# An oldie but goodie.... an 824XL from 1997



## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

I spotted this specimen being offered for peanuts last night and made arrangements to pick it up this morning.

It was listed as having a "broken sprocket in the differential that keeps the auger from spinning," and that it was best suited for parts. Oddly described, I know. It looked to be in pretty good condition cosmetically, so I figured that it would at least be an engine donor.










Its model # is 38083.

I brought it home, fired up the engine, squeezed the auger lever, and NADA.

There were no weird noises or burning smells with the auger lever engaged. The augers would not move. Neither would the impeller.

I took the belt cover off and....... good looking belts.

I looked again at the impeller and what do I see? A 1" branch that had lodged itself between the impeller and the bucket housing. I mean it was _really_ wedged in there.

I was able to dislodge it with a long pry bar and a mallet. I tried engaging the augers again with the engine running and........ the gearbox appears to be ok! The augers move when they are called upon.

The bucket is decent and the scraper bar is decent too. It could probably use better skid shoes, but they are usable.
























I am eager to test it out tomorrow (my region is expecting up to a foot of snow) so that I can check to see if the gearbox is any good.

02/25 update: gearbox is good!


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## Toro-8-2-4 (Dec 28, 2013)

Incredible find!!!!!. Good Luck with it.


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

She's in great shape! Nice find db!


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## rwh963 (Nov 21, 2019)

the snow gods smiled upon you


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

those are great machines, good grab.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

*MAZEL TOV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







*


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

i picked one up ( 824 powerthrow ) a few years ago for $120. cleaned the carb really good, added an impeller kit and poly skids. it goes through every thing we have had. weight wise it is not as heavy as my 824 powershift but just as heavy duty


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## Cstanis (Oct 19, 2021)

Looks like a nice clean unit. Good find


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

Thanks, fellas.

This weekend, I will be changing out the fuel line from 1997, and I will also install a new adjustable aftermarket carburetor and a nicer pair of used skid shoes.


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## wfd44 (Nov 10, 2014)

I had one at a 2 unit we owned (there for one of the tenants to use). Had it for 3 or 4 years, got a fair amount of use and made money on it when we sold it (after getting out of the landlord biz).

Great machine. Especially with the tall chute.


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## DCH50 (Feb 10, 2020)

I have this same machine. Its a great little snow blower. Doesn't clog and throws far. Lightweight and maneuvers well. The small bucket is the only downfall, oh and peeling paint/rust typical of all blowers after the late 80s. Mine needs a carb rebuild, but those Tecumseh's are great for throwing snow


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

Here's a long overdue update... I had ordered a new factory Toro friction disk because the old one had cracks on the rubber material, but upon further inspection, one of the bearings that support the friction disk hex shaft had quite a bit of wear:










Toro calls this part a triangle bearing, and its listed retail price is $30 each. Thankfully, the triangle bearing on the other side is still in good condition and does not need replacing, and the rest of the drivetrain looks good.

A new bearing is en route and I should have this snowblower buttoned up next weekend.


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## Tony-chicago (Feb 10, 2021)

Angle looks poor. Assume in-person they are 90 degrees.


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

If you are referring to the friction disk, all 4 mounting bolts had been removed when that picture was taken. Rest assured the new friction disk will be installed correctly when the new bearing gets here.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk


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## Tony-chicago (Feb 10, 2021)

I had confidence you would do it perfectly. Good catch on the bearing. Thankfully you are doing it now instead of too late. Means you will get no snow this season


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

Here's a side by side pic of the old bearing vs the new bearing:










The drivetrain is now nice and tight, and this snowblower is ready to roll!


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Lol, I see so often the way people destroy their units by neglecting maintenance .... As I always say, the majority want to just put in gas, and run them til they are broke, and buy a new one ..... That's how I get my freebies ....


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## KJSeller (Nov 3, 2021)

That blower was "ridden hard and put away wet"! Nice job. How much did you get it for before parts?


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## regnierd54 (4 mo ago)

db130 said:


> I spotted this specimen being offered for peanuts last night and made arrangements to pick it up this morning.
> 
> It was listed as having a "broken sprocket in the differential that keeps the auger from spinning," and that it was best suited for parts. Oddly described, I know. It looked to be in pretty good condition cosmetically, so I figured that it would at least be an engine donor.
> 
> ...


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## regnierd54 (4 mo ago)

Great find. I also got some freebees to work on. I now have 4 machines ready for snow. I have an '84 624, a 1980 724 model, a 1978 724 model and a 1995 724 model. All are in great shape (now after I went thru them) and ready for the snow season. I can't wait for snow now that I have 4 machines to play with. I'll probably keep one and sell the rest.


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

I just came across a local ad for free Lawn Boy 824E that is mechanically very similar to this 824XL. 

The free 824E is long gone, but the ad for it is still up with the ad description having been edited as "taken."

The reason why it was free was because the drive chain slipped off. One of the ad pics was interesting, because it was deja vu all over again:


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Wow ..... Never seen a machine in that bad a shape .....although I have seen some other terrible conditions.


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## dodgetrucker (Jan 15, 2016)

db130 said:


> Here's a side by side pic of the old bearing vs the new bearing:
> 
> View attachment 200934
> 
> ...


I had the same problem on my Lawn boy (really a toro) 824e that I got last year, bearings were TOAST
Works fine now but I get a squeal out of them when I have the speed lever in either of the 2 fastest positions, usually only used when done and headed back to put it back in the garage no noise at all with lower speeds selected


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