# 1980 John Deere 826 - General Questions



## badger08

Everyone, I bought a John Deere 826 today on a whim. I need to go pick it up, as it was a local online auction. I found the Operator's Manual and Service Manual today on the internet and read through them. They seem like straight forward machines and easily worked on, so that helped in my buying it. 

I have a few questions. I seen in the manual they specify Torq-Guard Supreme 5w-20 oil, which Deere no longer makes, just Torq-Guard and and don't see in on JDparts.com in 5w20 either. So wondering if I would be best just running Amsoil XL oil in it? I use thing in our wood splitter on the farm and so far it's been great. 

I see there is a 'drift bar' you can add to the blower and my local deere had on in stock so I just ordered that from Jdparts.com. But looking in the parts breakdown online I see the option for a headlight too - but those parts are NLA - is there a company selling these as kits now? Or are others just adding them on their own? 

Then just in general is there anything to look over on these when I get it? I have read about them here and other places online. Like everything previous maintenance is key but anything I should check as soon as I get it? I see the technical manual is very good at walking you through thing and the grease point and lubrication so will check all of that and the general area's before it gets used. 

I will try to upload some pictures of the machine. Thanks for any advice andI look forward to using it and adding it to my John Deere collection that is always growing it seems! Thanks

Link to Amsoil: http://http://www.amsoil.com/shop/b...-extended-life-synthetic-motor-oil/?Group=180


----------



## Shryp

A couple members here have blowers like that and they like them.

I bought drift cutters for my Ariens because they were on clearance for like $7 when I was buying some other stuff, but I don't even have them on there anymore. They aren't really needed unless the snow is higher than 2 feet.

Any oil should be fine in there. Just keep it clean and topped off. Most blowers use 5w30, but if it is colder 5w20 should be fine.

The 2 major issues I see a lot online with the Deere blowers of this design are the impeller blades can get bent backwards and the differential and large wing nut on the one wheel get all rusted up. And the common thing with all old blowers is the augers get rusted to the shaft up front.


----------



## jtclays

Shryp noted the most common concerns accurately. On mine the impeller to bucket gap was close to 1/4" so I installed a Clarence kit. Major improvement. If you have the tech manual it shows pretty clearly the wingnut assembly on the left wheel. Just to make it clear, though. When you spin off the wingnut there will be what looks like a big azz nut. It's only shaped that way. It is in fact a keyed friction fit, pressure plate. It should slide out and not be wrenched. The axle is two separate shafts that meet inside the differential. There are pins (or bolts) that need to be drifted out. If you pull the inspection pan, you will see them along the axle tube. I say this because if you need to change out the axle bushings you will have to deal with this removal. Because of the way the wheel assemblies sit so close to the tractor body it's very hard to see the axle bushings for inspection. If you get the wheels off the ground grab a wheel and move it around, you shouldn't see much wobble if the bushings are good. My experience is these wear much more on machines running chains. They will tend to lock in one position and egg or wear through the top portion of the bushing causing the axle to ride against the tractor body. Pull the belt cover and inspect the brake arm for wear where it rides on the auger engagement pulley assembly. It will be obvious where this is when you pull the belt cover. They are tanks and very easy to work on if not rusted up. Wish you good luck with it


----------



## badger08

Thanks for the replies - Sorry I am just getting back on here, when deer hunting yesterday and got one so dealt with that and now getting caught back up. 

Good on the oil, I will Amsoil in it then - and change as soon as I get it along with a new spark plug as well. 

How do you tell if the impeller is bent? I am sure if alot it's noticeable but if only slightly what do you as a baseline? 

I am going to check the differential over well, and if it's locked up, it will need to get free'd up as I want the option of locking it in and out - so it will need to be addressed if it is!

How do the augers work? I figured they are pretty solid, but is there a shear bolt you mean and they get rusted to the shaft so essentially the shear bolt isn't doing it's job? As I will make sure to check that if that is the case. 

As far as chains since it has them I would probably run them, or are they heave enough do a good enough job without? There will be a sidewalk going uphill it will get used on. 

I read somewhere else to really get the front height adjustment set right, so it's up 1/16 of an inch or so. Will check that too and if not replace the cutting edge. 

I found a website last night that makes skid shoes to that are longer - anyone recommend them? Are are factory pretty good? Probably one of those things if stock are still useable use them if not replace with the newer kind. 

Sorry for all the questions but really like things to be setup to work well and be maintained and trying to learn all I can! Thanks.


----------



## jtclays

I swapped my skids to a brand called Robalon. Synthetic that doesn't scratch or rust. Little pricey, but i liked them. The augers won't have shear "bolts" as other machines have. Stock were pins with either cotter pins or rings to keep them in. Idea is to pull each side shear pin out and see if your auger spins freely. If it doesn't the auger gear case will take any impact from an obstruction directly. Those parts are NLA so wise to get the augers set up correctly first. There should be a grease zerk on each side also. Squirt some in even if they spin nice, cheap insurance.
The impeller will have four blades that are all cupped toward the left as you look in the bucket. The cupped end is somewhat long and can get bent over the years. I had one bent and fixed it with heat and a large adjustable wrench. I've seen them bent completely over to the right in some pictures.
With those tires, you'll want chains with any incline at all. Like I said, check the wheel axle bushings now. If they are shot, the axle will eventually ride against the tractor sheet metal. The relatively thick sheet metal having all the weight of the machine pushing down as the axle rotates will act like a lathe tool on your NLA axle.
Also, if you get any other skids, check on center bolt hole measurement. I think the JD is an oddball at 2" centers.


----------



## badger08

jtclays said:


> I swapped my skids to a brand called Robalon. Synthetic that doesn't scratch or rust. Little pricey, but i liked them. The augers won't have shear "bolts" as other machines have. Stock were pins with either cotter pins or rings to keep them in. Idea is to pull each side shear pin out and see if your auger spins freely. If it doesn't the auger gear case will take any impact from an obstruction directly. Those parts are NLA so wise to get the augers set up correctly first. There should be a grease zerk on each side also. Squirt some in even if they spin nice, cheap insurance.
> The impeller will have four blades that are all cupped toward the left as you look in the bucket. The cupped end is somewhat long and can get bent over the years. I had one bent and fixed it with heat and a large adjustable wrench. I've seen them bent completely over to the right in some pictures.
> With those tires, you'll want chains with any incline at all. Like I said, check the wheel axle bushings now. If they are shot, the axle will eventually ride against the tractor sheet metal. The relatively thick sheet metal having all the weight of the machine pushing down as the axle rotates will act like a lathe tool on your NLA axle.
> Also, if you get any other skids, check on center bolt hole measurement. I think the JD is an oddball at 2" centers.


All good things! The brand of skid shoes I found were SnowBlowerSkids.com - the ones you have on yours are nice and in my opinion not spendy at all. So will look into them. 

I just gotta go get this thing so I can start going through it and checking over the maintenance items. I will probably have more questions then too. Def. going to check all things mentioned though. Thanks again! Already snowed here the last few days a few times just a light dusting but won't be long.


----------



## jtclays

Badger, After thinking about it, my description of the impeller blades is inaccurate. Reason is they are mounted in a circle so half way around they they are cupped the other way 
I found this pic hanging around the net: These are all bent the correct way, sometimes they'll flap right over the other way, Just FYI. If you get the idea they kind of follow each other around counterclockwise as you look into the bucket from the front.


----------



## badger08

jtclays said:


> Badger, After thinking about it, my description of the impeller blades is inaccurate. Reason is they are mounted in a circle so half way around they they are cupped the other way
> I found this pic hanging around the net: These are all bent the correct way, sometimes they'll flap right over the other way, Just FYI. If you get the idea they kind of follow each other around counterclockwise as you look into the bucket from the front.


Gotcha! Dad has an 8 foot blower for his tractor. I just didn't quite know how to tell if they are off as somewhere I read someone mentioned it was only slightly. But as long as they are their true 90 degree angle then looks like they will throw snow. The picture helped though, easier to see then explain unless your standing there by it.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

Welcome to the forum Badger08 

Handy site for part numbers and exploded diagrams. - - > John Deere - Parts Catalog

I use it a lot for my two JD riders. Once you have the JD part number you can google it or try ebay to get price and availability or maybe even a crossover p/n.


----------



## Geno

Lot of old blowers I have bought over the years shifted hard if at all- if that is the case and I think JD is same.. take bottom cover off and clean and add light film of lithum or simular grease to the octagon shaft- also a round one up close to back of body but up higher. Don't get any on friction plate. little oil on shifter pivot area and then shift it through the gears-Shift it also to get at all areas of shafts when greasing. really helps. All this with machine 'off' of course.


----------



## badger08

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Welcome to the forum Badger08
> 
> Handy site for part numbers and exploded diagrams. - - > John Deere - Parts Catalog
> 
> I use it a lot for my two JD riders. Once you have the JD part number you can google it or try ebay to get price and availability or maybe even a crossover p/n.


Kiss4aFrog, I'm on the parts website all the time! Love it! Seems between parts for my old tractors, dad's, and dad's new tractors I'm always ordering or looking! Thankfully my friend works at Deere so just brings my parts home for me  I've already been looking on their what parts are still available from Deere or NLA


----------



## badger08

Geno said:


> Lot of old blowers I have bought over the years shifted hard if at all- if that is the case and I think JD is same.. take bottom cover off and clean and add light film of lithum or simular grease to the octagon shaft- also a round one up close to back of body but up higher. Don't get any on friction plate. little oil on shifter pivot area and then shift it through the gears-Shift it also to get at all areas of shafts when greasing. really helps. All this with machine 'off' of course.


Geno, I'll add that to the checklist! Thanks for the input and advice.


----------



## badger08

What's a good spark plug for this? Seen what the book says to run but in a spark plug sold today, as I will pick one up. Thanks


----------



## badger08

Well got it home today! But then got sidetracked so tried it out a bit in the dark. Works good, runs good, but my only complaint is it didn't seem like it blew the snow out the shoot very far. But I'm used to running an 8 foot blower on a 120 horse tractor too so maybe it's just that. But it's pretty light snow, and it was just were I shoveled today so maybe it wasn't enough to have a constant feed to throw it? But yet it should grab it and throw it the same? I tried to take a picture of it but the inside of the shoot feels rusted/rough, maybe paint that and wax it like the manual says? I will look it over better in the day light - but here are some pictures. It looks clean and I hope that is the case. Thanks!


----------



## badger08

More


----------



## badger08

The one of auger shoot looking rusted


----------



## Shryp

Cleaning the chute and sticking an impeller kit on it could both help. The pictures of the impeller make it look like it is in good shape with none of the blades bent so that is good.


----------



## Grunt

badger08 said:


> What's a good spark plug for this? Seen what the book says to run but in a spark plug sold today, as I will pick one up. Thanks


I believe the HM80 motor uses a Champion J19LM OR an NGK B2LM.


----------



## badger08

Shryp said:


> Cleaning the chute and sticking an impeller kit on it could both help. The pictures of the impeller make it look like it is in good shape with none of the blades bent so that is good.



I didn't think it looked bent but posted just for the 2nd opinion so thanks! I will probably use it one time good in snow see how it acts. Then maybe if still wanting a little more clean up shoot and paint it or blast it in off season and paint then wax it up really good. I am going into work tomorrow then starting to go through it. Seems to run good, need to adjust throttle cable a bit as when all the way on idle it dies so maybe once adjusted I will gain more speed on high end for more rpm's too to help throw snow? Or else I adjust the carb for that, but will check in manual.

Where is a good place to source out an impeller kit? As I would like to read about them if I decide to do just that.


----------



## badger08

Grunt said:


> I believe the HM80 motor uses a Champion J19LM OR an NGK B2LM.


Thanks! I looked some last night and what they all cross to anymore or just a 'small engine' plug and there are so many to pick from.


----------



## Shryp

badger08 said:


> Where is a good place to source out an impeller kit? As I would like to read about them if I decide to do just that.


I have installed 2 impeller kits.

The first one was $30 + $10 shipping from Clarence in Canada for the official kit.

The second one was $18 for 5 feet of baler belt and $2 for a big bag of bolts/nuts/washers at Tractor Supply Company. I used maybe 8 inches of the belt and 8 bolts. Needless to say I still have enough to do more projects, though I did end up using most of the nuts and bolts for other things, but still have a big pile of washers left.


----------



## badger08

Shryp said:


> I have installed 2 impeller kits.
> 
> The first one was $30 + $10 shipping from Clarence in Canada for the official kit.
> 
> The second one was $18 for 5 feet of baler belt and $2 for a big bag of bolts/nuts/washers at Tractor Supply Company. I used maybe 8 inches of the belt and 8 bolts. Needless to say I still have enough to do more projects, though I did end up using most of the nuts and bolts for other things, but still have a big pile of washers left.


Found the website for your first kit, looks pretty good with lots of good testimony. 

But your spot on, living on a farm plenty of rubber belting and bolts to make your own DIY kit. Going to go look at gap in my impeller right now! lol


----------



## badger08

jtclays said:


> The augers won't have shear "bolts" as other machines have. Stock were pins with either cotter pins or rings to keep them in. Idea is to pull each side shear pin out and see if your auger spins freely. If it doesn't the auger gear case will take any impact from an obstruction directly. Those parts are NLA so wise to get the augers set up correctly first. There should be a grease zerk on each side also. Squirt some in even if they spin nice, cheap insurance.
> 
> Jtclays, sorry to bother you again but got it home yesterday and took a quick look at it after work tonight, off tomorrow so this is my project.
> 
> But I pulled those 2 pins out and they spin, but if I have this right the shaft coming out of the center gear box, should spin freely inside of the outside diameter auger shaft? If so then they are rusted up and stuck. But with those pins in if you hit something they aren't going to give and transfer the shock to the gear drive? I turn them now by moving the impeller and it moves the auger assembly which makes sense. Plus I don't see grease zerks on each end on the bushing either? Dad said is Snapper he had had them and thought this one would too - I will dig into it more tomorrow though. Just wanting to make sure I understand it right and not trying to loosen something up that isn't broke!


----------



## Shryp

The front end of the machine looks like a T if you remove it. There is the impeller pulley on the back of the bucket. The engine spins that. That pulley spins the impeller shaft axle going to the front gear box. The impeller is pinned to that shaft with 2 roll pins. Inside that gear box is a worm drive on the shaft and a gear on the auger shaft. That causes the auger shaft to spin 1 time for every 10 times the impeller spins. The augers are then bolted to that auger shaft with shear pins. The pins / bolts holding the augers on there are special bolts that break easy if the augers hit something. If water gets between the augers and that shaft the augers don't spin on the auger shaft like they should. This causes the bolts not to break and the next weakest link in the system is the gears in the gear box. This turns a 2 minute and 2 dollar bolt replacement job into a $200 all day / weekend project.


----------



## badger08

Shryp said:


> The front end of the machine looks like a T if you remove it. There is the impeller pulley on the back of the bucket. The engine spins that. That pulley spins the impeller shaft axle going to the front gear box. The impeller is pinned to that shaft with 2 roll pins. Inside that gear box is a worm drive on the shaft and a gear on the auger shaft. That causes the auger shaft to spin 1 time for every 10 times the impeller spins. The augers are then bolted to that auger shaft with shear pins. The pins / bolts holding the augers on there are special bolts that break easy if the augers hit something. If water gets between the augers and that shaft the augers don't spin on the auger shaft like they should. This causes the bolts not to break and the next weakest link in the system is the gears in the gear box. This turns a 2 minute and 2 dollar bolt replacement job into a $200 all day / weekend project.


Excellent breakdown/explanation Shryp! I have the two pins out located just outside of the auger drive housing. So tomorrow will work on trying to get them freed up. Will try Kroil and probably some heat. Sure shouldn't hurt it either I wouldn't think to run it a bit without those pins in to see if it will break free from then inner shafts. Probably something to be faster in the long run and easier to just take apart and lube everything with grease and reassemble. Thanks so much!!!!


----------



## Normex

badger08 said:


> But I pulled those 2 pins out and they spin, but if I have this right the shaft coming out of the center gear box, should spin freely inside of the outside diameter auger shaft? If so then they are rusted up and stuck. But with those pins in if you hit something they aren't going to give and transfer the shock to the gear drive?
> Just wanting to make sure I understand it right and not trying to loosen something up that isn't broke!


Shryp you have excellent explications but from his quote he needs further clarification on the impeller shaft.
Badger the shaft from the gearbox to the impeller is a solid shaft and not like the auger shafts, as Shryp explained the gear box is protected from an impeller hit by two roll pins that are flush and hard to see. If those roll pins are broken you would be able to roll the impeller freely without the shaft
turning. Hope this is what you wanted to understand. Where we got thrown off is you talking of the impeller shaft but called it auger shaft.


----------



## Shryp

This will show you what we are talking about when we say spin the augers:





This is what happens if you don't free those up:
http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/ariens-snowblowers/28433-st-7524-repair.html


----------



## badger08

Normex said:


> Shryp you have excellent explications but from his quote he needs further clarification on the impeller shaft.
> Badger the shaft from the gearbox to the impeller is a solid shaft and not like the auger shafts, as Shryp explained the gear box is protected from an impeller hit by two roll pins that are flush and hard to see. If those roll pins are broken you would be able to roll the impeller freely without the shaft
> turning. Hope this is what you wanted to understand. Where we got thrown off is you talking of the impeller shaft but called it auger shaft.


Normex thanks for be descriptive and making sure I am on the right page. 

I attached a picture with arrows, not the best but hope it works to explain. These shafts with the arrows pointing to them, inside of them where I drew the red lines, there is a shaft, is the outside augers supposed to turn freely of this inside shaft? To me though with the pins in you'd have to hit something pretty hard to shear the pins. But if the outside shaft is supposed to spin freely on the inside shaft, I will work to loosen them up before putting it to use. Thanks for inquiring and helping.


----------



## badger08

Shryp, thanks! Will watch and advise! Perfect!


----------



## Normex

Ok I was the confused one but when you said "But I pulled those 2 pins out and they spin," I assumed the auger shaft was free of rust.


----------



## badger08

Normex said:


> Ok I was the confused one but when you said "But I pulled those 2 pins out and they spin," I assumed the auger shaft was free of rust.


No worries! You helped too, going to tackle this tomorrow!


----------



## jtclays

Badger, Sorry i missed a lot of your posts since you've run a test blow on it.
You mentioned adjusting the throttle. It is supposed to shut down when you completely pull the throttle down all the way on the dash. If you look close, I think it even says off or stop on the bottom of the sticker.
To be clear on the augers, or rakes. If you remove one side's pin. Grab hold of the auger itself and try to rotate either toward you or away from you, it should. If it doesn't I'd pull the auger/impeller assembly and free them up. You may get lucky and pull the pins and try running it until they free up, but consider that shaft inside is 1" diameter, that's a lot of surface area for rust to hold tight. Mine has grease zerks, surprised yours doesn't. Very easy to add, though. While you have the thing apart, replace the impeller shaft bushing and the side auger bushings. Then do the baler belt impeller kit. I too have started using that, as Shryp suggested. I've done several of my neighbors machines this way and not one problem, just lots of smiles. On a lot of the Craftsman and MTD ones it takes 15 minutes. The JD impeller blades are much thicker and take some time to drill through properly and also in the correct spot to not drill too close to the backing welds and have no room for your mounting nuts.
In this picture I can see how you are having trouble throwing smaller amounts of snow. The impeller mod will tighten that right up.


----------



## badger08

jtclays said:


> Badger, Sorry i missed a lot of your posts since you've run a test blow on it.
> You mentioned adjusting the throttle. It is supposed to shut down when you completely pull the throttle down all the way on the dash. If you look close, I think it even says off or stop on the bottom of the sticker.
> To be clear on the augers, or rakes. If you remove one side's pin. Grab hold of the auger itself and try to rotate either toward you or away from you, it should. If it doesn't I'd pull the auger/impeller assembly and free them up. You may get lucky and pull the pins and try running it until they free up, but consider that shaft inside is 1" diameter, that's a lot of surface area for rust to hold tight. Mine has grease zerks, surprised yours doesn't. Very easy to add, though. While you have the thing apart, replace the impeller shaft bushing and the side auger bushings. Then do the baler belt impeller kit. I too have started using that, as Shryp suggested. I've done several of my neighbors machines this way and not one problem, just lots of smiles. On a lot of the Craftsman and MTD ones it takes 15 minutes. The JD impeller blades are much thicker and take some time to drill through properly and also in the correct spot to not drill too close to the backing welds and have no room for your mounting nuts.
> In this picture I can see how you are having trouble throwing smaller amounts of snow. The impeller mod will tighten that right up.


Jtclays - Thanks for the response!!! - I'm already way ahead of you though ! I had Thursday/Friday off so got those pins out, one I had to pound out with a punch and the augers are seized up. Per the Forum and the Tech Manual I wanted to give it a going over anyways and I 'split' it and well see the picture I will attach right away knew I had problems, so both belts were ordered. Also after pulling the impeller 3 of the 4 were slightly cupped. So that and the belt isn't helping it throw snow. I think your right now is the time to do impeller mod while it's out. 

I see per the Jdparts website that the later blowers did have the grease zerks you talk of. I ended up taking the impeller and auger's to a local welder. I tried heating it with a torch and figure in the time I take straightening he can do it faster, etc. I did tell him to once he gets them freed up to tap and drill them for zerks! 

I did order parts for it, I took the wore out scraper blade off the bottom, ordered a new one (around $78 ouch!) and the gasket once I get the front gearbox apart. Am going to use degreaser and clean it all up while apart, 2 new belts, need to mount the drift kit yet. Looks like it bolts to the outside of the frame but I thought about mounting it on the inside of the frame? Think it matters? 

I cleaned up the rust on the bottom and primed and painted it today. So once all parts get back will reassemble and blow snow! And hoping it's gone through and will last me years. 

I will probably create a post when I get it all done with pictures - 

Thanks for the reply and advice - the bearing all looked in really good shape, I was a bit shocked too. The tech manual says to put a light coat of grease and reinstall, think do that or just go ahead and replace?


----------



## jtclays

Zowie, I've seen exhumed bodies that look better than that belt
Once you get those augers free and get stuff back together I think you'll really like that blower. $78 for scraper is felonious My buddy just makes them out of scrap stock he has. My last one for my Ariens project is stainless. They all cost me a 12 pack of Miller Lite.
Forgot the bushings....I would check the impeller one for any movement with the shaft installed. If not, just grease 'em. Check your part number and try to find a size. I found it cheaper to find them at the local hardware than ordering them. I also found a cross reference to a Toro bushing that was half the price JD dealer wanted.
On those side auger bushing supports, be careful tightening. I stripped one on each side and had to heli them.


----------



## Shryp

Yea, $78 is ridiculous. I would have bought an Ariens or something and redrilled it.


----------



## badger08

Jtclays isn't that the truth. Someone said it was alot of work to get those auger's free and not to mess with it and I thought no I am going to at least try, looked pretty simple to get apart, when they said it's a ton of work. 

The belts would have gotten checked anyways but when I took that cover off and a huge chunk was missing I was surprised it even lasted through the test run but was some pretty fine light snow. Glad I caught it. 

I know I thought about trying to make one or having one made, but read somewhere else on here before buying the blower that they are square holes and something about them not fitting up right so just to buy one? Oh well, it will last me along time. I did check, $74.84 for the scraper then with the extra hardware it's close to $80 for it. 

Will grease and be careful and check over impeller bushing. Kinda why it came apart to, at least you know what you have at this point!


----------



## jtclays

Badger, Your right the OEM scraper has square holes for the carriage bolts to setup. We just marked off the holes from the auger shell, drill them the diameter of the bolts on the bare stock piece,and cut the heads off the bolts. Welded them in place and grind them smooth. Nylocs on the underside and your done for a few seasons. Hindsight I know, but you may get afflicted with snowbloweritis like most of us and be doing it sooner than you think.


----------



## Normex

Badger you might know this already, if you want your scraper bar last a long time just let your skids get the wear and adjust as soon as the scraper touches the surface as the clue if adjusted to 1/8" will be your asphalt surface will start to be bare which will be the time to readjust to 1/8".
This is assuming you have a level surface like asphalt or equivalent of course if on gravel then most adjust to 1 1/4". Good Luck and nice job on your partial rebuild.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

Please keep up the photos of your progress


----------



## badger08

Jtclays - that would work out nicely and yes if doing many blowers that's the way to go! Plus don't need to worry about them rusting in so darn bad and using the torch to remove those stubborn old bolts. 

Normex - am planning to check scraper bar. That'd what I didn't get one the old one on there it was wore more in the middle so it had a curve effect. I thought about flipping it but was unsure how it's pickup the snow and knew it'd wear faster too and plus it's easier to put on now while it's apart. It's kinda like a chopper/or impeller in the blower even, leave a dime pickup a nickel. 

Kiss4aFrog - will post some more pics then! Forget to get pics of things green though, I primed the inside of the chute just now will do green tomorrow. Then wait for rest of parts to reassemble!

I did notice the rear bushing where the pulley mounts that power the impeller/augers is slightly egged out, not much, but is to one side I am sure where the pressure is applied as it's blowing snow up the chute. Will look at front one to when it's that far apart. 

Do those copper/bronze bushings just press out and you press a new one in or replace the whole triangular part?


----------



## Shryp

With the Ariens ones you save the triangle and press the bronze out.


----------



## badger08

Shryp said:


> With the Ariens ones you save the triangle and press the bronze out.


I looked on JDparts and they show the bushing separate then the bearing so must be pressed fit, I am looking right now for substitutes vs JD's $13!


----------



## Shryp

badger08 said:


> I looked on JDparts and they show the bushing separate then the bearing so must be pressed fit, I am looking right now for substitutes vs JD's $13!


Bearings, Bushings and Repair Kits. | Lawn Mower Parts | MFG Supply


----------



## jtclays

Badger, I just knocked the old ones out with similar sized socket over a piece of tubing from a trampoline we had. You can do it over a vise also, I just like the circular support of the tube. I think I just googled the JD part number with "cross reference" after it and found links that gave actual dimensions, then searched out those. Most everything on the JD and the older Ariens is 1" or 3/4" I.D. and my local hardware has them for like $4. I got a few that were too long, but just cut them down and smoothed them. Having worked on my Ariens project blower now, I wish I looked around for a bearing fitting when I did the JD. Specifically for the impeller shaft. Much better design on the Ariens using a ball bearing fitting at this point on the blower, IMO. I may still do that for the axle fittings/bushings on the Ariens. Not quite what Geno did here, but you get the idea


----------



## badger08

I got the impeller and auger's back from the local welder. The augers were seized on pretty good, he couldn't get them loose when we first spoke and I said it was fine we can leave it at that, but in talking, I thought since I took the impeller shaft out from the auger gearbox it had to come apart. So I went to pick it up that night yet and he had one side of the auger's off the shaft! The other side he had to split to free it up then weld it back shut. I spent today cleaning them up a bit and got them ready for primer/paint where they were heated. 

Took time too to use two sockets in the vice to press out the bushing for the impeller shaft too. 

I seen one shim needs replacing on the auger shaft and a seal needs to be replaced so will order and keep going!


----------



## dbert

I was wondering what the greatest lengths someone has had to go to get their rusted frozen augers off the shaft. Now I know.


----------



## Shryp

dbert said:


> I was wondering what the greatest lengths someone has had to go to get their rusted frozen augers off the shaft. Now I know.


I have seen some slice the whole tube from one side to the other and weld it back together.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

After a certain point it's like you are on a mission from God and nothing is going to stop you. Most sane people just give up


----------



## badger08

Kiss4aFrog said:


> After a certain point it's like you are on a mission from God and nothing is going to stop you. Most sane people just give up


Exactly! You just go for it and question yourself later!


----------



## badger08

Well slight update. I will link a photobucket link at the end once I have it done. I made quite a bit of headway yesterday and today though. 

So pulled the bottom pan off both of the drive chains to me look looser then need be. And the 1 climbs the teeth when I spin it. So will replace both. Per the JDparts website though are they a different/special chain? Usually I just go to the hardware store and get chain, but they way Deere words it in their description not sure. 

Also, looks like someone at one time when reassembled has the washer on the wrong side of the roll pin? So going to try to get that back over too. 

I did test out the differential, seems to work to me, but will try it out once it's running and under it's own power.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

It says it's type 41 so that should be a fairly common chain. Needed to fabricate all three on my Craftsman 3 stage and it was cheaper to buy 10' and some master links at fleet farm then the price of just one without shipping 

Northern Tool carries it as does MFGsupply B Type Engine Sprockets, #40/41 Chain, 5/8" Bore for Go Karts & Mini Bikes | Go Kart & Mini Bike Parts | MFG Supply
gocartsupply, granger,


----------



## badger08

Kiss4aFrog said:


> It says it's type 41 so that should be a fairly common chain. Needed to fabricate all three on my Craftsman 3 stage and it was cheaper to buy 10' and some master links at fleet farm then the price of just one without shipping
> 
> Northern Tool carries it as does MFGsupply B Type Engine Sprockets, #40/41 Chain, 5/8" Bore for Go Karts & Mini Bikes | Go Kart & Mini Bike Parts | MFG Supply
> gocartsupply, granger,


Yeah I figured as much. Our local hardware stores are good around here so they will have it and going to a bigger city Wednesday so can pick some up there to and make it to length/splice! I will do some research as I should have from the start haha!


----------



## jtclays

Badger, I'd try pulling both ends of the sprockets (attached to the same chain) away from each other. The bushings where the shafts rest/ride may be worn at those opposite points. If you can get enough movement between the 2 sprockets to tighten the chain some, may be worth replacing the bushings. That way you're not getting chain to close a gap created by worn bushings. Just a thought to try. The chains may well be stretched. I know on mine the axle bushing on the differential side had egged all the through the top and caused the axle to ride directly on the side of the tractor body. I went through and did all of them and everything really tightened up.


----------



## badger08

jtclays said:


> Badger, I'd try pulling both ends of the sprockets (attached to the same chain) away from each other. The bushings where the shafts rest/ride may be worn at those opposite points. If you can get enough movement between the 2 sprockets to tighten the chain some, may be worth replacing the bushings. That way you're not getting chain to close a gap created by worn bushings. Just a thought to try. The chains may well be stretched. I know on mine the axle bushing on the differential side had egged all the through the top and caused the axle to ride directly on the side of the tractor body. I went through and did all of them and everything really tightened up.


Jtclays - is your blower a Deere? I did block it up and move each wheel and they moved in and out (the whole shaft) slightly but not much. Tried moving up and down as well and each wheel seemed pretty tight so I was happy about that. I too did wonder how much work it is to take the wheels off then pull the shaft to be able to see how those bushings are as they would be easy to replace and it's where all the weight on the blower is, plus doubt driveshafts are that easy to come by these days. So maybe I should just tear all the way into it. I will do some reading in the Tech Manual. 

I will see how those sprockets/bushings are tomorrow and go from there. Will do the chains either way, as this way I know they are replaced and documented. Who knows how old the current ones are. Thanks for the tip/advice!


----------



## jtclays

Badger, I had the 826 and did a complete bolt by bolt tear down and refurb.


----------



## badger08

Jtclays - that this is pretty!!! Let me ask this, did you paint around your decals or could you get new ones? I see them listed on JDparts but I was thinking you probably cannot get them anymore, and if I remember right checked and said NLA but not sure. 

I looked in the Tech manual last night and to me they show the full tear down of the power train and they show removing the axle driveshaft and the differential and then moving on, but I think I can take all of that loose and at least check the bushing on the one sprocket, open up the diff and clean and replace grease, then check the bushing for wear in the sheetmetal. But if indeed that front sprocket it wore/loose then the whole works needs to come out. They show it in the diagrams with the engine off but assume all of that can stay, it would just be alot easier to work on that way too. 

I am at work today but off the rest of the week so will be checking into this. Then am going to lube up what was all mentioned on this forum. Is there only 1 grease zerk on these? That's what my operators manual states but the tech manual they seem to hint at more! Mine is a 1983, I can tell by your decals yours was newer. The guy at the dealership that is my parts guy has an older one then mine without the safety stuff as he called it haha.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

That is an excellent job on that blower Jtclays !!


----------



## jtclays

Badger, There was one zerk hidden up on the assembly that contains the friction wheel shaft. Mine (1989) had two on the augers also. The axle will (should) come apart if you remove the big wing nut on the left wheel, the big nut looking pressure plate and the friction/washer behind it, then knock out both roll pins inside the belly (one next to the differential, the other right near the right inside edge of the tractor body, The left tire/wheel assembly should slide right off, the rest of the axle should pull all the way out with the right wheel and tire hub. The differential will then be just hanging on the chain. It takes grease, but has no zerk for it, you need to open it.

I did blue tape any decals that did not have rust under them.


----------



## badger08

jtclays said:


> Badger, There was one zerk hidden up on the assembly that contains the friction wheel shaft. Mine (1989) had two on the augers also. The axle will (should) come apart if you remove the big wing nut on the left wheel, the big nut looking pressure plate and the friction/washer behind it, then knock out both roll pins inside the belly (one next to the differential, the other right near the right inside edge of the tractor body, The left tire/wheel assembly should slide right off, the rest of the axle should pull all the way out with the right wheel and tire hub. The differential will then be just hanging on the chain. It takes grease, but has no zerk for it, you need to open it.


Jtclays - that's how easy it looked to me in the manual, and Thursday I shall find out! I see the one grease zerk down there so will grease it but was figuring there were maybe others, but will put lithium grease on where the forward/reverse handle slides down there and I have JB80 to spray on things too. Will give those bushings a good look over, if I have questions I'll be back! 

Hopefully then I can put fresh gas in it and change oil and post pics of it completed!  The previous owner put a pipe fitting on it so at least draining the oil doesn't make a mess. Tempted to buy one of those sweet drain kits with the plastic tubing but bet the oil stays in them and looks tacky after you first use them?


----------



## badger08

I unbolted the front half of the blower today and got the rear half blocked up to pull the axle. Everything went as planned. 

I took the differential apart, you can tell it's ready for new grease. I have some marine wheel bearing grease and Mobil 1 Synthetic. On the front auger's when I reassembled I put on the marine grade grease, but since the differential is a little more sealed up with probably go with the synthetic Mobil 1 grease. In the tech manual it talks how the 2 gears in the differential need to go in for the axles to slide in but all 4 gears in this one have the bevel!

The right side bushing in the outer housing does show wear, the left side looks true and round yet. 2 questions - 1. I got it budge slightly to get it removed but not having much more luck. Is there a certain puller a person can purchase to slip through and then brace against housing to pull this? Going to look tomorrow but maybe a bigger C clamp would work with sockets over the inner part and outer pushing on bushing. As I would like to replace it rather then turn it. 

Then onto the part # of the bushing, don't see it in Deere's parts breakdown, they do call for a bushing on the left side in the diagram but the parts detail breakdown doesn't show the inside having the lip like the old bushing does. I come up with part # M45204? 

Will attach the picture of the parts breakdown. (Parts Key 17??)

Definitely the factory roller chain on it to, lots of green paint left under the grease. Weird thing is though after cleaning it off can't find the link that you loosen and pull to get the chain off!


----------



## badger08

Thinking this is the correct part # after doing some searching, $3.06 from Deere so that isn't bad at all. - JOHN DEERE M-127082


----------



## Kiss4aFrog

M-127082 ID .75" / OD 1" X 5/8" bronze bushing like this:
.









Crosses over to:


ARIENS 05503900
ARIENS 55039
JOHN DEERE M-127082
MTD 741-0376
MTD 9410376
OREGON 45-007
STENS 225-854
SUNBELT B1SB8445


----------



## badger08

Kiss4aFrog said:


> M-127082 ID .75" / OD 1" X 5/8" bronze bushing like this:
> .
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Crosses over to:
> 
> 
> ARIENS 05503900
> ARIENS 55039
> JOHN DEERE M-127082
> MTD 741-0376
> MTD 9410376
> OREGON 45-007
> STENS 225-854
> SUNBELT B1SB8445


Yep, that's the one! Just don't see it on Jdparts in the breakdown for the 826 - but it is a valid part number from JD and looks to be more reasonable from JD then online. 

Any good ideas to get knocked out? Maybe if I have a pipe that will fit over the axle and I reinstall and slip it over and knock them out, then take out axles again and install bearings. I watched Donboy's youtube video on a 526 (I think it was) and they had the lip on the outside, on my 826 the lip is on the inside so will be harder to get started/installed.


----------



## Shryp

badger08 said:


> Any good ideas to get knocked out? Maybe if I have a pipe that will fit over the axle and I reinstall and slip it over and knock them out, then take out axles again and install bearings. I watched Donboy's youtube video on a 526 (I think it was) and they had the lip on the outside, on my 826 the lip is on the inside so will be harder to get started/installed.


http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...moving-bronze-auger-bushing-ariens-10m6d.html


----------



## badger08

Shryp said:


> http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...moving-bronze-auger-bushing-ariens-10m6d.html


I did that with those auger bushings Shryp but these are in the sheetmetal of the housing on the blower so I don't think it will work. But I am going to see if I have a C clamp big enough to do the socket trick to it.


----------



## badger08

Been in the garage all but 5 minutes and they popped right out this morning!

Dealership had 2 in stock so friend will bring them home with him tonight.


----------



## badger08

Where does this spring attach? See there is a spot on the tensioner for the impeller belt but would think it would attach to the front blower section and pull downwards but don't see a hole there for it. Before bolting it back together need to get this reattached. Thanks!


----------



## jtclays

Badger, i don't remember where it goes, but look around 4 o'clock position if you were in the operator position, at the back of the auger bucket. I've been doing so many Ariens I see a V-cut tab to hook to but think that's wrong. I know for sure it went inside the auger drive pulley
I think it just goes behind something and has no specific location, but can't recall.
PM member "insanity" as he has a 726 in the works and could possibly snap a pic.
For some reason I remember it hooking to the auger bucket tab to tractor housing, but that seems too high.
Is there a notch at the bottom of the auger idler bracket, or it goes around that lower hinge point bolt?


----------



## badger08

Yeah I can't figure it out for the life of me either! I pulled it back apart and don't see anywhere it'd go behind the auger drive pulley - hate to pull the pulley back off but might have to. I can clearly remember unhooking it and do think it went down behind that pulley so might as well pull it and figure it out!


----------



## jtclays

It's a quick look, but pause and repeat at 2:07 in this vid and see it hooks under the bucket bracket.


----------



## badger08

Jtclays - Thanks for the video but I should have posted sooner that I figured it out  I ended up taking the auger pulley off and looking and not seeing anywhere for it then I was like I totally remember it going under the bracket where it bolts up to the engine half of the snowblower. In the pic I attached it to the far side, so standing behind the snowblower, the right side. It took me a time or two as the first way I had it it pulled it into the upper pulley/tensioner for the auger belt, so reversed the way the spring was (rotated 180) and hooked it that way and it pulled more inline and fixed that problem. Funny how in most cases that wouldn't matter but in this case that close attention to detail just taking that a person has to really watch it and remember! So thanks for taking the time to reach out on it! 

I got quite a bit done with it today, but now am sitting her thinking if I remembered to tighten the bigger nut on the set screw on that auger pulley so thinking tomorrow night after work I had better check, even though it's all put back together now! 

I got the axles back on it today (installed new bushing's on each side, as someone said on the forum to check, spot on! As the 1 was wore, other didn't appear to be, but was noticeably better even though wasn't that bad to start with.), wheels, lubed up the splines there and ran the forward/reverse lever back and forth and what an improvement that made! Adjusted the engagement lever on the auger for tension, I thought it was a little too tight, but will watch it as the use that new belt and it loosens up some. 

Put a paint stick underneath the front scraper bar and set the skid shoes. I notice the sides are slightly higher then the center of the scraper bar, and that's how the old one was wore too. 

I have a few small things to do to it yet, one of the bolts on the carb cover was loose so went to tighten it but whole is stripped out so will address that. Put new fuel line on and fuel filter. Am going to buy non ethanol fuel tomorrow in my 2 1/2 gallon JD gas can and then fill it up and run and drain oil. Will double check from auger housing oil level after I filled it. I put in a new spark plug so hopefully that's good to go. And well then I think I'm off and ready for snow! Thanks to the help of this forum. Just about done so will then get a link to photobucket, so future viewers have more to go off as well. 

I do have another question though, what is the red wire for in the photo? Looks like someone removed it, so thinking maybe for the grounding out of a safety mechanism? But the previous owner has both of the top handles on the handle bars wired down. Was going to remove and zip tie but he did a really nice job so thinking of leaving! My other thought is the red wire was for powering the 'optional light kit'? If so just means in the future can I mount LED's up to it as I seen a topic on that? (read through some but was slightly confused but think if I gave it a go I'd figure it out).

I do dislike how Deere put the adjustment of the spout so it just barely hits the rod that engages the snowblower. I helped it some but tightening the bolt and moving it ever so slightly but not quite enough to clear it. 

That's all for now, will check that bolt tomorrow, put some gas in, and run it then change oil, Amsoil is going in it. Will run it a bit to so the impeller kit I installed rubs down a bit. Thanks for all the help with this!


----------

