# gearcase side to side play



## jenkinsm2 (Dec 7, 2014)

How much movement should the augers and auger shaft have from left to right, mine is moving about a 1/4 inch. It seems like this might make the gearcase wobble a little when operating the machine. Is this normal and ok?


----------



## jenkinsm2 (Dec 7, 2014)

nevermind, I think I figured it out. When I fixed the gearcase I put the washers on the auger shaft inside of the groove pins not outside. They need to be moved over to be up against the auger housing, this should remove side to side play.

By the way, does anyone know if removing the auger shaft bolts damage the brass gear in the gearcase? When you remove them its like your twisting the whole auger shaft, that force can't be good for the gearcase, no?


----------



## sidegrinder (Apr 18, 2015)

If you are talking about the outside bolts that hold the shaft ends in the housing bushings, it shouldn't be a problem. They don't need to be over torqued. If you're worried, just keep one hand on a rake as you tighten the bolts to isolate the gearbox.


----------



## jtclays (Sep 24, 2010)

I just wedge a 2x4 in the augers and leave the shear pins in. I usually soak all bolts with PB Blaster the night before I do a teardown. I then cheat on the big ones with an air impact. Haven't broke one yet. With a breaker bar and dry bolts I'm an Olympic Champion bolt buster:blush:


----------



## jenkinsm2 (Dec 7, 2014)

So i moved the washers outside the groove pins on auger shaft, the side to side play is about 1/16 an inch now. Is this acceptable or should I get another thinner set of washers and reduce the play to zero?


----------



## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

jtclays said:


> I just wedge a 2x4 in the augers and leave the shear pins in. I usually soak all bolts with PB Blaster the night before I do a teardown. I then cheat on the big ones with an air impact. Haven't broke one yet. With a breaker bar and dry bolts I'm an Olympic Champion bolt buster:blush:


That's basically what I did. To get the first auger bolt off, I put a wrench on each side and twisted both at once. That isolated the twisting to just the auger shaft, for the first bolt. 

For the second auger bolt, I put a 2x4 through the augers, put the 2x4 up against the auger housing, and rotated the impeller until the auger & shear bolts were going to be taking most of the force, in the direction I needed to turn the auger bolt. That helped reduce the force transmitted to the gearbox.

I don't think I'd worry about getting the play to 0. If it's assembled correctly, that's a good start. I don't think I've checked how much play mine even has.


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

One question that hasn't been asked. Is this play the auger shaft moving back and forth inside the gearbox, or is this play the whole assembly moving side to side inside of the bucket?

If it is inside the gearcase it could be the shims and bushings are worn or the gasket used was too thick. If it is the whole assembly it could be the outer bushings or shims or it could be the bucket sides are bent out.


----------



## jenkinsm2 (Dec 7, 2014)

Shryp said:


> One question that hasn't been asked. Is this play the auger shaft moving back and forth inside the gearbox, or is this play the whole assembly moving side to side inside of the bucket?
> 
> If it is inside the gearcase it could be the shims and bushings are worn or the gasket used was too thick. If it is the whole assembly it could be the outer bushings or shims or it could be the bucket sides are bent out.


Its the whole assembly, I just put an order for 2.50 for 2 more washers. I will try to reduce the shim more. The way I see it, any side to side play cannot be good for the bronze gear. Just a theory but even the whole assembly is moving that is not good.


----------

