# How do I adjust the friction wheel to change drive speed in any given gear?



## Toro-J

I have a 2019 Husqvarna ST330 Model #961930125 that I would like to change the drive speed on any given gear. Right now 1st is too fast for the snow blower when blowing more than 6" of snow, having to disengage the drive every few feet does get pretty old. I see no turnbuckle or anything of the sort along the outside cable.


----------



## Oneacer

If it is a Friction Disc drive, there should be a way to adjust it closer to the center of the drive plate, as that is the slower, until you go to the other side of center, and that is your reverse. Going more to the outside from center gives you speed. Being in neutral should be held back in suspension mechanically over the center. That is the basic setup, with each machine being a variant.

When in doubt, read the manual.


----------



## e.fisher26

I have the st230p and the speed control is cable controlled with a spring, any adjustments (if any) are in the transmission area, I have yet to take off the belly pan to look myself 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

I don't see anything in the owners manual about adjustment. I would think there has to be something that allows you adjust the position of the friction wheel in relation to the drive wheel but I'm just not seeing it in the manual or the parts diagram.

http://service.webec.husqvarna.net/documents/HUSO/HUSO2020_NAaa/HUSO2020_NAaa__1159961-49.pdf

Main Husky site: https://www.husqvarna.com/us/support/manuals-downloads/

.


----------



## 2muchsnow

If its set up like this one it looks like you just have to adjust the cable. He did not need to remove the belly pan, it was all done through the belt cover.


----------



## e.fisher26

The problem I had is that my cable doesn’t have that inline adjustment, my manual doesn’t say it has it either. But I have seen manuals for my machine that do have it, and I don’t know what the difference is, whether it’s a country thing US or CAN kinda thing. I asked the dealer I bought it from and they didn’t see anything visible outside of the machine either.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Toro-J

Kiss4aFrog said:


> I don't see anything in the owners manual about adjustment. I would think there has to be something that allows you adjust the position of the friction wheel in relation to the drive wheel but I'm just not seeing it in the manual or the parts diagram.
> 
> http://service.webec.husqvarna.net/documents/HUSO/HUSO2020_NAaa/HUSO2020_NAaa__1159961-49.pdf
> 
> Main Husky site: https://www.husqvarna.com/us/support/manuals-downloads/
> 
> .


I emailed Husqvarna support the other day, they said there is no adjustment for this year (2019) model. 


So, if the friction disk drive ever gets out of aligned, I really don't know how it could get adjusted.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

Kiss4aFrog said:


> I don't see anything in the owners manual about adjustment. I would think there has to be something that allows you adjust the position of the friction wheel in relation to the drive wheel but I'm just not seeing it in the manual or the parts diagram.
> 
> http://service.webec.husqvarna.net/documents/HUSO/HUSO2020_NAaa/HUSO2020_NAaa__1159961-49.pdf
> 
> Main Husky site: https://www.husqvarna.com/us/support/manuals-downloads/
> 
> .


Well since Husky themselves say there is no adjustment I don't feel so foolish. Maybe it's time to do some Red Green adjustment.











What you would need to do is find a place where you can try to add a little length to the cable. Maybe using a link from a light weight chain between where the cable attaches to the upper shift handle or down at the bottom. Trial and error to get a lower 1st without losing it altogether.

I'm thinking of a link from something like the chain they use to hang fluorescent fixtures.


----------



## Toro-J

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Well since Husky themselves say there is no adjustment I don't feel so foolish. Maybe it's time to do some Red Green adjustment.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What you would need to do is find a place where you can try to add a little length to the cable. Maybe using a link from a light weight chain between where the cable attaches to the upper shift handle or down at the bottom. Trial and error to get a lower 1st without losing it altogether.
> 
> I'm thinking of a link from something like the chain they use to hang fluorescent fixtures.


Lol, Red Green
I will take this into consideration. Haven't decided if to keep this machine yet. Just not impressed with the engine power (11hp) over my '96 John Deere 8hp which I am still using most of the time yet.


----------



## cdestuck

Something is very wrong with that machine if 6” plus inches is too much for 1st gear.


----------



## Shovel

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Well since Husky themselves say there is no adjustment I don't feel so foolish. Maybe it's time to do some Red Green adjustment.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What you would need to do is find a place where you can try to add a little length to the cable. Maybe using a link from a light weight chain between where the cable attaches to the upper shift handle or down at the bottom. Trial and error to get a lower 1st without losing it altogether.
> 
> I'm thinking of a link from something like the chain they use to hang fluorescent fixtures.


I think it may operate like an MTD and goes to full speed if unhooked and the cable pulls it slower and over to reverse.
It would need shortened then.. or a way to simulate a longer conduit.
His may be the other way around though.





Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## Oneacer

@Kiss4,

I forgot all about Red Green until I saw your post … I loved those shows … I am going to try and find them on line …


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

Shovel said:


> I think it may operate like an MTD and goes to full speed if unhooked and the cable pulls it slower and over to reverse.
> It would need shortened then.. or a way to simulate a longer conduit.
> His may be the other way around though.


I've been told I'm backwards before. :blush: The more I think about it I'm pretty sure you are correct and you'd want to shorten that cable, sorry.

.


----------



## Toro-J

cdestuck said:


> Something is very wrong with that machine if 6” plus inches is too much for 1st gear.


Yeah, it's quite a bummer. There website even specifies that it's rated for 6" of snow.
I wonder if there is even a governor installed on these LCT engines. As soon as it touches 2" of snow, it will begin to bog down. An engine governor is suppose to maintain the engines rpm's under various loads. The best I could do here was a 10' run at a snow depth of 6" full swath before the engine almost completely stalls.

I forgot to add, this is while in 1st gear. I almost certain what the issue is that 1st is too fast, 6th I'm almost at a trot when driving it gack to the garage. It would be good to slow down the disk drive a couple of notches.


----------



## Shovel

Kiss4aFrog said:


> I've been told I'm backwards before. :blush: The more I think about it I'm pretty sure you are correct and you'd want to shorten that cable, sorry.
> 
> .


I am just guessing as well ...he needs to find out which way the spring pulls his shifter when out of a detent



Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

I've got a Troy (MTD) so I'm pretty sure it's going to be a pull and needs to go shorter. All the more reason I'm embarrassed.

.


----------



## Shovel

Kiss4aFrog said:


> I've got a Troy (MTD) so I'm pretty sure it's going to be a pull and needs to go shorter. All the more reason I'm embarrassed.
> 
> .


Perhaps you might be interested in my 'dual range' mod for that Troy.
I have a Craftsman MTD
It is half a hinge..the other half is in the pictures..no drilling as the holes were in the right place.
In the outermost hole 6th speed falls in between third and fourth compared to the stock setup
First and second are crawler 'gears'... The mod helps that big jump from first to second...and the rest are usable
Switching holes takes five seconds.. just raise arm for slack and move cable to other hole.
For the deep snow... Outer hole..(bonus easy moving shifter as you have more leverage). Small snowfalls inner hole.
The inner hole is very close to where the stock hole is.... Full sixth and a good 2nd reverse









Sent from my LM-Q710.FG using Tapatalk


----------



## Sid

On my signature blower, to get the rubber wheel closer to the center of the drive wheel to get the machine to go the slowest possible, seeing as the machine is old, there is no cable.There was no provision to adjust the position of the friction wheel, as everything else is all solid rods and levers. To adjust the rubber wheel, without taking a day or too to do this job, I just bent the rod that dropped into the speed slots. I managed to move the rubber wheel about a 1/4" closer the center of the steel/iron drive disc without loosing any traction near the center hole [ the old machines had holes in the centers. And I guess that reverse will be a little faster. We will see how it works.
Sid


----------



## Toro-J

I emailed Husqvarna again today to conform that there is no adjustment for the friction drive wheel. 
I then asked them; 
So, whatever speed is set in 1st gear from the factory, it will always be permanent, even if it becomes more out of adjustment over time with no way of correction?
They replied; 
"There is not a speed from factory as long as the first forward and first reverse is in reverse 
Thanks"


I'm not even sure what that reply means? Anyone know what that means?


----------



## Ziggy65

Husqy-J said:


> I emailed Husqvarna again today to conform that there is no adjustment for the friction drive wheel.
> I then asked them;
> So, whatever speed is set in 1st gear from the factory, it will always be permanent, even if it becomes more out of adjustment over time with no way of correction?
> They replied;
> "There is not a speed from factory as long as the first forward and first reverse is in reverse
> Thanks"
> 
> 
> I'm not even sure what that reply means? Anyone know what that means?


Hey Husqy-J
Sounds like someone had too many wobbly pops during their liquid lunch:smile2:

I am not familiar with your machine, but I found that 1st gear was faster than I liked on my Ariens 28 SHO, especially for EOD piles and deep snow.
My solution was to clamp the lever in place between the 1st forward and 1st reverse notches and find the desired speed by adjusting the clamp left or right. Mark the position and cut a new slot in the control panel. see attached photo.
Not sure if this will work for your machine, but worked great on mine, also prevents the machine from climbing when going through the tough stuff.
Hope this helps


----------



## Toro-J

I was thinking if I could change out my snow blower cable without the inline friction wheel adjuster with one that does have one as they did with the previous ST330 models. I looked through several parts manuals of the ST330's and I couldn't find one with the inline adjuster. 


I emailed Husqvarna support this morning asking which ST330 models have the inline adjuster, they haven't replied yet.


----------



## Toro-J

Them experts over at Husqvarna are idiots. This same guy told me yesterday, there no adjustments to the friction wheel, today he says there is I asked for the part #, the one he gave me was for the drive control cable according to the parts manual. This isn't the only time I got inconsistent answers from them, ugh!. Below is my conversation with them this morning.



Me: Can you tell me which Husqvarna snow blower models have a cable inline adjuster for the rubber friction wheel?


Expert: I am a Husqvarna expert and a user and will be happy to help you.
The 300 and 400 series blowers would have this adjustment.


Me: Could you give me the manufacturer ID # of the ones that do have this adjuster? Thanks.


Expert: ST324, ST327, ST330, ST424, ST427, ST430 would all have the adjustments.


Me: Could I get the part # to the speed selector drive cable for the ST330 that will have the cable inline adjuster? Thanks


Expert: The part number your require is 501 65 66-02

For pricing and availability, or to place an order please contact your local service dealer by visiting https://www.husqvarna.com and use the dealer locator at the top right hand.

Or you can chose to call Husqvarna Parts- 1-800-487-5951.

Thank you,
Nathan


----------



## RedOctobyr

Wow, that's pretty disappointing that they don't provide a means to adjust it. Not having seen pics of how everything attaches makes it tougher to try and offer useful suggestions. 

But you can buy threaded turnbuckles. If this is just a cable, not a rod, then you only need to concern yourself with tension, not also pushing on something. As a simple example, you could cut the cable in the middle, and make loops of the ends of the cable. 

Make them with a crimp connector of some type, or pinch it between the head of a bolt and a nut; there must be multiple options for securing a cable to itself. Have those loops go through the eyebolt ends of a turnbuckle, after setting the cable length so you're roughly in the middle of the turnbuckle's range of adjustment. 

Then you loosen the locknuts on the turnbuckle, and spin the center section to the length you need for the cable, to get the speeds you want. Tighten the locknuts down to keep it at that length, and you now have your adjustment set. If you need to tweak it in the future, loosen the nuts and adjust it. 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-8-in-x-10-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Steel-Eye-to-Eye-Turnbuckle-807046/204273926

If you can easily and cost-effectively retrofit an adjustable cable that fits your machine, that's a cleaner solution, of course. But if not, there would be other ways to provide adjustment.


----------



## Toro-J

RedOctobyr said:


> Wow, that's pretty disappointing that they don't provide a means to adjust it. Not having seen pics of how everything attaches makes it tougher to try and offer useful suggestions.
> 
> But you can buy threaded turnbuckles. If this is just a cable, not a rod, then you only need to concern yourself with tension, not also pushing on something. As a simple example, you could cut the cable in the middle, and make loops of the ends of the cable.
> 
> Make them with a crimp connector of some type, or pinch it between the head of a bolt and a nut; there must be multiple options for securing a cable to itself. Have those loops go through the eyebolt ends of a turnbuckle, after setting the cable length so you're roughly in the middle of the turnbuckle's range of adjustment.
> 
> Then you loosen the locknuts on the turnbuckle, and spin the center section to the length you need for the cable, to get the speeds you want. Tighten the locknuts down to keep it at that length, and you now have your adjustment set. If you need to tweak it in the future, loosen the nuts and adjust it.
> 
> https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-8-in-x-10-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Steel-Eye-to-Eye-Turnbuckle-807046/204273926
> 
> If you can easily and cost-effectively retrofit an adjustable cable that fits your machine, that's a cleaner solution, of course. But if not, there would be other ways to provide adjustment.



That's a great idea. I'm sure there are work arounds to this Husqvarna ignorance. I'm still going to see if I can get a cable replacement that has that in line turnbuckle like they had on the previous models.


----------



## 2muchsnow

RedOctobyr said:


> Wow, that's pretty disappointing that they don't provide a means to adjust it. Not having seen pics of how everything attaches makes it tougher to try and offer useful suggestions.
> 
> But you can buy threaded turnbuckles. If this is just a cable, not a rod, then you only need to concern yourself with tension, not also pushing on something. As a simple example, you could cut the cable in the middle, and make loops of the ends of the cable.
> 
> Make them with a crimp connector of some type, or pinch it between the head of a bolt and a nut; there must be multiple options for securing a cable to itself. Have those loops go through the eyebolt ends of a turnbuckle, after setting the cable length so you're roughly in the middle of the turnbuckle's range of adjustment.
> 
> Then you loosen the locknuts on the turnbuckle, and spin the center section to the length you need for the cable, to get the speeds you want. Tighten the locknuts down to keep it at that length, and you now have your adjustment set. If you need to tweak it in the future, loosen the nuts and adjust it.
> 
> https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-8-in-x-10-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Steel-Eye-to-Eye-Turnbuckle-807046/204273926
> 
> If you can easily and cost-effectively retrofit an adjustable cable that fits your machine, that's a cleaner solution, of course. But if not, there would be other ways to provide adjustment.



That is an awesome idea! Cheap, easy and adjustable in the future. 

I actually just used one of those to extend the chute handle out a little on a Toro that I re-powered with a predator. Original position was hitting the new engine. Worked great...I'll probably try to come up with a better option in the long run, but either way it worked. You can kind of see it in the picture below.

For the issue at hand - I agree an adjustable cable is probably cleaner, but for the cost I would probably do exactly what RedOctobyr said. Plus you won't have to wait for parts to ship, just go to the Depot. They even have the clamp set for the cables if you want:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-3-16-in-Zinc-Plated-Clamp-Set-4-Pack-43104/205887568


----------



## Toro-J

Anyone know how to adjust the power steering cable on this 2019 st330 blower, I have quite a bit of cable slack on one cable?
I applied this question to the Husqvarna experts several hours ago still haven't heard from them. I'm thinking I really stumped them this time.


----------



## e.fisher26

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Toro-J

e.fisher26 said:


> https://youtu.be/qoDt2o1Ylts
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I did have that in mind awhile back, but I'm not quite ready to do that one. The machine is still too new and under warranty. I may try that end of the cable turnbuckle that RedOctobyr had mentioned above. I'm not certain if there would be enough room or cable to do this. Thanks for the great video.


----------



## e.fisher26

I looked at the cable method, but doing that u may loose the faster speeds. Either way it’s modifying.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Toro-J

Husqy-J said:


> Anyone know how to adjust the power steering cable on this 2019 st330 blower, I have quite a bit of cable slack on one cable?
> I applied this question to the Husqvarna experts several hours ago still haven't heard from them. I'm thinking I really stumped them this time.


Husqvarna support replied:
then there is no adjustment
i would contact your dealer for warranty replacement, the cable must be faulty


I checked in the parts manual, there is no inline turnbuckle on this cable.


----------



## Toro-J

Husqvarna must have an impression that all consumers that purchase their products are all idiots, since they are slowly taking away all component adjustments on their products! Sorry, I needed to vent and say that. Had a rough week with Husq support all last week and got nowhere fast.


----------



## Toro-J

I sold the Husqvarna ST330 last week and turned around and bought a Toro 1428 OHXO. No snow yet but took it for a dry run, real impressed with it, well balanced and so much easier to manuveur. Waiting for some 💨❄


----------



## Ziggy65

Looks like you will be needing a name change  

How about Toro-J?


----------



## Toro-J

Lol, that's exactly the name I was going to go for, but I couldn't seem to find a eay of doing it.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

You can contact an admin for a name change. - - > https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forums/snowblowerforum-com-forum-help-desk.53/


.


----------



## Toro-J

Kiss4aFrog said:


> You can contact an admin for a name change. - - > https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forums/snowblowerforum-com-forum-help-desk.53/
> 
> 
> .


Thanks. Will do.


----------



## dr bob

EDIT: Sorry -- way out of sequence. I was way high in the thread, thought I was at the bottom when I started typing.

-----

It sounds like Husqvarna's thinking is that their concern is that the machine runs in the correct direction, going 'over-center' as you transit between forward and reverse. Adjust too far and you end up going backwards in 1, faster backwards in R, or have no reverse at all, adjusting in the opposite direction.

Slight tangent -- My friction-wheel ST227 could really use higher speeds, sort of opposite of what you are describing. Speed 1 is slow enough to run and get a sandwich and get back before it's gone very far. I easily tossed about 6" of medium snow at speed 4, and will gladly trade that turtle-crawl for a bit more rabbit. Need to go look harder at adjustment options. I might make a slotted arm end for the bottom of the console speed handle, making it adjustable for both speed of machine and range of speeds. Make it like the piece that Shovel shows in post 17 above, but with a slot at the 'fixed' end and mounted on the control lever if possible. Need to go take a hard look at it, though, including pulling the drive-box cover to make sure I don't go too far.


----------

