# Storm 2410 - intake jams



## robstrash

I have a Storm 2410 model that I've had for about 5-6 years. Live in central NJ and we got about 4" of wet snow last night but today it was already 33 degrees and I knew I needed to clear the driveway soon before it started melting and turning into slush so went out at 7:45am.

I get the unit on for maybe 1 minute (first use of the season) and start going down the driveway and after 5 seconds it stops throwing. I pull it back and basically the entire intake is jammed with snow. I wasn't going very fast so not sure why it jammed up but I started having this issue occur often last year. I know the snow is already turning to slush so I used the tool to totally clear out the intake and chute. I start again and after 5 seconds it's totally jammed up again. At this point I give up and shovel the entire driveway which isn't good with my bad back since it's so wet and heavy.

One of my neighbors has the exact same model I do and it's about 2-3 years old. He bought it after seeing how well mine worked. He was able to clear his entire driveway without any issues and went out almost 2 hours after I did (it was warmer and therefore slushier snow). I was astonished as mine would not work at all.

I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with my unit since it gets jammed with snow immediately yet my neighbor's unit works with no issues. Does anyone have any ideas? We are supposed to get another 4" of snow by Monday morning so I'd like to get it fixed ASAP.

I did run the unit and had my wife look from the front and she said all parts were moving correctly so it's not like one part is not working, it's just not pushing everything out of the shoot and then fills the intake.

Thanks!


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## Normex

robstrash said:


> I did run the unit and had my wife look from the front and she said all parts were moving correctly so it's not like one part is not working, it's just not pushing everything out of the shoot and then fills the intake.
> Thanks!


 First hand I would tend to say your auger belt may be on the fritz, so first thing remove the cover and inspect your belts closely and replace if you see the problem and report back here if the belts are good. Good Luck


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## robstrash

Belt looks in good condition but if anything seems a little loose but not sure. Let me see if I can link pics. There was also a little slack in the auger control wire so I tightened that a bit just in case.


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## Zavie

It looks a little loose to me also and, clean off that rust!


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## Normex

It is normal for the belt to have some slack when not pressing on the auger handle but with the cover off you should press on the handle and see if there is any slack still, you should attach a cord around the handle to have the belt tensioned and check with your fingers (engine off!) how taunt it is. From the photo the belt seems to have lots of slack but better check it with the handle pressed.


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## robstrash

It's good and tight with the auger handle down so don't think that's the issue. Any other ideas?

It was the first time I ever opened it so never saw the rust. What's the best way to fix that?

Sorry for the late reply, was watching the basketball game in overtime


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## Normex

robstrash said:


> It's good and tight with the auger handle down so don't think that's the issue. Any other ideas?
> It was the first time I ever opened it so never saw the rust. What's the best way to fix that?


 Don't worry about the rust it is only surface rust but if you really want it rust free just remove with sandpaper but you'll see it will return.

For the augers check if the shear pins are still good, with engine off try to turn your augers by hand and if they do turn then your shear pins or bolts may be broken hopefully. Check this and post back results. The snow will come basketball or not.


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## Shryp

The rust is fine. If the belt is fine the next things to do is make sure the engine is running well. You should be running around 3600 rpm and no bogging down. If that checks out fine then look into adding an impeller kit. Just search for it since there are many threads already.


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## Big Ed

Why don't they paint the pulleys?


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## robstrash

Yes, the shear pins are good but I did replace one last year. I had my wife hold down the auger handle and I watched from front and everything looked good, augers moving and the center thing was spinning pretty fast.

I'll see how it goes on Monday as maybe the small amount I tightened the auger cable did something. If not, I'll look into getting the impeller kit (after borrowing the neighbors unit).

Thanks for your help guys!


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## RoyP

Have you ever changed the belt.....it looks to me like alot of slack. Also, what are those black specks on the impeller housing,,are they rubber pieces from the belt.


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## suspicionofignorance2

Suspect the belt is slipping under heavy load..it may be glazed from prior slipping and now unable to grab...you could try sanding the sides of belt if no time to replace it.....The pic shows only one belt---on the auger pulley...No belt guards shown..Where's the drive belt, or is it sitting on the auger pulley..? I would hold off on the impeller kit, until you can get your machine to perform equivalent to your neighbors...Fix it before modifying it...


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## robstrash

Wife and I are going to take the cover off and have another look today. Good idea to see if the black is belt shavings and will check the belt out. They changed the forecast from 2-4 inches to 12-20 inches so I'll definitely want to have this working 

We're going to run some errands today and looks like Lowe's has a replacement auger belt so will pick one up to be safe.


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## robstrash

So I bought a new belt and was following the install steps and that's when it hit me. First step is to remove the cover and the 2nd step is to remove the bolts from the belt guide. There is the issue: there is no belt guide on my machine (or the screws) . Was this supposed to be factory installed or was Lowe's supposed to put this part in when they put it together (I bought it assembled) ? From the manual, I would guess this should be factory installed. I don't see how it could have fallen off as I had never opened up the belt cover until yesterday.

Sure enough, all that black was from the middle of the current belt rubbing off. You could rub your hand against it and feel the middle of the belt was smooth. It took us a little while to figure out the best way to get the belt on and off using the auger and drive control handles but we finally got it. Put it back together, gassed it up and the auger and impeller both seemed to work. I guess we'll find out for sure on Tuesday when the snow ends and I try to clear the 12-18 inches they are forecasting.

Thanks again to everyone, I'll call either Lowe's or Troy-Bilt tomorrow to find out how to get the belt guide part. Hmmm, I don't even see the belt guide listed a as a replaceable part in the manual so guess I have to call Troy-Bilt.


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## Shryp

Some MTD / Troy Bilt blowers use the belt cover as the guide so it is possible yours never came with one.


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## Motor City

Shryp said:


> Some MTD / Troy Bilt blowers use the belt cover as the guide so it is possible yours never came with one.


This is true. I had a Storm this summer that I did a Predator swap on and it had no belt guide on it. I have to agree with others, those rubber spekes are an indication that the belt needs to be replaced.


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## 43128

if it didnt come with them and you cant find them, pull off the belly pan, they might have fallen into there


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## robstrash

Been busy at work so forgot to reply. We only ended up getting 5 inches of fine powdery snow and machine had no problems blowing it. We'll see if we get some wet snow in the future but replacing the auger cable seems to be it for now. I see notes on not needing the guide so won't bother calling Troy-Bilt.

Thanks again for everyone's help.


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