# '64 Impeller not aligned correctly?



## dericson (Dec 13, 2018)

Good evening,

I just got done with snowblowing 8" of snow and noticed that my impeller is not aligned with my chute - possibly put on incorrectly by the engine repair shop. It looks as though my impeller is about 1/4 inch proud of the chute, which might have been contributing to it constantly getting clogged, and barely throwing the snow 5 feet - which is not like that machine.

Does anyone else out there have a '64? Would you mind sharing what your impeller looks like, when viewing down through the chute.

Thanks!


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

I'm assuming that is an Ariens?....I don't believe there is a way the shop you took it to could assemble the impeller wrong, there are no adjustments in the whole auger system. I think the snow is wet and you need to install the rubber paddle impeller kit.


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## Jackmels (Feb 18, 2013)

Make sure mpeller blades are not bent. I've had to Torch and bend some in the past. That can affect the throw, and as Cran stated earlier, add impeller kit.


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## SayItAintSnow (Dec 15, 2017)

_dericson,_

It's unlikely there's any problem with the alignment as you have suggested. 

Let's look at this logically: :icon_scratch:

You are looking at the distance between the impeller and impeller housing on one side. For it to be out of alignment, it would have to mean that if you look at the other side (from the front), the other side of the impeller would be much closer to the housing. I think that's very unlikely.

With regards to bent impeller blades, surely a possibility, but it's unlikely that they'd all be bent exactly the same. So again look through from the front. Do the blades all look like they are about the same distance away from the housing?

In the design of an impeller in its housing, you basically have two concentric circles. With the impeller representing the slightly smaller of the two. That gap you see is part of the engineering, to account for wear in the impeller bearing. As the bearing wears, the spin of the impeller will not be as "true" as when it was factory fresh, and a slight wobble can be introduced. The gap provides for that slight wobble, without the catastrophic result of the impeller hitting steel against steel at high speed. 

By the time the wobble is so bad that the impeller is about to strike its housing, the vibration in the machine should be so bad that even the most unconscious operator should recognize that something is terribly wrong, and not wait for the handle bars to vibrate off...._:devil:
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## dericson (Dec 13, 2018)

Alright, well if it's not the impeller, why was this thing throwing snow 20+ feet 10 years ago and now all of a sudden it can barely throw it 5 feet? Nothing on the machine has changed AND I just gave it a nice tune up. I had all the belts replaced, put on a new friction disc, rebuilt the carb, all new oil/lube, etc... The one thing that I cannot figure out is why it'll stop working with heavy wet snow. This machine lived in New England for 50 years and never had a single issue.

If it's not the impeller, I'm going to have to start looking at the belts... The gear box (cast iron) seems to be working just fine. Any other areas I should start looking more closely at?


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

Did you check the roll pin that holds the impeller on? My old ariens a did the same as yours, the roll pin was rusty and had broken


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

I assume you have checked that you cannot turn either the augers or the impeller easily by hand with the engine off and the spark plug wire disconnected?

If either of those items turns easily, then a shear bolt or roll pin is broken. Even 1 shearbolt broken on one of the augers will put a big crimp in your throwing distance.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

I would check the roll pin on the impeller shaft, .... also a worn or not the proper belt, under load, .... idler pulley tension not performing under load, .... making sure drive disk is adjusted proper, not slipping, ... certainly an impeller rubber extension paddle kit would help.


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## Mike C. (Jan 28, 2016)

Is the inner surface of your shute rough/rusty.The impeller discharge hole looks rather rusty.Sanding these surfaces made quite a bit of difference with wet snow to my Allis 828.I've been saying for the past five years that I'm going to paint it-maybe 2019 will be the year....


You wrote that you "had" the belts replaced,as in someone else did them.I would definitely start there.I don't know how many snowblowers my father has had to adjust belts on that had just been replaced at another shop and they didn't take the time to check it.


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## dericson (Dec 13, 2018)

nwcove said:


> Did you check the roll pin that holds the impeller on? My old ariens a did the same as yours, the roll pin was rusty and had broken


I didn't, but I wasn't looking for it either. I'll take it apart again. In the attached below, which are piece should I be looking at?


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

dericson said:


> i didn't, but i wasn't looking for it either. I'll take it apart again. In the attached below, which are piece should i be looking at?


9x7


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## dericson (Dec 13, 2018)

skutflut said:


> I assume you have checked that you cannot turn either the augers or the impeller easily by hand with the engine off and the spark plug wire disconnected?
> 
> If either of those items turns easily, then a shear bolt or roll pin is broken. Even 1 shearbolt broken on one of the augers will put a big crimp in your throwing distance.


Yes, I can turn the augers/impeller with ease when it's turned off. I looked at the auger shear pins and they look to be fine (see attached). I'll focus my attention on the roll pin...


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## dericson (Dec 13, 2018)

nwcove said:


> 9x7


Please say there's an easy way to replace this? Everything I've read has me taking the augers / gear box, etc out... :crying:


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## scrappy (Dec 7, 2014)

I replaced the pin on my dad's 1967. This was 30 years ago, I sure don't recall taking anything apart. 

Just lined up the holes and drove it home.


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## tlshawks (Feb 9, 2018)

dericson said:


> Yes, I can turn the augers/impeller with ease when it's turned off. I looked at the auger shear pins and they look to be fine (see attached). I'll focus my attention on the roll pin...


Well, to me...

Just because you see the shear pins apparently in place doesn't mean they are intact. When you put a wrench to them, does the locknut also turn with them?

Then, if those are indeed intact, when you spin the auger rakes, does the impeller also turn with them?

Doesn't the impeller stop spinning with the rakes IF the spring roll pin is broken?


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## dericson (Dec 13, 2018)

tlshawks said:


> Well, to me...
> 
> Just because you see the shear pins apparently in place doesn't mean they are intact. When you put a wrench to them, does the locknut also turn with them?
> 
> ...


I'm not sure what the issue is. The impeller spins when the augers spins. The pins all seem to be in place as well... 

Here's a look at my shear/roll pins (attached)


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

the ends of the roll pins wont just fall out if they are broken. an easy way to test is, put a peice of 2x4 through the auger rakes so the auger cannot turn. use another piece of wood to pry up on the impeller, using the auger shaft as a lever. dont go ape on it tho. some less than gentle prying should tell the tale.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

I would remove the spark plug wire first, just to be sure.


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## tlshawks (Feb 9, 2018)

RIT333 said:


> I would remove the spark plug wire first, just to be sure.


Yep.

And I was thinking of the roll pin on the helicon gear within the gear case housing. Heck, I didn't know there were two roll pins on the impeller hub itself. Learned something new there.

Then yeah, get a hold of the impeller and apply turning pressure to a rake and see if there's slippage. And just looking at the pic, looks like the right one is split in half and the left one kinda looks missing.


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

RIT333 said:


> I would remove the spark plug wire first, just to be sure.


absolutely! its something i always do without even thinking about it. always remove the plug wire and make sure there is no tension on he belt (s) when doing anything mechanical up front , under the belly pan or clearing a clogged chute . they can bite....and remove body parts !


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## DriverRider (Nov 20, 2016)

Going out on a very thin limb here but are you positive of the correct rotation of impeller when engaged? Did the original engine have two PTO shafts? I think from the limited pictures provided it should be CCW as viewed from front..


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## dericson (Dec 13, 2018)

Thanks everyone. I always remove the plug before turning those over... I like my limbs. Since I was off today, I tried my best, but I gave up and ended up calling a shop to come by and pick the beast up. I wish I had the time to learn all the mechanics and fix it, but we have another storm coming in 4 days and I need this thing up and running.

Thanks for all your input and help!


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## Kielbasa (Dec 21, 2013)

Thank... You... :icon-cheers:



Mike C. said:


> Is the inner surface of your shute rough/rusty.The impeller discharge hole looks rather rusty.Sanding these surfaces made quite a bit of difference with wet snow to my Allis 828.I've been saying for the past five years that I'm going to paint it-maybe 2019 will be the year....
> 
> 
> You wrote that you "had" the belts replaced,as in someone else did them.I would definitely start there.I don't know how many snowblowers my father has had to adjust belts on that had just been replaced at another shop and they didn't take the time to check it.


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