Snowstorm Woes

[RL338]

Central WI was hit with a good snowstorm. When I got home from work today , I went to plow out the yard and I broke the tractor. The 4wd broke again , for the third time. For the first 20 yrs no issues , and the last 3 years I’ve broken the outboard gears 3 times. This weekend I’ll be tearing it apart before the next storm rolls in.

 

[truck driver]

Sorry to hear your equipment is letting you down, maybe time to replace it.

 

[KinleyWater]

Also sorry; especially wen you clearly need it with the weather being as it has. Sometimes things just reach the end of their service life.

*EDIT*

I apologize for my clumsily worded post. My intent was to express my sympathies, and I don't know if that's how it came across. I suppose what I was trying to say was more that - Yes, sometimes things reach the end of their service life and you just need to replace them, but this is a bad time to have to do it.

Not sure if that was much better, but I hope it's at least understandable.

 

[jimbires]

that's a bummer . in todays world everything is expensive , IF you can get it .

 

[salmonchaser]

First 20 years no problems, treat that machine right, she earned it.

 

[grry10]

I know what it's like when your snow removal equipment breaks down or won't start, so I feel for you. We received 10" this storm but know many areas were hit worse.

 

[Guy Miner]

I wonder if the replacement gears available today are not as well made as the originals? Perhaps not properly heat-treated?

Several years ago I had a tight aftermarket limited slip differential installed in the rear Dana 44 axle of my Jeep. The danged ring bolts failed! Left me on the side of the road after a few big clunking sounds. Those bolts simply weren't nearly as strong as they should have been.

Took the opportunity to upgrade to an air locker differential instead and 8 years later, still running it, no problems. The fellow who installed the limited slip in the first place was pretty ticked about those bolts breaking and suspects that they just weren't hard/strong enough for the task. I wonder if you've got a similar situation with those gears perhaps not being properly heat treated?

Guy

 

[RL338]

Parts are no problem John Deere sold a gazillion of the tractors. Breaking the first set May of 2020 was on me. The replacement ones I installed wore out 5 months later , I don’t think the upper ones were harden correctly. Yesterday I don’t know what happened until I get it apart.

 

[salmonchaser]

Been on the phone with the Daughter today, we are still in South Texas. The auger on the PTO blower had quit. " Happens when you try to snow blow stumps and big rocks" I said. You broke the shear pin. Told her how to fix it but she couldn't find the spares. Called the SIL he picked up a grade 8 bolt on his way home. Hope she doesn't hit anything. They promised to get a proper shear pin in there tomorrow.
Snow blowers ugh!

 

[truck driver]

A Grade 8 bolt to replace the shear pin oh my I'm with you I hope they don't pick up any rocks. Seen one too many gear case destroyed when the gears try to keep turning when something is jammed in the works. If their lucky they might stall the tractor motor unless they are running full throttle.

 

[salmonchaser]

A Grade 8 bolt to replace the shear pin oh my I'm with you I hope they don't pick up any rocks. Seen one too many gear case destroyed when the gears try to keep turning when something is jammed in the works. If their lucky they might stall the tractor motor unless they are running full throttle.

As long as daughter runs it they should be ok, looks like no more snow for a few days anyway. The SIL is a great young man, really like him, but he's not an operating engineer.

 

[Vince]

I need a snow removal machine.
Think they’d let me adopt a kid just for the winter and turn him back in for the summer?

Vince

 

[grry10]

Before I replaced it I had an aftermarket blower on my John Deere 265 Lawn Tractor. Anything hard would shear the pin, like a hunk of ice or hard snow. It was a poor design with only a single shear pin for the auger. I don't have large rocks in my driveway so I also replaced it with a grade 8 bolt and no more problems. I finally traded it in on a John Deere blower attachment because it was a pain to put on and off and used a separate manual lift, not the deck lift. The new blower , now 10 years old, has never sheared a pin but I do have spares just incase. It sounds like in your daughter's case the grade 8 should be a temporary thing to get by for now.

 

[hunter24605]

My 1 HP (Howie power), sweat cooled variable induction snow removal machine is getting pretty old and unreliable, too

 

[gbflyer]

We do municipal road maintenance for our little city. Snow season tests the limits of man and machine. Sorry to hear about your break down.

 

[DrMike]

My 1 HP (Howie power), sweat cooled variable induction snow removal machine is getting pretty old and unreliable, too

I can't even get full power out of my unit any more. I think it is about worn out!

 

[RL338]

My 1 HP (Howie power), sweat cooled variable induction snow removal machine is getting pretty old and unreliable, too

I take it must not snow much by you

 

[hunter24605]

I take it must not snow much by you

Used to, but the last few years winter has been a couple of snows under 8 inches and a few flurries here and there.

 

[RL338]

Used to, but the last few years winter has been a couple of snows under 8 inches and a few flurries here and there.

Since I don’t snowmobile anymore , I’ll take a winter like that any time. Last week we wound up with15” and gusty NE winds and lead to some travel headaches.

 

[RL338]

Well another set of driveN gears worn out. The driveR gears are fine. This is the second time this has happened.

Here’s the set I replace in 2020 , exactly the same issue.

The factory gears lasted 20 yrs before I broke them. Those gears showed no wear except I broke teeth off of them.
Just disappointing to say the least.