# Toro 826 Belt Guard/Cover (Mod. 31763)



## 762mm (Dec 22, 2014)

Hello,

Well, for the past few weeks I've been trying to locate a reasonably priced belt guard for my 826 (part# 17-6550), with no luck. Most places list is as either discontinued or price it way too high to make it worth buying. As such, I figure I'll probably have to make one out of sheet steel (or aluminum) and rivets.

The project will probably be pretty straight forward, just cut out a pattern and rivet it together... but I'm also having trouble locating pictures of the original belt guard in order to have some sort of an idea of a pattern to work with. There are a few pictures of Toro belt guards on eBay, but they're for different models, so I'm not sure how accurate those designs are for my application. Prices are also crazy in some cases - some people ask more money for a used belt guard than others would ask for an entire used snowblower on Craigslist! 

That being said, would anyone happen to have a picture of one? I know it's a long shot, but hey... I figured I'd try my luck anyway! I'll probably build it when winter gives us a bit of a break and temperatures allow me to actually work in my garage without freezing, lol!


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

762mm said:


> Hello,
> 
> Well, for the past few weeks I've been trying to locate a reasonably priced belt guard for my 826 (part# 17-6550), with no luck. Most places list is as either discontinued or price it way too high to make it worth buying. As such, I figure I'll probably have to make one out of sheet steel (or aluminum) and rivets.
> 
> ...


 _M60 (or 308?),_ maybe browse toro genuine parts page too look at different models/years...a manual cross-reference if you will. In otherwords, some of the belt guards for other models may fit your machine.


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## 762mm (Dec 22, 2014)

classiccat said:


> _M60 (or 308?),_ maybe browse toro genuine parts page too look at different models/years...a manual cross-reference if you will. In otherwords, some of the belt guards for other models may fit your machine.


That's what I figured too and it was also suggested before. It's an avenue I haven't explored, but judging by the prices on eBay for used belt guards (and prices for NOS ones), I think I'd spend almost as much on the belt guard as I did on the rest of the snowblower. Hence why I will probably just make one out of scratch. Heck, even some thin plastic sheet cut out to a pattern and glued together would work, probably. I also toyed with the idea of making a mock up belt guard with cardboard and glue and then using fiberglass to make it permanent, kind of like they make custom interior parts for custom cars and boats. This being said, sheet aluminum and rivets is probably the fastest and least messy way to go about it. I'll weight my options shortly... 

The machine works perfectly good without it, to tell you the truth. I am also missing the rear cover on it and have a hard time imagining how those two parts could've possibly got lost over the years... the machine probably had quite a few owners, but still... who the heck loses both covers, and how? Or did they simply take them off for that "Rat Rod" look, lol? 

I want a belt guard more for esthetics and for keeping snow off the drive belts. I've had no adverse effects of not having a cover yet, despite having blown snow a few times already. No belt slipping, etc... just gotta remember not to mess around the belts/pullies with the engine running!


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

762mm said:


> That's what I figured too and it was also suggested before. It's an avenue I haven't explored, but judging by the prices on eBay for used belt guards (and prices for NOS ones), I think I'd spend almost as much on the belt guard as I did on the rest of the snowblower. Hence why I will probably just make one out of scratch. Heck, even some thin plastic sheet cut out to a pattern and glued together would work, probably. I also toyed with the idea of making a mock up belt guard with cardboard and glue and then using fiberglass to make it permanent, kind of like they make custom interior parts for custom cars and boats. This being said, sheet aluminum and rivets is probably the fastest and least messy way to go about it. I'll weight my options shortly...
> 
> The machine works perfectly good without it, to tell you the truth. I am also missing the rear cover on it and have a hard time imagining how those two parts could've possibly got lost over the years... the machine probably had quite a few owners, but still... who the heck loses both covers, and how? Or did they simply take them off for that "Rat Rod" look, lol?
> 
> I want a belt guard more for esthetics and for keeping snow off the drive belts. I've had no adverse effects of not having a cover yet, despite having blown snow a few times already. No belt slipping, etc... just gotta remember not to mess around the belts/pullies with the engine running!


 An aluminum belt guard using solid brazier-head 3/16" rivets tying-in a front face plate to a formed cap would look pretty-fricken-awesome!! (_I was in the middle of restoring a '75 StarCraft SuperSport before a recent career change_). Just have to watch for dissimilar metal issues...can get some nasty corrosion if steel & aluminum contact each other for an extended period of time...especially in the presence of salt water --> I doubt this would be an issue on a snowblower...just something to keep an eye on.


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## JerryD (Jan 19, 2014)

I bought mine on EBay for $14.00 last winter.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

Those belt guards have long been discontinued. best bet is E-BAY.


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## 762mm (Dec 22, 2014)

Thanks for your replies. Being in Canada, there's no way in h*ll I'm gonna be able to score one on eBay for $14 shipped. Not gonna happen... unless some crack addict is parting out a stolen snowblower somewhere, lol! 

I figure I'll just make one out of sheet aluminum and aluminum rivets, then paint the d*mn thing black with a quality rust pain (that stuff lasts for decades). I'll make the rear cover the same way, except that I won't need to make that piece 3 dimensional (so no rivets on that one, just a bend to accommodate the contours of the body). 

The time factor aside, it the final cost should be well below what I'll be able to get used parts for. Once I go ahead and do it, I'll take pictures and make it's own thread in the Toro section of the forum. For now though, I've got other projects on my plate....


(would you look at that... *" d a m n "* and *" h e l l "* are "bad words" according to Snowblower Forum. You learn something new every day, I suppose! It's a good thing no one's quoting verses of the Bible, isn't it?)


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