# What is the build date of my TRS24?



## Dickbelle

Hello. New to the forum and snowblowers in general. I have a TRS24 I just picked up, and it's in pretty good shape and runs quite well. From what I see here and on donyboy's site, I'm fairly sure it's a Murray. Just out of curiosity, I'd like to know how old it is. Here's what the data plate says:

Serial number: *M0TR24A130744
Second line: TRS24 WBSB
Third line: Deere and Company Moline, Illinois Made in Canada

Can anyone come up with a build date from this info? THANKS!


----------



## GoBlowSnow

Probably sometime between 1989 and 1999. Only way for you to find out for certainty is to contact JD. That's what I've done for my machines in the past. Go here: They will get back to you within a few days. 

https://www.deere.com/en_US/docs/html/secured/corporate/general_feedback_deerecom.html


----------



## GoBlowSnow

And yes, built by Murray most likely.


----------



## GoBlowSnow

Last of all, can you get a few photos of your TRS24? I've not seen any of the TRS, just the plane jane 524 that preceded it. I work on one of em.


----------



## Dickbelle

Thanks! I'll take your advice. I'll post some pics tomorrow if it's not raining.


----------



## nwcove

if the engine is the original, you should be able to narrow down the machines age from the engine tag.


----------



## Dickbelle

I believe it is the original engine - Tecumseh HSSK50. How can I tell the age - from the serial number?


----------



## jtclays

nwcove said:


> if the engine is the original, you should be able to narrow down the machines age from the engine tag.


Yup, if you look around the area where the top of the recoil starter housing attaches to the engine there may be some stamped in numbers like HS50 or HSSK50 and then some numbers and letters, may be on a sticker applied on the starboard side of the housing. It's a Murray with very small design differences spec'd by JD. For future parts searches cross reference a similar Craftsman 536. model, or Murray and add "MA" to the part number, or Briggs numbers as they bought out Murray. The parts will be way cheaper than getting the "AM" John Deere parts, and usually quicker to get. Some 2000ish Tecumseh powered blowers on Craftsman and Murray have a date on the decal near the choke/key/ and throttle. It would be interesting to hear what John Deere responds if you send them an email regarding it:icon-embarrassed: My experience with my own and about 6 others went from immediate date confirmation to "that is an invalid model number." When I sent them a picture of the "M" number label and JD nomenclature they responded they don't keep detailed information on homeowner products. Best advice I can give is like others have noted on here. Find the JD part numberJohn Deere - Parts Catalog and then google that number for other part number hits. I know on mine the bushings and friction wheel crossed to Simplicity and Toro at a fraction of the cost of JD.


----------



## Dickbelle

Thanks for all the good info. Guess I was right that it is a Murray. I still need to work on finding a Sears 536.XXX clone to use as a starting point for any parts searches I may have in the future. I'm sure I'll eventually hit on one. I have found the JD online parts catalog to use as another starting point, even though I probably will buy the parts elsewhere. I did do the e-mail to John Deere and will hopefully get a response from them. The tag on the Tecumseh engine reads as follows: HSSK50 67336M (D) 3216B. Anyone have the decoder key for this?


----------



## jtclays

The middle numbers are the serial number to look up parts for the HSSK50.
Tecumseh HSSK50-67336M - Tecumseh 4-Cycle Horizontal Engine Diagrams and Parts List | PartsTree.com
The last set is the date code. It's a goofy date code though. The "3" is the year, as in a decade that ended in "3".....'93. '03. The 261 is the numbered day of that year, so September 18. The letter at the end is shift or production line.


----------



## Dickbelle

Thanks for the good info! That helps narrow it down. Now if John Deere would come back with a date, that would cinch it. For now, if I had to choose between 1993 and 2003, I think I would go with 1993.


----------



## sscotsman

Im going to say 99% likely to be 1993.
I have some Deere/Ariens info on my Ariens page, and Ariens build some JD snowblowers in the 1990's. (1991 to 2001 to be exact)
During that same era, the entry-level Deere snowblowers were made by Murray, and those are the TRS and TRX models.
Im pretty sure those were also made 1991 to 2001.

Scot


----------



## Dickbelle

Thank you, Scot. Just putting all this info together leads me to believe that I do indeed have a 1993 machine built by Murray. I did hear back from John Deere via e-mail, and they were no help. They gave me a number for their power equipment division, which turned out to be Briggs and Stratton and they were even less help. The said my serial number didn't exist. I guess in their database it didn't. A second number given via e-mail was to John Deere customer service, and they tried hard to find reference to my machine and came up empty. Oh well, it's really not that big a deal. On another subject, I will add a few photos as promised earlier in this thread, but apparently I have to have made 10 posts, as I understand it. Working on it....


----------



## Dickbelle

I just got a second e-mail from John Deere concerning my request. A second person looked and did confirm that my TRS24 is indeed a 1993 model, sold in September 1993. Now I know for sure!


----------



## GoBlowSnow

Well now.. that is nice to see some extra effort on JD's part!


----------



## Dickbelle

*Any way to keep chute from clogging in wet snow?*

Here it is only October and I'm looking forward to trying this (little) beast out. Here in Northern Virginia, some years we get no snow, and last year we got a monster 36 inch storm, so you never know. More often than not, we get like 6 inches of wet snow at a time or thereabouts. I know using the old snow shovel (plastic or the old aluminum), sometimes the snow sticks to the shovel and sometimes not. I have tried the old home remedies (rubbing with wax paper, spraying with WD-40) with varying success. Does this condition carry over to snow blowers, and if so, what can be done about it?


----------



## NVA4370

Dickbelle said:


> ---- I know using the old snow shovel (plastic or the old aluminum), sometimes the snow sticks to the shovel and sometimes not. I have tried the old home remedies (rubbing with wax paper, spraying with WD-40) with varying success. Does this condition carry over to snow blowers, and if so, what can be done about it?


It does carry over. You can try Ariens Snow-Jet spray or DuPont Snow & Ice Teflon spray. You should be able to find either or both at places like Home Depot/Lowes or your local snow blower dealer.


----------



## Dickbelle

Home Depot does carry The Ariens Snow-Jet spray. I picked up a can to have on hand. $9.99.


----------



## Dickbelle

For GoBlowSnow: You asked for some pics of the TRS24. I set up an album and there are some shots of the beast there. Forum won't let me PM you until I have 15 posts.


----------



## nwcove

DB, some members here use the dollar store version of " pam" cooking spray to keep snow from sticking .


----------



## Dickbelle

I wouldn't doubt that it works just as well. THANKS!


----------

