# Seized impeller model 38624



## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

I was blowing snow last week, when the blower simply stopped blowing snow, there was no noise nor bang heard. I have a seized impeller, the machine is in a heated garage, so no ice. The impeller bearing did not turn. All shear pins are still in place, the auger gear case oil level is full. I checked and confirmed The auger drive belt is not broken.

I removed the start key. Put my hand down the shoot, pushed and pulled on the  impeller and managed to rotate the impeller, so too the augers were turning. Then I started the machine, engaged the auger drive lever. Impeller and augers all rotated. After about half a minute the auger belt squealed, I disengaged auger lever and shut down machine.

There is no movement when I try to push on the impeller. How can I confirm the impeller bearing is locked up without taking the bucket off and removing the impeller bearing. The impeller shaft appears in place, no slack. Can’t seem to move/rotate the impeller.

I appreciate your suggestions.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

*Post A VID Of This Problem Presenting Itself Unto Us Here. The Bearing Is Not Shot You Need To Adjust The Belt Cables. The Squeal Is Normal At Engagement. Report Back With The Vid. ALOHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

UNDERTAKER said:


> *Post A VID Of This Problem Presenting Itself Unto Us Here. The Bearing Is Not Shot You Need To Adjust The Belt Cables. The Squeal Is Normal At Engagement. Report Back With The Vid. ALOHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*


the Auger belt slip was due to the impeller seizing stiff. The auger belt engages when the auger lever is depressed, cable tension is appropriate.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

*Then Nothing Is Broken Right????*


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

epajnich said:


> the Auger belt slip was due to the impeller seizing stiff. The auger belt engages when the auger lever is depressed, cable tension is appropriate.


Do you have a brake on the impeller pulley circumference? It may be applied by a spring and needs a release mechanism. Perhaps the release mechanism is not working correctly. You can check it out in "maintenance mode" by removing the bottom panel.


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

UNDERTAKER said:


> *Post A VID Of This Problem Presenting Itself Unto Us Here. The Bearing Is Not Shot You Need To Adjust The Belt Cables. The Squeal Is Normal At Engagement. Report Back With The Vid. ALOHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*


Thanks for the reply. Happy New Year.


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

UNDERTAKER said:


> *Then Nothing Is Broken Right????*


No broken shear pins, no broken Auger belt, no broken auger.


Town said:


> Do you have a brake on the impeller pulley circumference? It may be applied by a spring and needs a release mechanism. Perhaps the release mechanism is not working correctly. You can check it out in "maintenance mode" by removing the bottom panel.


Thanks for the reply, there is no brake on the impeller. Then the auger lever on handlebars is not depressed, the impeller normally would rotate as would the auger which is connected.

what is maintenance mode which you are referencing?


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

*Post A Video of what you are trying to get at.*


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

epajnich said:


> No broken shear pins, no broken Auger belt, no broken auger.
> 
> 
> Thanks for the reply, there is no brake on the impeller. Then the auger lever on handlebars is not depressed, the impeller normally would rotate as would the auger which is connected.
> ...


Maintenance Mode is the snowblower position where you lift up the handlebars so that the machine rests on the bucket. It is vertical and easy to remove the bottom panel to inspect the transmission, etc. Be careful to have the gas level in tank less than 50% or so and drain the carb float bowl. Oil cap usually seals in the oil. Easy to do wheel and axle maintenance too.

In the maintenance mode and panel removed you can check for impeller shaft bearing slack by trying to move the impeller pulley up/down or side to side since you have better leverage.

EDIT: The brake would not be on the impeller, but on the impeller pulley.


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## guzzijohn (Mar 31, 2014)

A quick look at a parts fische shows the brake assembly. If you were able to turn the impeller by hand then it is wore out, broken, or missing. Have you had the pan off to look at things from the bottom? If there's no brake on it then the gearbox, the pulley end bearing, or the auger shaft end bearings(unlikely) are bad. BUT! How good is the auger belt? Unless that belt looks great rty a new one.


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

here's the brake:










#45 would be the brake pad, #46 would be the brake arm. so there _is_ a brake. let's get that out of the way.

so basically, you're being asked to flip the snowblower into the service position and take the belly pan off, so that you can look at the parts involved with stopping the impeller pulley.


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

db130 said:


> here's the brake:
> 
> View attachment 206266
> 
> ...


thank you. I will have to take off the belly pan. Can you tell me what causes the brake ti engage? Is the brake engaged when the auger lever (on the handlebars) is depressed?


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

epajnich said:


> thank you. I will have to take off the belly pan. Can you tell me what causes the brake ti engage? Is the brake engaged when the auger lever (on the handlebars) is depressed?


i just noticed that others have provided threads on the maintenance mode (I should read these first, sorry)


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

epajnich said:


> thank you. I will have to take off the belly pan. Can you tell me what causes the brake ti engage? Is the brake engaged when the auger lever (on the handlebars) is depressed?


No, when the auger clutch is depressed the brake is released. When you release the auger clutch the brake is applied to stop the auger/impeller from turning. It is a safety feature.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

epajnich said:


> i just noticed that others have provided threads on the maintenance mode (I should read these first, sorry)


Maintenance mode is usually for greasing the transmission gears and chains, wheel and axle maintenance and checking friction wheel and drive disc. It is also handy for checking and replacing many parts in the area. 
When you put your machine in maintenance mode and remove the panel you will see a whole new world of engineering.


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

Town said:


> No, when the auger clutch is depressed the brake is released. When you release the auger clutch the brake is applied to stop the auger/impeller from turning. It is a safety feature.


 Thanks for the explanation. I had my son hold down the auger clutch while I tried to rotate the impeller. Still stuck stiff. I need to drain the fuel, as the tank is near full at the moment, then I will take off the service panel and inspect the brake mechanism. Then I can confirm if the brake disengages when the auger clutch is applied. The input from all you folks in this forum is helping guide my trouble shooting. Greatly appreciated. I will probably have some more questions once I get to see the inner guts with the service panel removed.


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

guzzijohn said:


> A quick look at a parts fische shows the brake assembly. If you were able to turn the impeller by hand then it is wore out, broken, or missing. Have you had the pan off to look at things from the bottom? If there's no brake on it then the gearbox, the pulley end bearing, or the auger shaft end bearings(unlikely) are bad. BUT! How good is the auger belt? Unless that belt looks great rty a new one.


I will pop the machine onto the bucket, remove the service panel and check the brake assembly. Like you suggested with the panel off, I will see the brake mechanism and should be able to turn the pulley connected to the impeller shaft, once I confirm the brake is not locking the pulley. Trying to cross off the possibilities in the trouble shooting process.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

epajnich said:


> Thanks for the explanation. I had my son hold down the auger clutch while I tried to rotate the impeller. Still stuck stiff. I need to drain the fuel, as the tank is near full at the moment, then I will take off the service panel and inspect the brake mechanism. Then I can confirm if the brake disengages when the auger clutch is applied. The input from all you folks in this forum is helping guide my trouble shooting. Greatly appreciated. I will probably have some more questions once I get to see the inner guts with the service panel removed.


While holding down the auger clutch lever should release the brake, it also applies tension to the belt drive so the engine compression is going to add much more force against the impeller movement. You actually have to look at the brake and see the application of the auger clutch release the brake.


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

Town said:


> While holding down the auger clutch lever should release the brake, it also applies tension to the belt drive so the engine compression is going to add much more force against the impeller movement. You actually have to look at the brake and see the application of the auger clutch release the brake.


I have taken some videos with the covers off, in maint position, with and with auger lever depressed. The impeller nor the auger pulley has no obstructions, it can not rotate. 

Any suggestions what to do next?


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

I have taken some videos, but it appears that I can only post pictures on this forum.


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

I have measured the gap between the stop and auger clutch assembly, there is a 1/16 gap then the auger lever is not engaged. When the auger lever is depressed the brake is not engage and there is a gap between the brake and pulley, and the gap between the idler arm and the stop is approx 1.400 inch. While the auger lever was depressed, brake off, I tried to pull with the pull start and rotate the engine shaft. The engine shaft rotated, the forward propulsion belt advanced with the pulley, the auger belt was stationary and slipped as the engine shaft rotated, the impeller shaft did not rotate. Suggestions are appreciated how to get the impeller (and the auger pulley) to rotate they are stuck.


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

epajnich said:


> Thanks for the reply. Happy New Year.


Hello, can you let me know how to post a video. It appears that only pictures can post.


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

epajnich said:


> Hello, can you let me know how to post a video. It appears that only pictures can post.


Put on youtube then just copy and paste the link.


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)




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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

Video 2,


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

video of engine shaft rotated


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

epajnich said:


> I have taken some videos with the covers off, in maint position, with and with auger lever depressed. The impeller nor the auger pulley has no obstructions, it can not rotate.
> 
> Any suggestions what to do next?


Try turning the impeller pulley with your hands. If no movement then you will need to separate the bucket from the chassis. If you have the one handed chute control that will need to be disconnected from the bucket. Remove the bolts on side of chassis that holds the bucket and take the auger belt off the engine pulley. Have a support for handlebars and chock the wheels. The bucket should pull away from the chassis and you can start dismantling the auger pulley from the impeller shaft and the boss that it attaches to.


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

that looks like the same bushing not bearing i replaced on the 38080 toro
its a bad setup
that bottom pulley looks loose


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

1132le said:


> that looks like the same bushing not bearing i replaced on the 38080 toro
> its a bad setup
> that bottom pulley looks loose


the bottom impeller pulley does not want to rotate. The auger brake is off the pulley.


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## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

epajnich said:


> the bottom impeller pulley does not want to rotate. The auger brake is off the pulley.


it still appears to be sloppy have alot of play thr impeller bushing could be binding


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## firedudetl1 (Jan 26, 2016)

I'm reading over your post and unfortunately I don't have a solution for your problem, however, I do feel it necessary to comment on putting your hand down the chute (hopefully I won't offend anyone)
if a machine jams/stalls on a power stroke, releasing the driven parts from the jam allows the driven parts to move with compression force. If your hand/arm/finger etc is the way, you'll lose it. I realize your machine just stopped blowing snow, but putting body parts near the moving parts can result is a traumatic separation. use a stick/piece of wood etc at least initially to try to move things. bad enough it's not blowing snow, you don't want any other problems 
sorry to all for jumping in on this with my "safety talk", however, I have a friend who counts to 9 3/4 from putting his hand down the chute and met another guy who might be able to get to 6 due to a similar worse situation
Happy New Year to all 
good luck with your machine


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## HobbyEnthuist (13 d ago)

Thanks for the safety message. I too had removed the interlock start key. The spark plug removal another good safety step.


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