 2 inches and I run lock nuts on all 4 shear bolts. The one that keeps breaking is the shear bolt for the impeller the one that shoots the snow into the air. Its after the gear box where its shearing the pin. I will check into the angle. This blower is rated for way more HP then the 160 it has 540 and 1000 rpm shafts
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160 CA 920diesel 5020 HD-3
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klinemar
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 4:51pm |
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You might be slugging or bridging in the discharge.
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Creek Jenkins
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 5:30pm |
Kip if the pin is after the gear case it probably isn't the drive shaft angle. Gotta be something else that happens when you run it. Any noises when the pin goes?
cheers,
Creek
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kip in cny
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 5:35pm |
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No weird sounds its quiet. you can hear when the pin pops.
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160 CA 920diesel 5020 HD-3
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Nathan (SD)
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 6:43pm |
Our (JD) Mc Kee has 2 shear pins that are 3/8 size on the PTO Shaft for the fan.
Kip. You said it is after the gearbox. I assume you mean between the fan and the gearbox on the hitch side of the blower.
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kip in cny
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 7:37pm |
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Its the fan that keeps breaking the shear pins
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160 CA 920diesel 5020 HD-3
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Brian Jasper co. Ia
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 8:59pm |
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You're not picking up rocks or other stuff and jamming the impeller are you?
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FHOliver
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 9:07pm |
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My bet is on the bearing ,turns over and feels fine by hand but when up to speed its grabbing and catching
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kip in cny
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 9:09pm |
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no the driveway had 2 or 3 inches of hard pack snow since dec. Plus I would hear them flying out the shoot.
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jiminnd
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 9:20pm |
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Not sure I understand which bolt you are breaking, I have a 7ft single auger, I sheaer the one in the pto right at the tractor, there is a bushing where it turns when the bolt shears and it is wore so bad causes the pto shaft to vibrate and can't keep the bolt tight so it shears easy, I double nutted it so it stays tight longer, helps a lot but not the fix it needs.
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CTuckerNWIL
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 10:17pm |
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I would run it till it shears the next bolt and feel if there is any excess heat or chatter in the bearings while they are warmed up.
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DaveKamp
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 10:33pm |
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Shear bolt is too hard... and if you've broken a few very hard bolts, the holes are no longer concentric, meaning it'll fracture them with shear-stress.
Remove whatever bolt you have in there now, use an adjustable reamer to ream to tap-in fit with a Grade 3 or 5 of next larger size (metric might be a good idea here, so you can split between sizes). Finally, when you install the shear bolt, tighten the securing nut JUST ENOUGH to bottom the bolt... don't torque it.
Edited by DaveKamp - 08 Feb 2011 at 10:34pm
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427435
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 10:49pm |
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Grade 8 bolts may well take less impact loading in shear than a grade 5. Grade 8 bolts (especially those from China) are also more prone to hydrogen embrittlement. Make sure the holes that the bolt goes through aren't oblong and try a grade 5. If oblong, consider drilling them out a 1/16 and using a grade 2 bolt first. If that fails too easily, then go to grade 5.
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Mark
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kip in cny
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 11:19pm |
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I will try grade 5. Tucker trust me its not the bearing heating up Iam not even getting a 100ft of use before the bolt snaps. The hole is wore I have checked that. Drilling it would be way too hard. It will go to auction before I tear that far into it.
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Clay
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Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 11:54pm |
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You may want to try some Belzona 1111 Super Metal.
Coat the bolt with release agent and allow to dry at least 15 minutes.
Degrease the bolt hole.
Use a rat tail file to clean the bore of the bolt hole and degrease again.
Mix up some Super Metal and coat the inside of the bolt hole.
Coat the bolt with Super Metal and insert into the bolt hole.
Clean up any excess material but do not disturb the bolt and Super Metal.
Allow the Super Metal to cure.
Install the lock nut.
Not sure if this will help in you circumstance but it is worth a shot. I have used this method in other power transmission situations.
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DaveKamp
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Posted: 09 Feb 2011 at 1:09am |
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Kip- If the hole is worn, it isn't too hard to drill... just make sure that the hole is large enough so that you don't run it in at a taper, and bind the bit. The worn hole acts as a 'bypass shear', hence, cutting the shear bolts easily. Extremely hard bolt will pop in half, and spin (tearing the holes worse). Either drill, or ream it out to next closest oversize.
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kip in cny
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Posted: 09 Feb 2011 at 1:34am |
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I ment to say above the hole is NOT wore. No play in the bolt hole
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SHAMELESS
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Posted: 09 Feb 2011 at 2:08am |
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can you try a large roll pin and run a wire thru it?
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JohnThomas
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Posted: 09 Feb 2011 at 5:29am |
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Your shear pin is 7 inches by 3/8 inch? Why is it so long? I don't get it.
I've run a 7 foot blower for many years and only popped a pin now and then if I hit hard pack banks.
I am thinking your ground speed is too fast? 4 to 5 inches of new snow should not faze that impeller unless you are crowding it way too much. Have you shifted up to 1000RPM and tried it?
I'd also check out the source of your pins....how hard is it to bend one or snap one in the vise?
It just doesn't sound right popping a .375 pin like that so quick.
I'd check the fan housing also....is the fan rubbing on the lower part of the fan housing when it gets a load on it? That would be caused by shaft/fanhub looseness.
That 7 inch long pin still confuses me tho. How big is the shaft the fan is pinned to?
Good Luck! ..it don't take much to imagine your exasperation with this right when you need to gt that snow out.
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ChuckLuedtkeSEWI
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Posted: 09 Feb 2011 at 6:28am |
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Is any part of the impeller bent that it might be out of balance? Just throwing out ideas. I had an 8' McKee just like yours and that thing was awesome when it was working. I agree with Dave in the fact that make sure the hole isn't egged out and use a grade 5 bolt. I don't remember how the impellers looked on mine as it's been gone for a couple years, but why is that bolt so long? Can you post a picture of the impeller close up? Don't get too frustrated, it's probably something that when you're all done, you'll wonder why you never thought of that.
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Ken McGregor
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Posted: 09 Feb 2011 at 9:09am |
Is there a key-way on the shaft? I had trouble with the PTO shaft ahead of the gearbox and could shear off pins very easily. I investigated further and found that there was a key-way there and the key had fallen out. (NOT a Woodroff!) I replaced the key with a slightly longer flat key than what the book called for and this along with a pin that fit well with a wire bail on it. This system has worked flawlessly ever since.
Don't really know but it is a possibility!
regards,
Ken McGregor
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bill2260
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Posted: 09 Feb 2011 at 9:19am |
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check to see if gear box bolts that mount to frame are tight. My lorenze last year came loose and broke shear bolts till I caught thte problem. Bill
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klinemar
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Posted: 09 Feb 2011 at 1:38pm |
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One of the most difficult repairs to a snow blower is removing a car tire that the snow blower picked up.Trust me it will ruin your day!
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jaybmiller
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Posted: 09 Feb 2011 at 1:42pm |
Finding a skid of paving stones isn't much fun ,especially AFTER finding the garden hose you were 'supposed' to put away BEFORE the snow fell.......
6 friggin hours of 'uncoiling' that new last year hose......sigh....
I'm real interested in the reason and cure for the broken bolt though ...
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john(MI)
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Posted: 09 Feb 2011 at 1:47pm |
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Backing out a door mat may be up there on the list as well!! LOL!!!
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rob(ont)
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Posted: 09 Feb 2011 at 6:01pm |
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If posssible, can you run @ 1000 pto rpm? More impeller speed = less torque. Start the blower slowly, don't shock the drive when starting. HTH, Rob.
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