# Craftman - Changed Belt now clanging - Help!



## goindimon (Dec 30, 2010)

I hope someone can help me. I have a Craftsman 5/22 snowblower, pretty old but still in great working order. We just got hit here in NJ with 2 ft of snow. Worked fine for 4 houses I helped, including mine (Thanks God). But all of a sudden the the auger wouldn't engage. I checked the belts and noticed that the auger belt was worn and thought that was the culprit. I was able to change out the belt, but now the auger vibrates and makes a loud clanging noise and I have to immediately stop the engine. When I have the auger engaged and the blower tilted back, the vibrating lowers a little but once I release slowly the vibrating and noise starts. I took the unit apart and was able to spin the impeller and the auger smoothly. So I am very confused? Is it an adjustment? Did I not install the belt correctly, does it need an adjustment? PLEASE HELP !


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Check, and re-check, that you put the proper belt in and that you put it on the way the old one came out.


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## dakota60 (Oct 20, 2010)

It is possible that you have the belt installed over the pulley brake. (I've done this) the pulley brake is usually attached to the idler arm, on the bottom side. If that's okay, grab the large auger drive pulley, and give it a good shake to check the shaft bearing/bushing. finally , look the whole auger system over for any parts that seem too close and could possibly come into contact with each other. Don't be afraid to push ,pull or shake any part to check for play that shouldn't be there. Good luck, Larry


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## goindimon (Dec 30, 2010)

Larry, I will check what you recommended and will reply back. Thanks for the advice.


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## goindimon (Dec 30, 2010)

Hi Larry, so a couple of additional questions. When the blower is not engaged the auger pulley i assume is still spinning, but the belt should not turn because it is not engaged. Correct. Also the impeller pulley should not be spinning either when not engaged. When idling everything seems to rattle, when I engage it seems to spin fine. I have adjusted the belt guides, but that didnt help. Could the spring that engages the brake on the pulley be the cause ? I have added some pics to help diagnose.


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## dakota60 (Oct 20, 2010)

Okay - first, your Auger and impeller are driven by the same belt, which is the forward one , closer to the auger. To me, this belt looks worn in picture # 2, the outside edge of the belt protrudes significantly over the edge of the sidewall. Sometimes it's hard to tell in the pic, do you agree ? The other belt, closest to the engine, runs the drive. The auger/impeller should stop when you release the auger drive lever, however, it looks like your pulleys have some rust in them, which will make extra grip. this will disappear with use. To the best of my knowledge, when the engine is running, with no one at the controls, the rear belt should be turning, and the front belt should not, unless the auger is engaged.


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## dakota60 (Oct 20, 2010)

Regarding the brake return spring- if it comes into contact with any moving part, it is a problem. I can't tell fom your pics how close it is to the pulley.


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## indypower (Oct 28, 2010)

You said you changed the belts, but the belts in the pics are not new belts. If I was changing a belt, it would be with a new belt.


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## goindimon (Dec 30, 2010)

Dakota, In regard to the rust, yes there is on the outside of the pulleys, but where it is in contact with the belt is smooth. So I dont think it is causing extra grip. as far as the belt protruding from the sidewall, this is how far the bottom auger pully is so I think that is ok. 

Your last comment is the most pertinent, you say when I have nothing engaged and the engine is running the back engine pulley should be spinning and the auger pulley should not. If this is the case then that might be my problem. Since both pulleys are spinning when not engaged the auger pulley is still trying to spin the auger belt when loose, causing it to intermittently spin the belt and rattle. So should I be trying to bang the pulleys to possibly clear some rust making both turn? Spray some lubricant? 

If that is not the case, then I go back to the auger brake question not being tight enough to hold the bottom larger pulley when idling. BTW the spring is not in contact with the sidewall. Thanks again for all the great ideas.


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## dakota60 (Oct 20, 2010)

Goinin... Right, If your auger is not engaged, only the engine pulley should be spinning on the auger group. the drive group always spins when the engine is running. Perhaps your pulley brake needs replacing/ adjusting to grab better ? If that doesn't work, Ensure that the auger belt is the correct size. It all comes down to which grabs better : the belt or the brake. When auger is not engaged, you want the brake to do its job. It may be possible to adjust the idler out so it doesn'y put any tension on the belt when not engaged. Larry


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## dakota60 (Oct 20, 2010)

I just saw something- in pic # 2 (again) if you look at the idler pulley, you can see that it is adjustable- there is a slot on the arm it mounts on. loosen this bolt and slide the pulley AWAY from the belt, so it puts less tension on the belt, and allows the brake to grab. That should fix you up.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

I've looked at those pictures over and over and, unless I'm imagining things, it looks like there might be two different adjustment points. #1 looks to be the adjustment for tension on the belt dakota60 is talking about. #2 looks like it might be an adjustment for the tension on the auger brake at #3, and if the engagement lever is completely disengaged, it seems that it's adjusted to where the least amount of tension is on the brake.


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## dakota60 (Oct 20, 2010)

Thanks bwbrn,. that is exactly it. If you increase the brake tension, and reduce the idler tension, that pulley has gotta stop. You may have to experiment a little to find the sweet spot, where the Auger stops when disengaged, and the belt doesn't slip when the auger is loaded...


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## goindimon (Dec 30, 2010)

OK, so what I am going to try is to (according to bwdbrn1 photo) reduce the tension on the idler tension #1, and increase the tension on the brake tention#2 so that the spring on the brake holds the bottom pulley tighter. This stopping the pulley from turning when idling. I am crossing my fingers, and will report back. I appreciate the time for all that have replied to my post.


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