# friction wheel disc replacement



## User_n_PA

I need to replace the friction wheel disc assembly (original part 656-04025A, replacement part 656-04055) on a 2009 Craftsman 26" snow thrower (model 247.88691). This is the aluminum wheel that sits behind the auger pulley and whose axis is oriented perpendicular to the wheel axle. The owner's manual says special tools are needed. Anyone have experience doing this repair?

Thanks.


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## UNDERTAKER

Why don't you post some pic's. so we can have a looksee in there. what are the special tools needed????? other wise some of the craftsman guys will be a long here sooner or later. but any hoo. ALOHA from the paradise city.


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## User_n_PA

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> Why don't you post some pic's. so we can have a looksee in there. what are the special tools needed????? other wise some of the craftsman guys will be a long here sooner or later. but any hoo. ALOHA from the paradise city.


This is what the ugly mess looks like.


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## UNDERTAKER

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH it is ugly. but I have seen worse. shoot some pics of the outside so I can see where things might come apart.


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## User_n_PA

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH it is ugly. but I have seen worse. shoot some pics of the outside so I can see where things might come apart.


The outside. The access panel underneath is secured with four sheet metal screws.


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## Shryp

You are going to have to split the 2 halves and have a look at the other side. My guess is either there is a nut holding it on to a shaft or the plate itself is threaded. It is probably a nut and then a keyed or splined shaft. The nut might be reverse threads and an impact wrench is probably easiest for removal.

Such a shame for a machine that is a newer and in good shape otherwise. Terrible how easy those MTD things break.

The plate didn't look super terrible. Any chance of saving it by buffing it out or sanding it down a little?


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## User_n_PA

Thanks folks. It's my machine in my garage. And it's July in southeast Pennsylvania. So time is on my side. I'll take the advice given and look to free the plate from the front side. I'll post updates as the job progresses.


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## Sid

It looks like someone worked one or two storms with the rubber blown off of the drive disc. You can see it in the second picture. That aluminum disc may not be salvageable as the grooves look kinda deep. Spring for both discs, and check the bearings on the ends of both shafts. That machine is new enough so that you can find diagrams etc, and also dial up "donnyboy 73 " on Facebook, there is a lot of good info on his videos. Google the part #s, and several sites will come up. Good Luck
Sid


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## jermar

Good advice above. That chewed up disc is only going to make the rubber wear faster. Do it right and replace both parts.


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## User_n_PA

Making good progress. Separated the two ends and removed the friction disk and drive plate. The only special tool was a retaining ring pliers that I picked up from Home Depot ($$$). Should have looked on Ebay.

Before disassembly I figured I'd order separate components; rubber and two halves of the friction disk. But I trashed that idea when I saw that one half of the friction disk was pressed on to the bearing's outer race. So I ordered the friction disk <http://bit.ly/1M77cnH> and the drive plate <http://bit.ly/1Dd5VTN>. Parts should be in next week.


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## User_n_PA

The job is finished.

A short test drive led to discovery of a problem with the auger drive belt. I didn't encounter any problems with the idler pulley or the belt. So it's odd that now it squeals and is spitting very small particles of the belt. I'll take a closer look when I replace the belt.


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## jtclays

User, looks like you replaced all the inside stuff correctly, assuming the bearing/bushing is snug. If you are getting auger belt shred, check to make sure you tightened the auger housing to tractor housing with snug fit. If so, something walked on you and is causing the belt shred. If you only see it with handle engagement, then you should be able to see if the idler is crooked or engaged wrong. Those Craftsman's have very slight play to make all the belts sit pretty. I'm guessing the auger housing is not set up tight with the tractor housing or the auger idler got set behind the belt. Really no other way to make that blower go bad assuming bearings are wobbling correctly.


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## jtclays

Hope it works out. Can't do much without a follow up.:icon_blue_very_sad:


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## User_n_PA

jtclays, Thanks very much. The screws securing the auger housing with the back end lined up precisely. But the tension pulley appears to be in the wrong position; maybe 1/4" toward the back end. I'm going to order a new belt and take a closer look at the pulley. I suspect I may have bent the bracket holding the pulley.

On the bright side, the new friction disc and new drive disc work great. I tested all forward and reverse settings and also engage the left and right turn levers. No problems.


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## jtclays

You could just leave the bucket off and drive around your neighborhood with just the tractor portion. If you wave at everyone really hard, the police should show up shortly Sounds like you got it figured out and will be fine for another PA winter. Wish you good luck with the machine.


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## Kiss4aFrog

That looks almost exactly like how I got my Troy from a relative for free.
Then spent as much as I would buying a nice used Ariens replacing parts on it. Needed the friction disc, drive disc, new skids and axle bushings. The skids and bushings were worn through. :facepalm_zpsdj194qh

I managed to replace the plate without separating the housing but it was hard on the hand. It's made it through two winters now and I'm wondering after seeing yours if there is something wrong with the way the friction disc is assembled (slightly loose bolts??) or operated that makes the rubber separate ?? Mine was operated by a seventy year old lady so I know it wasn't brute force on the shifter :icon_whistling:


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## User_n_PA

Kiss4aFrog said:


> I'm wondering after seeing yours if there is something wrong with the way the friction disc is assembled (slightly loose bolts??) or operated that makes the rubber separate ?? Mine was operated by a seventy year old lady so I know it wasn't brute force on the shifter :icon_whistling:


I suspect the cause of my machine's failure was operator error on my part. I remember, during at least one use, locking the drive and then shifting gears. Shifting gears with the friction disc engaged to the drive disc would be enough to separate the rubber from the metal. I wouldn't have done that if I'd known about the friction disc.


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## User_n_PA

I replaced the drive belt last weekend. Problem was the belt was not secured properly in the auger drive disc. Rather than being seated in the drive disc, between disc and bracket as shown in this photo, it had moved to the outside of the bracket.

The bracket was shredding the belt. During belt replacement I made sure the belt was seated in both pulley and disc BEFORE securing the cover. When I completed the first job I secured the cover plate before seating the belt in the drive pulley. And the loose belt made its way to the other side of the bracket. Live and learn.

The machine runs like a champ now. Good, because I hear this winter may be one for the record books.


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## jtclays

Nice to figure it out. I for one have never done anything like that:facepalm_zpsdj194qh
Or forgot to put the needle back in the carb after a rebuild, left the black gas cap on the black tire and spent 15 minutes to locate it, looked for one darn screw to complete the job only to find it magnetized to the screwdriver I was using:smiley-confused009: Stuff happens and we move on. Glad it's running great.


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## Kiss4aFrog

That's the two steps forward, one back thingy.
Good part is it's fixed before the white stuff has started falling !!


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## HCBPH

User_n_PA said:


> I replaced the drive belt last weekend. Problem was the belt was not secured properly in the auger drive disc. Rather than being seated in the drive disc, between disc and bracket as shown in this photo, it had moved to the outside of the bracket.
> 
> The bracket was shredding the belt. During belt replacement I made sure the belt was seated in both pulley and disc BEFORE securing the cover. When I completed the first job I secured the cover plate before seating the belt in the drive pulley. And the loose belt made its way to the other side of the bracket. Live and learn.
> 
> The machine runs like a champ now. Good, because I hear this winter may be one for the record books.


Here's a tip if you're having belts shred on the auger. Assuming the impeller shaft bearing is good and belt retainers are where should be, it's usually an alignment issue on the engine and auger pulley. Sight from the top down the pulleys and belt and you'll usually see where it's misaligned.

Here's a setup tip if you're having problems getting them aligned correctly, but do it at your own risk cause it can injure if you're not careful. With something like antiseize on the impeller shaft where the auger pulley fits (so it can slip a little), loosen the allen screws that hold the auger pulley to the impeller shaft is loose on the shaft (obviously with the key in the shaft), run the engine and spin the auger a few revolutions at a medium speed. Because the belt wants to run true, it pulled the pulleys into alignment, then using long allen wrenches (after turning off the engine) tighten the allen screws and you're done. I've done that a couple of times when it seemed I just couldn't get the pulleys properly aligned and it worked for me. Again, be very careful as you're running the machine with an intentionally loose pulley so be careful and stay out of the way in case something not desired happens.


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## Kiss4aFrog

HCBPH makes a great point. You also want to make sure the auger housing to transmission housing bolts are tight and auger housing isn't twisted.


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