# 1972 Gilson 55012 gear drive EVIL impeller bearing r/r grisly photos, vids



## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

ok. it stopped raining. time to break apart the 55012 and pull that 2 piece impeller bearing. the one Pete i.e. Yoda speaks of like it's an evil dragon in a far off cave, that darest not be screwed with.  and what a vicious little dragon it was.

the reason I'm pulling the bearing- I got this pesky wobbly blower pulley problem...


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

*pulley- say hello to my little friend*

(Scarface impression) so I removed the 2 set screws from the pulley. Drove a ball joint pickle fork under it with my Thor hammer....it moved just a bit but was still seized solid. This in spite of being sprayed heavily with PB Blaster. 

ok....enough of this- bent pulley- say hello to my little friend- take that- rat-tat-tat-tat- ka BOOM


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

the set screw in the bearing retainer had to be heated just to remove it. Someone had been in here before and it was all beat up and dented and nicked. After removing the set screw, I was able to turn it CC with a tapered punch and hammer. But then it seized right there an would not come off any higher from the shaft.

ok tough guy, meet my little friend again, and his side kick, pickle fork. Off comes the retainer ring eccentric.





 

and you can cool your jets now, pal...


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

*pics*

so once the pulley is off, here's the 2 piece bearing with retainers in place


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

collar pulled, this is left


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

top flange unbolted- easy


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

front shield melted away with torch, exposes inner race on shaft and ball bearings


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

now the tricky guru stuff part...carefully burn a slot in the inner race with the cutting torch...this took some training and practice years ago burning bearing races off shafts, without damaging the shaft. angle of torch head is critical so as to not cut into the shaft.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

once the press fit is broken with a slot cut, the remains of the bearing can be pried up and off with a large crowbar or screwdriver, and crumble to pieces


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

so bearing it now officially toast- removed. Saya nara....


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

That's a lot of work but it's a great job at getting the bearing without damaging the shaft.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

pull the side bushings on the chute- and it all comes apart


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

the inner flange falls off the back once the bearing is removed


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

shaft condition- I don't know if this is bent or not....I may take it to the machine shop and have them true it up in a lathe, and skim cut it- or just replace it. The impeller shaft seal on the auger box is leaking slightly. So now the box has to be disassembled as well and re-sealed, and I'll get a look at the gears.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

last one


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> That's a lot of work but it's a great job at getting the bearing without damaging the shaft.


yeh it was a PITA and the Cadet was WAY easier to change the impeller bearing. I did not want to change it but the pulley wobble pointed to a worn bearing, along with the excessive auger box wobble, and that meant pulling the bearing. 

before removing it I checked sideplay on the bearing and surprisingly there was very little, only a few thousandths of play.

a simple slip-in bearing like an Ariens or Cadet would be way easier to change...

this machine ingested something nasty at one time, 2 of the impeller blade supports are pushed down into the impeller back plate slightly bending it. I think the shaft is bent at the midpoint where the impeller is located.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

I measured the belts they had on this machine...the tractor belt was 41.75" long, and the blower drive belt was 40.75" long.

they should have both been 43" long belts.

that's why the pulley and/or impeller driveshaft was bent, and also why the augers would not disengage, and the tractor drive would not disengage.

they took all the free play out of the belts by putting the wrong ones on the machine. lesson learned and a word to the wise, these machines need the proper length belt they were designed to have.


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## Spectrum (Jan 6, 2013)

Actually 43 is long. I believe I provided a link for the correct OEM specially sized belts in an e-mail message. 43" may slip or be prone to getting tossed from the pulleys when you disengage.

As I say, every used machine has stories to tell.

Pete


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

Spectrum said:


> Actually 43 is long. I believe I provided a link for the correct OEM specially sized belts in an e-mail message. 43" may slip or be prone to getting tossed from the pulleys when you disengage.
> 
> As I say, every used machine has stories to tell.
> 
> Pete



Pete,

for the sake of documenting the belt size in this thread, what would that "correct OEM specially sized belt" dimension be ? 

41.75" was way too tight on the tractor side. So what size belt between 41.75 and 43" do you recommend ?

I know 41.75" is too short, the idler for the tractor side wouldn't disengage it. You're saying 43" is too long.

we're talking 1.25" difference.


the belt part numbers from your Gilson site are 43" belts 

from Ebay


















from your site
The Gilson Snowblower Shop Parts Department


2 stage Early Gear Drive models, 1,2 speed, 6, 7 or 8 HP Briggs & Stratton Engine 
2 stage Gear Drive models, 3 speed, 8 HP Briggs & Stratton Engine 
2 stage 32 inch Gear Drive models, 3 speed, 10 HP Briggs & Stratton engine 







Traction Gilson # 10755 or 17569 is now LawnBoy/Toro #703636







Blower Gilson # 10755 or 17569 is now LawnBoy/Toro #703636


yes, this machine has a story to tell. The Gilson impeller bearing is an over-engineered albeit sturdy design, overly complicated to change, not something any average home mechanic would want to try, without a complete complement of heavy duty tools to break it apart. On the other hand, a chimp could change the impeller bearing on an Ariens or Cadet. The impeller shaft material on the Gilson is soft and easily bends, and files quite easily- compared to the Ariens design, the latter of which is hardened to a higher spec and twists rather than bends- like a car axle under power.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

found it on Yahoo group, it's 42.5" 

*Sent:* Thu, January 20, 2011 4:29:57 PM
*Subject:* Re: [gilsonsnowblowers] gilson835 belts

The belt you need , AKA 17569 is 42-1/2 long. The other comments about surface finish and cross section are accurate.

If anyone knows how to get such a belt in the generic world speak up. My power transmission house has been coming up dry unless I want to commission a run at OEM scale. I'm looking to the day when LawnBoy drops additional belt numbers. Several fell from available staus in the past month and more are sure to folow in the coming years.

There are work-arounds but most owners need a belt they can install and be done with.

Pete


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

http://www.vbelts4less.com/1684--REPLACEMENT-DIXON-BELT_p_15993.html

Home > Lawn & Garden Belts > Dixon 
1684 - REPLACEMENT DIXON BELT







*Part Number A-1684 *
this looks like it would work

1684 - REPLACEMENT DIXON BELT


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Description 1684 - REPLACEMENT DIXON BELT

1/2 X 42.5"

Vbelts4less.com™offers a large range of replacement OEM belts. Most of our lawn mower & specialty belts are Kevlar reinforced to ensure high tensile strength and high resistance to shock loads.

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• DIXON ─ MXV4430 
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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

update: bought PIX 17569 belts 1/2" x 43" for the Gilson 55012, they were $5.45 each, belts arrived today, and my intuition was correct, the belts measured exactly 42.75" long with a steel tape measure- 1/4" shorter than advertised0- I put one on the tractor drive side of the machine, and while it appeared to be on the loose side, it engaged and disengaged properly on the machine using the hand control for the idler, and drove the tractor half like it should with the machine was running.

GILSON SNOWBLOWER OEM SPEC BELT 1/2" X 43" = 17569


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