# Left wheel not turning under small load



## Xilbus (Nov 30, 2018)

Greetings. I have a old craftsman 8/24 with a tecumseh engine. It starts well with 1 or two primes and runs ok but once it hits a patch of snow the left wheel will stop turning and I'm sure I can see the shaft and pin turning in the middle. Any ideas? I'm ready to order a new wheel or have it serviced since I got it for free and it starts great. I did notice that the bucket tends to lift on a small mound of snow but that's another issue.


----------



## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Pin broken? It can't be turning, it can't, unless you are nuts, seeing things, eyesight bad, or the pin is broken, or axle broken somewhere? 2 of these make sense, the other 3 are just for fun. Interesting post, get back to us.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

What is the model number of the machine from the ID tag ??

With the machine not running and the left wheel off the ground some and tipped onto the right wheel can you manually turn the left wheel. Does it seem to be pinned to the shaft or does it rotate on the shaft ??


.


----------



## Xilbus (Nov 30, 2018)

Thanks for the replys guys. It's a bit frustrating because the snow is melting so I have to wait in order to reproduce the problem lol. I'll check tomorrow to see if the left wheel spins freely. And I'll take some close up pics of each wheel.


----------



## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

As Kiss4aFrog stated, put the snowblower standing upright on the auger housing face then you can turn the wheels independently, pull the pin, undo the bolt, usually the left side is one hole with a bolt, the right side is a lynch pin and you have a choice of two holes, one the pin goes through both the axle and the wheel, the other you don't move the wheel and put the pin through the hole in the axle only not going through the wheel.

Your Craftsman was either built by MTD or Murray. If it has a rectangular impeller outlet it is a Murray. Both machines are very very similar and work the same way. 8hp with only a 24" width is a powerful combination. This machine will last you a long time and is completely fixable for many years forward.


----------



## Xilbus (Nov 30, 2018)

Kiss. I lifted the side a bit and my left wheel turns freely up and down. I did the same for the right wheel and I can feel all the gears working and the left wheel wants to turn a bit when turning the right wheel. Picture with pull pin is left wheel and picture with straight pin is right wheel


----------



## Xilbus (Nov 30, 2018)

Model numbers


----------



## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Xilbus said:


> Kiss. I lifted the side a bit and my left wheel turns freely up and down. I did the same for the right wheel and I can feel all the gears working and the left wheel wants to turn a bit when turning the right wheel. Picture with pull pin is left wheel and picture with straight pin is right wheel


Pull that pin out of your left axle. Line up the holes in the wheel with the inner set of holes on the axle shaft and reinstall your pin so that it is going into the wheel and through the axle. Done.
*Make the pin on the left side go through the wheel, like it is going through your right wheel. *


----------



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

At the moment you have only the right wheel driving the machine. This is good for turning, but not so good for traction. If you do as @micah68kj says then you will have two wheel traction but your turning will be more difficult. So you have a compromise. When I had machines like that I set them up as @micah68kj suggests. Traction is more important for me.


----------



## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

I agree with Joe and Town. Your photo shows what appears to be a lock washer on the axle between the pin and wheel, not sure why. You will/might have to remove it in order to remove the wheel. I would remove the washer and wire brush the axle and then apply some grease to make future removal easier.


----------



## Xilbus (Nov 30, 2018)

Thanks guys for the help.


This is what my dad was saying. your wheel is setup for you to have a better turn. I think traction is better and ill see if I can lock the wheel later today.
As you guys can see theres lots of rust. im thinking some new pins or wheels would be welcomed on this machine.


Thanks again for all the help " Merci Beaucoup" 🙂


----------



## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Xilbus said:


> Thanks guys for the help.
> 
> As you guys can see theres lots of rust. im thinking some new pins or wheels would be welcomed on this machine.
> 
> Thanks again for all the help " Merci Beaucoup" 🙂


 Nah. Just take them off and clean the axles up a little and smear some grease on them. Clean inside the wheel axle housing and re-install. This isn't something that is too intricate. Rusty wheels don't hurt a thing. You're not driving it down the highway.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Right now the pin is just keeping the wheel from falling off. You have one wheel drive which is great for moving it around and turning but it's worth anything if you're out in the snow trying to clear a driveway or sidewalk IMHO.
I'm not sure if you just pull the pin from it's current location and line it up in the wheel hubs hole and there is a different hole in the axle or you need to remove that clip so the wheel can come out a bit and use the axle hole the pin is in now with the hole in the wheels hub. 

.


----------



## Xilbus (Nov 30, 2018)

Thanks guys for all the help. I raised the machine a bit and was able to pull the pin and place it in the back hole. Now both wheels are locked.


----------

