# Sticker shock at dealership



## ddrink (Dec 1, 2010)

I picked up a new scraper bar for my Grandmother's snowblower at lunch today and almost hit the floor when they told me it was going to be $61! I know most things cost more at the dealership, and I'm ok with that but I thought that was ridiculous. And it's also not reversible.

Ok, done venting.

Dan


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## abumpa (Nov 21, 2010)

Isn’t that just a flat piece of steel with a few holes in it? Haven’t looked at the one on my snow blower yet, but I have made a bunch for snowplows. $61 does seem high for something like that.


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## ddrink (Dec 1, 2010)

That is exactly what it is. I bought the one today, because it was needed and I won’t have the time to machine any for a couple of weeks, but I’m planning on making 20 or so of my own that are going to be reversible.

Dan


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## abumpa (Nov 21, 2010)

Just looked at the one on my Ariens and it is more than just a flat piece of steel. The ends are turned up at a 90 to mount to the sides and the back edge is rolled up a little. I will have to take it off at the end of the season and see about copying it.


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## trdr (Nov 27, 2010)

ddrink said:


> I picked up a new scraper bar for my Grandmother's snowblower at lunch today and almost hit the floor when they told me it was going to be $61! I know most things cost more at the dealership, and I'm ok with that but I thought that was ridiculous. And it's also not reversible.
> 
> Ok, done venting.
> 
> Dan


what you can do is adjust the skid shoes so that your not scraping the ground real hard, Leave a 1/8 "or 1/16" gap between the ground and the scraper bar. As mentioned before you can get steel stock pretty cheap and cut your own


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## ddrink (Dec 1, 2010)

trdr said:


> what you can do is adjust the skid shoes so that your not scraping the ground real hard, Leave a 1/8 "or 1/16" gap between the ground and the scraper bar. As mentioned before you can get steel stock pretty cheap and cut your own


 
Grandpa alway ran the scraper all the way down to leave the driveway really clean, so that's the way Grandma wants it done now. The current scraper is wore heavier on the right hand side than the left so I can't get even contact across the entire scraper.

I run my own at 1/8" up to save the wear on it.

Dan


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## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

Next time check with a different dealer.
I just put a new one on my old Dayton/MTD and it was $21.
I was quoted that price at two places, one Toro repair facility that didn't have it in stock and a John Deere repair facility that did.
Both shops work on brands other than just those they sell.

FWIW, mine is not just a flat piece of steel. It has a bend in it and the holes are square to keep the shoulder bolts from turning when you tighten them. Not as easy and cheap to make as it sounds.

Certainly doesn't justify a $61 price, though.


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## ddrink (Dec 1, 2010)

Same with mine, it also has a little "hip" in it, with the square holes for the carriage bolts, cost me $13 at the same dealership. After seeing the one on my Grandma's snow blower I didn't even think to ask the price when I called to order it.

Dan


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## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

ddrink said:


> Same with mine, it also has a little "hip" in it, with the square holes for the carriage bolts, cost me $13 at the same dealership. After seeing the one on my Grandma's snow blower I didn't even think to ask the price when I called to order it.
> 
> Dan


Since the dealer didn't rip your head off when you purchased yours, maybe they made a mistake in the pricing of the second one.
You might mention to them the discrepancy in the price of the two items.


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## ddrink (Dec 1, 2010)

CharlesW said:


> Since the dealer didn't rip your head off when you purchased yours, maybe they made a mistake in the pricing of the second one.
> You might mention to them the discrepancy in the price of the two items.


Already did that, I also check a couple of online stores when I got back to work this afternoon too. The price they charged isn't much higher than the internet prices for the same part number.

Dan


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

I have my scraper bar set so it just touches the driveway surface..
cleans the surface nice and clean, leaving virtually no snow..

I dont see much point in leaving a "space" or a small gap just to save wear on the scraper bar..because if you think about it, if the scraper bar and the skid shoes are both set to the same height, they will wear at the same rate..and the shoes will prevent the scraper from wearing down any faster than the shoes, because the shoes are really what is supporting the weight of the machine, not the scraper bar..the scraper bar is just lightly touching the surface of the driveway, but isnt being pressed down heavily..its "just along for the ride" so to speak..there is no real pressure on it. 

Set the skid shoe height first..then just lower the scraper so it lightly touches the surface.

So I see no real benefit to leaving a gap..having it *just* touch the driveway wont wear it out significantly faster than leaving the gap.

(of course this only applies to paved surfaces!  with gravel of course you muct have a big gap)

Scot


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## ddrink (Dec 1, 2010)

sscotsman said:


> ISet the skid shoe height first..then just lower the scraper so it lightly touches the surface.
> 
> Scot


That's kind of what I was planning on doing when I put the new scraper on tonight, but I have to adjust the scraper height using the shoes. This is a non-adjustable scraper. Not being able to adjust it is the main reason I have to replace it. The right side wore more than the left, and after the old shoes were replaced I couldn't get the old scraper to touch evenly across by adjusting the shoe height

The gap I leave on mine also helps with your comment of "of course this only applies to paved surfaces!" I also do a small section of the back yard for my dog. 1/8" gap seems to be plenty for going over grass, and gets the drive and sidewalk pretty clean, and I should have to replace the scraper as often as the shoes, not a huge savings but make me feel like I'm saving money. 

Dan


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## Rog02 (Dec 23, 2010)

Dan:

I re-skinned the skids on my blower this summer. I just fabbed a couple of wear plates out of some 1"X1/4" flat iron scraps from the drop box and welded them onto the old brackets. For better wear resitance I ran a few beads of hard facing rod. 

Yep, JD is sure proud of that green paint!

Roger
Old, Tired, and Grumpy


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## trdr (Nov 27, 2010)

hey dan i went out the other day and picked up a rear scraper bar just to have an extra one, $24.00 at the jd dealer, 30'' plate, square holes.


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