# Toro Powermax 826 OXE



## kwinnw (Oct 27, 2014)

Looking for a little advice. I foolishly followed my father's suggestion to check the auger gear oil and decided it was low(I should have followed the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" credo). I topped it up with the recommended GL-5 gear oil and put the cap back on. About an hour later, I noticed the gear oil pooling on the ground under the machine. Thinking that the casing was a little loose, I tightened the bolts. a little. This made the gear oil come out faster until the case emptied. That was about a month ago, and I have not gone at the blower since but have been thinking that I would need to replace the gasket. I am not looking forward to the job as it will likely chew up most of a day for me. On a whim, I loosened the bolts a little on the auger gear box and refilled it with gear oil. The oil is staying in the gearbox so far. My question is: has anyone else run into the same scenario? Will the gear oil stay in or am I looking at a big repair anyway? I have read a few places here that I can substitute "00" grease. Is that advisable? If I am looking at fixing the machine, I would rather do it now before the snow flies. Any advice appreciated. Thanks


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

The lazy part of me jumped to the idea of the "00" lube before you mentioned it but you already know you have a problem and it's best to just take it apart and fix it correctly.
Nothing worse than putting a temporary fix on something and then having it fail and make your blower unusable for weeks or months while you track down replacement parts all due to a bad gasket. 

Just my 2 cents.


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## kwinnw (Oct 27, 2014)

Thanks. I'll start and run it to see what happens if the gear oil still hasn't leaked out. Haven't yet figured out why topping up crankcase made it leak. Its not under pressure and only fills to the fill hole.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Where are my manners , Welcome to the forum Kwinnw !! 

Might be that when you saw it leaking a bit and tightened it the case distorted or maybe a piece of the gasket squeezed out ?? Just be careful running it, that's way too nice a machine to take a chance with and those gear cases are expensive.

Might want to add a location to your profile. Sometimes where you are is as important to an answer as the question you're asking.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

you better break it down and fix it. other wise it will crap out at the worst possible time. TORO uses 80-90 weight gear oil, DO NOT USE ANYTYPE OF GREASE. and no synthetic oil the seals will no hold it. ALOHA to the forms..


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## kwinnw (Oct 27, 2014)

Thanks for the advice. I have not run the machine yet since the last time I topped it. Not a drop of gear oil has leaked out since I loosened the case screws. I intend to pick up some gas today and run it this evening. I may just leave it be and keep a close eye on it depending on whether it leaks. If the gasket was bad, why is it not leaking now? Granted, its colder and the oil is likely thicker and that could be it.


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## kwinnw (Oct 27, 2014)

Anyone know if I can get at the gasket without total disassembly of the machine? Can I just drop the auger shaft from the front to get access?


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

kwinnw said:


> I may just leave it be and keep a close eye on it depending on whether it leaks. If the gasket was bad, why is it not leaking now?.


Sounds like you answered your own question when you said "Not a drop of gear oil has leaked out since I loosened the case screws."
It sounds like you may have overtightened it and distorted it somewhat.


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## kwinnw (Oct 27, 2014)

Will it hold though? I guess no one can really answer that


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

to get at the gasket requires a total break down of the front end. there is no easy fix.


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## kwinnw (Oct 27, 2014)

Thanks. I was afraid of that. I ran the blower for about 10-minutes last night and engaged the auger. No leak. It might be a different story in the snow but I will try running it again tonight for a little longer. I'm a little hesitant to say that the problem may have fixed itself but it certainly looks that way!


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## kwinnw (Oct 27, 2014)

I spoke with a repair guy here. Told me Toro's are notorious for bad auger gaskets. They just fill them with grease when they come in.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

kwinnw said:


> I spoke with a repair guy here. Told me Toro's are notorious for bad auger gaskets. They just fill them with grease when they come in.


 that repair guy better get his head checked out for being a idiot. they use 80-90 weight gear oil non synthetic. I know I would not want him touching THE MASTERPIECE. break it down put a new gasket in it and use gear oil. and tell him to put the grease where the sun don't shine.


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