# Cub Cadet snow blower not all gears working



## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Hi all, have a cub cadet 926TE snow blower and needed it yesterday. Started up fine and worked great until almost finished and then only my 2 and 3 gear would work to move the blower. Putting it into 4, 5 or 6 it would not move. Reverse works fine. Any suggestions would be great on what to check out or think might need adjustment. Thanks.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Friction disc.

It needs cleaned, adjusted or replaced.

donyboy73 - YouTube

BTW: Cub Cadet is made by MTD.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Thank you so much, I went to the site and watched the video. My only question would be if that friction wheel goes bad, wouldn't all the gears not work. And reverse works very well. Although I did think when it was working and had it in 5 or 6 gear, was not going as fast as it normally would. Not sure if that F wheel has ever been changed, I don't think so, so will take a look at it. If not the Friction wheel, could it then be the plate that lifts up, with the drive handle activated by pulling it down, not adjusted properly and not making good contact against the friction wheel? Thanks again.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

It depends. If there is oil on it it could be slipping in some spots. If the bearings are worn it can wobble enough to mess it up.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Thank you for your help. Will check it out and take some pictures for review.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Sorry for taking so long to get back. Dad is in a nursing home and demands a lot of attention. So we get the big snow fall, so last night I change the friction wheel and clean it all up. Pic below is of the underneath before I changed the wheel. Was not hard to pop out that drive by just following directions in book. 

Start it up and thinking ok here we go and nothing. no movement. I tried the test in the book to confirm the throttle is set right and it is not. When I engage the throttle, it hardly moves the wire so tried adjusting by turning that nut and still no help. In the book it states one full turn and with mine I could turn it ten times with nothing. So put the plastic wrap under the gas cap and put it up on the blade housing so I can take that cover off to see what is going on. Here is the weird thing, when I stand it up like that, the throttle cable seems to engage more then when the blower is standing correctly. I mean the cable seems to move better to engage. I take note that the throttle basically connected with a spring engages that lower plate rotating the tires up against the friction wheel to make it move as you can see in the pic. Learn something new every day. 

Anyway, should that nut on the cable cause it to remove the slack in the line? Doesn't work for me. Would it be the spring inside which from the pic looks ok. Or is their something else I should be looking for elsewhere 
I have to replace something with that cable but not sure what it would be. 

Just re-read the thread and Shryp mentioned the bearings could be messed up. When I changed that friction wheel the plate below it seemed to wobble or move around a little bit not staying stationary. Should that be more rigid or loose like it is to better engage when pulled up with the throttle control? Thanks for any help. 

Also wanted to mention when I activate the auger control the machine throws snow.


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## Piedmont (Nov 13, 2013)

I don't have experience with MTD but that sure looks similar to my Ariens and I had similiar issues. In my case, Reverse and 4th+ weren't working. 

There were 2 nuts on the outside (at the base of the blower in the back that the tranny connects) that was accessible without removing any covers... I would guess likely is the end of that wire you pointed out. I found the adjustments VERY finicky (that is, the difference between complete success and failure may be just 1/2 turn one way or the other with the inside nut). 

I just remember having to loosen the outside nut, move the inside one 1/2 turn, tighten the outside, try it out. When I got it all working, I said I'll tighten it another 1/4 turn and it didn't work anymore. I loosened it 1/4 turn and it worked again. It was surprisingly finicky it's as if to get all gears working that nut has to be in the EXACT spot. 

I think that's your issue, you have to tighten the nut on that wire... just be aware that it's very finicky and the difference of 1/4 turn one way or another may be the difference between success and failure. There should also be 2 nuts against each other so it can't loosen.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Thank you for the response. I hope I didn't mess it up playing around with it. That throttle control has a nut that attaches or goes up against another longer piece that goes over that control line and has the ability to turn also. so you loosen the nut and then move that other control piece up and then retighten the nut against it after completed. When I was trying to follow the directions in the book it seemed as I moved it around a little bit the throttle control did not seem to be making that wire engage any tighter or looser at all. When all this started to happen, the throttle arm when engaged would move that line just about a half inch or a little more then that. It just seemed to be not moving a great deal. At least not as much as when I take the auger control to engage it. 
When you adjusted yours did it seem like it was making a difference in how far that control line moved either way?


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Amadauss said:


> Thank you for the response. I hope I didn't mess it up playing around with it. That throttle control has a nut that attaches or goes up against another longer piece that goes over that control line and has the ability to turn also. so you loosen the nut and then move that other control piece up and then retighten the nut against it after completed. When I was trying to follow the directions in the book it seemed as I moved it around a little bit the throttle control did not seem to be making that wire engage any tighter or looser at all. When all this started to happen, the throttle arm when engaged would move that line just about a half inch or a little more then that. It just seemed to be not moving a great deal. At least not as much as when I take the auger control to engage it.
> When you adjusted yours did it seem like it was making a difference in how far that control line moved either way?


Also wanted to mention that I did have movement in some gears but after changing friction band, have no movement in any gear with machine running andf traction control engaged in any gear. I also did the test while blower was turned off of moving the machine without the traction gear engaged and machine was able to be pushed back and forth and when engaging the traction control it states the machine should not be able to be pushed and I could move mine, In 6th gear by the way. When I put it into reverse I could move machine without traction engaged and engage the traction control, I could not move the machine, all while turned off.


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

Sounds like a combination of bearing failure and cable adjustments. It may have been originally over adjusted, applying too much pressure on the plate causing premature bearing failure. 

I would measure how much deflection to plate has, both + and -.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Can you go into a little more detail on what to measure. Does it show where on the pic I posted? Thanks


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## cdestuck (Jan 20, 2013)

Think I would throw a new friction disc on it. The higher the gear, the more a worn disc is prone to slip.


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

Amadauss said:


> Can you go into a little more detail on what to measure. Does it show where on the pic I posted? Thanks


I would use a small measuring rule, and measure while placing moderate pressure 180 degrees from that point, and then apply the same amount at the same point of measure. 

I do not know what the exact tolerances are for that particular bearing, but I would suspect anything over 1/16 would be enough to allow the friction disk to slip. 

Keep this in mind as well, what are the condition of the drive belt/pulley? They could be glazed, and simpler need to be rejuvenated- a light scuffing with an emery cloth.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

db9938 said:


> I would use a small measuring rule, and measure while placing moderate pressure 180 degrees from that point, and then apply the same amount at the same point of measure.
> 
> I do not know what the exact tolerances are for that particular bearing, but I would suspect anything over 1/16 would be enough to allow the friction disk to slip.
> 
> Keep this in mind as well, what are the condition of the drive belt/pulley? They could be glazed, and simpler need to be rejuvenated- a light scuffing with an emery cloth.


 I don't think I have ever changed the belts on it either so will do as you suggest. Thanks


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## woodtick007 (Apr 9, 2011)

Amadauss said:


> Hi all, have a cub cadet 926TE snow blower and needed it yesterday. Started up fine and worked great until almost finished and then only my 2 and 3 gear would work to move the blower. Putting it into 4, 5 or 6 it would not move. Reverse works fine. Any suggestions would be great on what to check out or think might need adjustment. Thanks.


How often do you need to operate the machine in 4/5? I have had 3 Ariens and a couple MTD's and I have never run them more than 3 and to be honest most of the the time they are run in 1/2. On my machines 3 is a very brisk walk and if the scraper bar catches I lip in the walk or drive I am eating the handle bars to the chest and the machine can only process so much snow before it starts to overflow the bucket. 
Have u thought about leaving it alone until spring? It surely looks like the friction wheel has plenty of rubber and replacing the bearings on the disc is a total PIA.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

woodtick007 said:


> How often do you need to operate the machine in 4/5? I have had 3 Ariens and a couple MTD's and I have never run them more than 3 and to be honest most of the the time they are run in 1/2. On my machines 3 is a very brisk walk and if the scraper bar catches I lip in the walk or drive I am eating the handle bars to the chest and the machine can only process so much snow before it starts to overflow the bucket.
> Have u thought about leaving it alone until spring? It surely looks like the friction wheel has plenty of rubber and replacing the bearings on the disc is a total PIA.


Thanks for response. 3 is not a brisk walk for me, more like a turtle moving. I did change the friction wheel on it. My issue, and it could be the bearings, is when I pull down on the traction control the line hardly moves versus the other control to throw the snow. So that needs adjustment no matter what. I have adjusted that bolt to adjust the line but does not seem to be working as I explained in a previous post. When I did change the friction wheel with a new one, the two plates below it were very wobbly and not sure if they should be rigid so could that be a bearing issue? I am hoping it is just the line off the traction control. Have not had the time to adjust yet because it just got so cold and not a lot of snow so you go into the non panic mode. . Suppose to warm up in the next day or two so going to look it over again. Frankly, not even sure where the bearings are but will find location in book. If I knew it would not snow again til summer, I would wait but you know what happens there. When I finally broke down and got one years ago all my neighbors thanked me because they knew it would not snow that winter. It didn't.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Wobble down below sounds like some bearings or bushings are worn out. Another thing to check is look where the cable connects to the handle up top and make sure it isn't bent. Also, MTD uses a small wheel on the back of the tractor, make sure that wheel and mount isn't bending.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Going to work on the snowblower today and tomorrow (first chance I have had) and called local cub cadet store and they have most of the parts for my machine. Just to confirm if you look at the pic I posted, right below the friction wheel that plate it would rest on when engaged is wobbly. So thus bearings or bushings correct? Will also check that wheel behind machine. 

Thank God the neighbor has been a help with our driveway.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I may have missed it but what is the model number of the blower that you use for ordering parts ?? 926TE is a "model" number but I don't think it's the one for parts.

Also this would have been a good question under the CCadet section.

You PM'd me and on yours it's more evident that the driving wheel is bolted to a square "yellow" steel plate. If your driving wheel with the drive belt grove has any up and down motion or wobble the bearing is going out or the nut holding it in place is loose. If you check the nut and it's tight you need the driving plate assembly.

Over on the left of the diagram is the disc broken down #4. That's the back of the plate. The stud #88 is pressed into the bearing #89 and then pressed into the back of the plate. If there is play in the bearing to stud fit or bearing to plate or play in the bearing itself you will have the wobble you described.

This is *NOT* your blower but should look similar.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Your question about the friction wheel being bad and should be bad in all gears. Yes and no, have to love exact answers like that 

Depends on how bad. When the trans is in a lower gear (friction wheel closer to the center you are not multiplying the power as much. If it's slipping at low speed it's much less noticeable then when you go to 5th or 6th and the friction wheel is out from the center and you are trying to spin the friction wheel faster it compounds the slipping more and is more noticeable in not having the correct speed or not having enough "traction" and the machine loses forward motion and you feel you're pushing it.

With the drive plate wobbling that's a whole new can of worms and I can't imagine how that might feel.

BUT ........ If that plate is wobbling stop using it so you don't damage that new friction wheel you put in as it could start slipping and get damaged. 

And I might have that "multiplying the power" thing backwards but hopefully you get the idea behind it slipping more in the higher gears.


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## Buttchet (Mar 5, 2013)

I would be checking that belt before I did anything. By checking, I mean replace it. If you have never done so, you should anyway. 
I had a similar issue and was the belt - go to Ace hardware or similar and pick one up there. I have always done that and the belts they have work fine.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I agree that the belts are often overlooked and it's always a good thing to check their condition and replace if there is any doubt.

_*"I had a similar issue and was the belt"*_
But how do you think that would cure his complaint that the drive plate wobbles


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Thanks for the responses. I have an ACE right up the street and will check them out for belts. Can't hurt to replace it. I really am hoping it is the nut just needs tightening. Will let you all know. Thanks again.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

So . . . . . Where are you at with this one ??


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Spending a great deal of time with my father so had no time to work on blower until today with getting hit with 6 to 9 inches. Propped it up, pulled the springs off to open that plate and sure enough the bolt is completely missing that holds the drive plate on to the pan that lifts it up to cause traction. Here is a pic with no bolt on the wheel. Now I guess just need to put a new bolt on so need to figure out size and give it a go.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Found a nut to go onto that bolt attached to the wheel but here is the problem, that threaded part spins when trying to put on the nut and on top of the wheel no place to put anything to hold it while I tighten the nut. I do have a book but it does not show anything as far as tightening it. Their is a slot in the thread which almost looks like a cotter pin would go there but don't think so. Any help appreciated.


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## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

i have absolutely no prior experience with the mtd or cub cadet blowers but does the bolt still turn if you put the drive lever down? i'm thinking the engine would prevent the shaft from turning. if not the slot in the center of the bolt end is probably for keeping the bolt from turning while the nut is tightened. i would find out if there is a lock washer that keeps the nut from coming loose or perhaps a small amount of blue loctite to keep it in place. the friction disk engages the drive disk to make the blower travel when engaged. the left lever that actuates the drive must be adjusted somehow so engagement is within spec and traction drive operates correctly. on an ariens you tip the unit up on the bucket and spin the rear wheels with the drive in first gear and adjust the engagement nut clockwise till the drive disc just starts to engage the friction disk. at that point you back the adjusting nut off counterclockwise three full turns. when the drive lever is actuated it has the correct amount of travel to engage the friction disk the CORRECT AMOUNT. sounds like you need to replace what fell off with the right parts and then find the proper adjustment procedure to adjust the drive correctly. if you put too much pressure on the drive and friction engagement the friction wheel or associated bearings or bushings of the drive wheel will break or prematurely fail. if not enough pressure you will not get the proper lockup between the f disk and drive wheel and the drive will slip. when all is done the friction disk and drive plate should be bone dry with no oil or grease on them and the drive lockup adjusted correctly for the unit to operate the way it was intended. you have probably seen this! http://www.manualslib.com/manual/34061/Cub-Cadet-730-Ste.html?page=11


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Thanks for response. Not sure what you mean with the drive lever. The throttle Drive? Cannot engage this because I have the spring disconnected that controls the throttle. I am thinking the lever that has three adjustments of regular, hard snow or transporting? That one? Also agree the same thing with that slot stopping it from turning when tightening. I can do I think what you mention to do with the Arien but have never tried to move the tracks as of yet when standing on the bucket. Will expert a little bit and report back.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I think he might be talking about pulling in the drive engage handle and trying to tighten the nut up. Don't think it will work because the stud/bolt is in a bearing and should rotate independently of the drive wheel no matter how tight you get it against the friction wheel.

I had to do my Troy and it's the same style transmission. That threaded stud should be "D" shape. It has a flat where the threads are machined off and the hole in that yellow plate should be D shaped. It's that flat on the stud and the flat in the plates hole that keeps it from spinning.

I'm guessing that you have a bearing going out and the tension inside the bearing started to spin the bolt and angered out the plates hole, thus no "D" and nothing to keep the bolt from spinning.

If you get you fingers on that stud it should spin smoothly inside the bearing and it should be perfectly perpendicular to the drive plate. If you can wobble it in the least the bearing in the plate is shot.

You might want to slide the belt off and pop that plate out to take a better look at the hole in the yellow plate and the underside of the drive plate.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Ok, trying to find a picture of that "D" I ran across a different style with a groove for a screwdriver to hold it while turning the nut with an open or box end wrench.
In that case it could just be the nut that for whatever reason came loose and backed off and it's not an indication of the bearing going bad. I'd still check it since you are in this far.

And since you have the slot so well marked in the photo above and I missed it I'm gong into the next room to kick myself in the ... 

I'd also recommend getting the correct nut. I'm guessing it might be a self locking nut with indentations on the flats.


Did you ever post the exact model number of your machine ??
.
.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

The model number plate on the back of the machine it states under model number 317E753F100 

Its a steerabletrac which allows me to steer it to make turns while driving it. On the bucket itself it shows in big letters 926TE

I need to get it fixed now because 4 to 8 tonight into tomorrow and now hearing a big one with a foot of snow possible for the weekend. That Bolt moves free and clear in that drive plate and it seems very uniform and smooth so maybe just because of the shaking of the machine during use, that nut just worked its way off. I am hoping the parts store has that nut. Will let you know later today. Thanks everyone for the help.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Called the parts store and he looked up the nut I need. He thinks also a lock washer is involved and of course did not have the nut. Had to order it and will either be there tomorrow or next week. The forecast calls for a bunch of snow the next five days so hoping for tomorrow. 
surprising thing also was he could not tell me the size of the nut. I found a nut that would fit but has a circular head on it so will not work. Going to take it to a hardware store and have them measure it to tell me what size it is. I am hoping if cannot get that nut by tomorrow, will try a quick fix with one I can get at the hardware store. Will have to put something in that slot to hold it steady while I screw it in.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Depending on if the hole looks to be oversized/damaged I'd put a fender washer under the nut of if you can find a flanged nut that extends and covers the hole go with it and some blue thread locker. With snow on the way I think I'd opt for the flanged nut if you can grab one at Fleetfarm, Homedepot, local hardware store today !!


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Will head up to home depot to get that washer. Blue stuff is the same stuff you use on spark plugs, right? Familiar with it. Did not hear from the parts guy so thinking that part I ordered will not be here to next week. We got ice instead of snow so everything is closed again today. I got 4 wheel drive jeep so big help getting around. Thanks again for all the help.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

The spark plug gets Anti-seize to keep it from seizing into the spark plug hole or taking out the threads.
The "Blue" stuff is to hinder the removal of the nut. It solidifies and makes it difficult for the nut to vibrate loose. It holds it in place.
They are two totally different chemicals.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Thanks for that. Will get the blue stuff you suggest.


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## Amadauss (Dec 16, 2013)

Well, put the nut and washer on and started it up. Works great. Even though I messed with that adjustment on the handle control that moves that plate so the friction wheel can make contact. And just in time. Have 8 to 9 inches coming on Thursday. Thanks all for the help and suggestions


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