How To Repair Snow Blower When Auger Does Not Turn
- Rated as REALLY EASY
- 2 step by step videos
Shear Pins
If the impeller inside of your snow blower will rotate, but neither of the augers will, it is possible that the shear pins that connect the augers to the driveshaft are broken. These pins will break as a safety mechanism if the auger or impeller comes into contact with anything that causes it to suddenly stop rotating. This helps to prevent damage to the gearbox and belts. A broken shear pin can be replaced very easily. It is very important that you always use the exact shear pin specified by the manufacture. Shear pins are engineered to break at specific torque limits. Using a pin that breaks at a higher torque than specified can cause damage to your machines components. Regular bolts from the hardware store are never a safe way to replace shear pins. If you inspect the connections for the impeller and augers and see that a shear pin is broken or missing, this is likely the cause of the issue. If all shear pins seem to be in place, but the augers still will not rotate, there may be an issue internal to the gearbox that is stopping the augers from rotating.
Gearbox
The gearbox attaches to the impeller drive shaft and makes a 90 degree change in direction for the auger shaft. The crankshaft connects to a belt pulley. The drive belt is controlled by an idler pulley that is engaged to start the impeller and augers spinning. The impeller drive shaft has a pulley that is also connected to the drive belt. The impeller shaft runs in a front to back direction within the snowblower. The impeller is attached to the driveshaft with a shear pin. The end of the impeller shaft connects to the gearbox. The gearbox makes a 90 degree change in shaft direction so that the auger shaft can run across the width of the snowblower. Each auger is attached to the auger driveshaft with a shear pin. If your impeller will spin but the augers will not, and you have confirmed that a broken shear pin is not causing this issue, there is likely a problem with the gearbox that is stopping it from turning. The teeth on the gears inside of the gearbox can sometimes bend, break or become worn which causes them to slip or lose their grip. There is also a small key (similar to a flywheel key or shear pin) that rotates the shaft that sits inside of the gear. If this key break or slips out of place, the spinning of the gears will no longer force the augers to turn. If you believe your gearbox is damaged, remove it from its housing and open it to expose the gears. Any damage or missing keys will need to be replaced. If the gearbox is damaged beyond repair, a new gearbox can be purchased and installed with relative ease.
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