AYP snowblower auger gear box died

[BrianF]

Poulan 30" 291cc snowblower, model P14530ES. Bought new in 2013, unknown hours but hard use.

Just started to move some snow today when I noticed the performance was down and that the augers were not cutting. Shear pins in place and the impeller was spinning, just no auger. Well [censored] I said, I bet that gear box let go. Well I ripped her down and pulled the box out. The input shaft had a pile of play but would occasionally engage the gear. At some point, either the seal failed or the bronze bearing failed, which allowed either or to self destruct. Most of the seal was worn away and the input bearing was completely worn through on one side. This this caused the input shaft to flop around with the worm hear almost flat spotted one side of the bronze gear.

A new complete gear box will run me around 330$ Canadian but seeing as this machine was 1000$ new and led a hard life, I am inclined to not put a pile of money back into it just yet. I priced out some new seals, and input bushing for about 50$ shipped. I found that the worm gear still engages the bronze gear when centered so I can live with that for the rest of the season. The other issue is the input shaft was lightly scored. I buffed down the ridges and will reinstall when I get some parts in the door.

I plan on getting some moly grease for assembly.

I always had reservations about this made in China sealed gear box but realistically, if I made this an annual tear down and inspection, I may have been able to keep it on the road.

Sorry for the bad pictures as I will get some better ones when I clean it up more.

 

[LeakySeals]

That grease looks like the problem. In addition to being hard on seals, looks like the input shaft/housing area wore down, creating play, allowing the gears to separate. Whatever you use, needs to be a low temp lube. I'd use 3m silicone paste around that shaft housing area.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Mine has a plastic cap covering up a threaded hole for a zerk. I have been considering just taking the whole thing apart to lube it. Now I want to do that.

 

[Danno]

Bought my Mastercraft 8HP 26": snowblower from Canadian Tire in 1995, it gets used hard every winter.
Wonder if I should look at the auger gear box and do a re-lube? Never been touched.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Crazy idea here:

Could you add a zerk fitting near the top of the gear-box and drill an 'exit' hole (1/16" dia.) near the bottom ?
Give it a shot of grease before each use.

 

[Donald]

The grease seems odd to me. My Ariens takes a gear oil. Not grease. Those are not hypoid gears but still I would think they would take a gear oil, not grease. Have you looked on EBAY for a replacement gear box?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted by MasterSolenoid
Crazy idea here:

Could you add a zerk fitting near the top of the gear-box and drill an 'exit' hole (1/16" dia.) near the bottom ?
Give it a shot of grease before each use.






All of the ones I looked at from various brands already had a threaded hole for a zerk, just with a plug.

 

[WyrTwister]

I know nothing about snow blowers .

But is seals are prone to leaks , that may be why it used grease , in stead of gear oil ?

I could not think of a down side to installing a grease zerk . Especially after the seals get loose . Give it a few pumps before every usr to try to flush out the old grease .

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Junkyard should have some used blowers - or the local ODPE place.Should be able to get a used but good worm box for 25 buck. May not need same model. to fit.

They take gear oil not grease - prob why this unit failed.

 

[MNgopher]

Interesting. Have not seen a sealed unit full of grease like that before. Everything I've owned is serviceable with gear oil. Though I see its a Poulan, so I guess it is what it is. (Not a knock on Poulan - we've had multiple chainsaws that have actually worked well through the years. Not pro grade stuff, but not bad for the pricepoint.)

 

[EdwardC]

My Toro 521 has a plug, but I think the manual calls for Lubriplate Mag-1 grease. Some years' manuals called for gear oil though. I just squeeze in yellow metal safe gear oil. My gearbox doesn't leak, so it seems to hold. I'd consider using grease if it did leak though.

 

[BrianF]

It seams these newer ones, at least the lower price point ones are just sealed greased units. There is two small rubber plugs along the worm gear so I could always just dump a pile of grease through it as a seasonal thing. I was a bit upset when I bought the thing last minute and realized it was a sealed box. The previous snowblowers I had used were all using gear oil.

Even if I have to split the case as a seasonal thing, it could take about an hour for teardown and set up but it is a great excuse to inspect the machine. I even found why the friction drive was slipping: The cotter pin that holds the lever onto the friction plate and pulls it into the friction wheel was missing and the thing was dangling around.

I had pondered the idea of finding a used unit but alas I live in the middle of nowhere. You would spend half a day and a tank of gas to drive to one of the neighbouring cities to even look. Cost/time it is usually better to just order new and ship.

 

[cronk]

I have an older "White by MTD" blower arould late 90's vintage. It has an aluminum case gear box similar to that, but it has a grease zerk about half way up, and a plastic vent at the top.
Every fall, I slowly pump grease in until the grease oozing out the vent looks fresh. Then I usually give it a few pumps about once a month during winter. I use Amsoil heavy duty truck and equipment grease. Seems to be working as I've never had any trouble with the gearbox.

T he higher end blowers use a cast iron gearbox with gear oil, which I think is a much more durable setup.
I would look over the gearbox carefully and see if there is a spot you could drill and tap for a grease zerk.

 

[BrianF]

I wonder if installing a grease zerk in a strategic place would be beneficial. I will look into that.

On further analysis of its use and shape: one of the augers was seized onto the auger shaft with rust and ice. I had to thaw it and soak it in penetrant oil before having to smash it off with a hammer. I usually run into all sorts of hard objects when snow blowing around the horses paddocks. Frozen crap, chunks of wood etc and end up going through a few shear pins per season. I wonder if I hit something hard and with the auger shaft seized, the next thing down the road broke or caused accelerated wear.

Here are some other, slightly better pictures of the damage. The teeth on the bronze gear were chipped off but there is still meat left on them. The bronze bushing completely wore through and scored the shaft but it really is not overly bad. Just waiting on parts and I will see how many more hard hours I can get out of it.

 

[Kamele0N]

If you are using grease...choose fluid one...like NLGI 00...with EP properties...

Wormgear on my Simplicity uses gear oil...but some years ago when seals started to leak...I used EP NLGI 00 lithium grease and wormgear survived with it for 2 seasons unharmed...

 

[dwendt44]

I vaguely recall that 'gear oil' and bronze gears don't get along very well.
Surprised that they used bronze gears in there anyway.

 

[BrianF]

I was contemplating a semi fluid 00 grease but wondering if the seals are just not set up for that. Might have to settle at a #1.5 EP as I can get it cheap and local. The agro store I go to should have some 0 and 00 but who knows the price yet...

 

[Kamele0N]

Originally Posted by dwendt44
I vaguely recall that 'gear oil' and bronze gears don't get along very well.
Surprised that they used bronze gears in there anyway.

GL4 is yellow metals friendly...even nowadays GL5 will not harm them...

 

[cronk]

If you have a John Deere dealership nearby, you might try their "cornhead grease" it is a thinner rather fluid grease.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

Every Summer, I spend several hours going over my 1977 Ariens Snow-Thrower.
Come Fall, it gets a quick check.

That's way better then doing it in the Winter.