# 1980 Toro 421 Refurbish



## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

Howdy All,

So about a month ago I was given this nice little Toro 421 with a bad motor. I had a nice running late nineties Tecumseh 5 HP snow blower engine off a Craftsman with electric start and installed it. No more points! The 5 HP motor has a 3/4" dia shaft and the old 4 HP had a 1" shaft. So I used a shaft off of a Toro 3521 as it is 3/4" I.D. and made for this platform and everything lined up perfectly without using adapters. The little snow blower performed great during our last snow storm. I was impressed. It sure could throw the snow! I didn't know what I was going to do with it but now I'm keeping it. The Auger Housing was starting to get light rust and so were the Augers. Probably from the PO leaving snow in the bucket. He lived in the city so there was probably salt or chemicals in there too. I couldn't stand to look at the rust anymore so last weekend I split the snow blower and disassembled the Auger Housing. This weekend I sanded and wire wheeled the Auger Housing, impeller, 521 tall chute inside, and belly pan. I masked off all decals too. I prepped the metal and applied 4 coats of Rustoleom Brown Primer for rusty metal. I then wet sanded the auger housing with 220 grit sand paper and shot 4 coats of Toro Apple Red. I think it turned out pretty good! Definitely an improvement. Earlier in the week I took the two augers to a buddy for sandblasted them for me and powder coated them. Today I began the assembly process. I installed a new Auger Bearing/Bushing with new carriers since I had it all apart. I also replaced the nuts, bolts and shear pins with new hardware. I want the paint to dry one more day before I reinstall the assembled auger housing to the other half of the snow blower. So maybe tomorrow? Right now we are in the middle of winter storm and we are supposed to get up to 16" of snow by tomorrow morning. I don't need the 421 as I use my John Deere Garden Tractor for most of the snow removal. It sure would of been fun to really test the 421 with it's upgrades though.









































































Nice Close Tolerances between Impeller and Auger Housing!



















That's all for now!

Hec


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

wow, very well done. +1 on having the augers blasted and coated, I have done that as well. Good idea to wait on the paint to dry/cure, especially in colder weather.

tx


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## tdipaul (Jul 11, 2015)

looks great!


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Nice job .....


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

looks good. do you plan on doing the impeller mod eventually? if so it may be worth taking it apart to drill the holes now. i know the tolerance is small but making the gap smaller would definitely help it throw even better. i would also recommend keeping your eyes out for a good deal on a nice used OHV snowblower engine to put on it. would make a nice resto mod machine candidate with how clean it is.


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## gibbs296 (Jun 22, 2014)

She looks fantastic! And welcome to the forums, you will fit in just fine...


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## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

Great job on the refurb, paint looks fantastic as does the rest of the machine.


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## Toro-8-2-4 (Dec 28, 2013)

Fantastic looking! I never had the patience to put on 4 coats of primer. I second Crazywolf on keeping your eye out for a decent OHV engine. Another HP or two, Plus another 200 to 400 RPM, and that would make that machine so much more efficient. I know the impellar clearances are tight on that machine but if you expereince clogging it would help in that regard as well as throwing a bit better. Good Luck with completing it and you storm.


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## KennyW in CT (Feb 24, 2015)

Regarding the auger mod, my Toro's never needed them! I've had numerous 421s, 521s, and 622s, all throw phenomenal since the impeller is close to the housing. Units like MTD's where you have a 1 inch gap between the impeller and housing I say yes do it! Nice job on the resto!


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

nice work


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## tpenfield (Feb 24, 2015)

+1 on not needing the impeller mod with the 3521,421,521 series Toros. They are built old-school with tight tolerances in the impeller housing.


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

Update:

Not much progress on the 421's Auger Assembly. We got hit with 12" of snow Mon and I spent most of my day yesterday digging out. The Auger Assembly in return is getting more time for the paint to fully cure. By the way, I am reassembling it in my basement where it is 70 Deg. F. So the paint is curing nicely! So now it looks like this coming Sat to attach the Auger Assembly to the traction unit. Nevertheless I will begin prepping the 521 Tall Chute for paint. I scored it on Ebay from a seller that was across the river in Iowa. So I will paint it today Gloss Black. I had already sanded the inside of the chute and painted it with 4 coats of satin black. Holding up the chute with it's original finish looks crappy next to the redone auger assembly. So it's getting repainted gloss black now. OCD kicks in again! I already painted the chute circular gear gloss black so that's done. That will give the chute paint a couple of days to cure too.

Thanks for all the kind comments guys! I appreciate it. In regards to adding rubber paddles to the impeller, I won't be doing it. Don't see the need. I couldn't squeeze an 1/8" drill bit between the impeller and the auger housing. See picture below.










Must of been all those coats of primer and paint closing in the gap!
It chucked the snow awesome before and now with a slick painted Auger Housing, Augers, Impeller, and chute it should be even better!

Hec


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## mick461 (Dec 28, 2020)

Why do I follow Snowblower Forum... Because I like to see old machines made like new, or better! What a wonderful result to a challenging effort


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## tpenfield (Feb 24, 2015)

I just used my 'PredaToro' 521 ('721' actually) today to blow a little bit of snow . . . it throws far.


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## LouC (Dec 5, 2016)

I like to see these old school machines restored and being used. Better that the new stuff with all the plastic etc. I have collected a bunch of spares for my 1998 Toro CCR 3000. I was able to pick up a spare Suzuki 2 stroke long block off of eBay for like $50 and a few other things...


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

Update:
Today I finished the Auger Assembly. All I need to do now is install it on the other half of the snow blower, install the new auger belt and add gear lube to gear case as I drained the old lube while I had everything apart. 
I addressed another repair today which was fixing my sticky gear selector. My gear selector didn’t operate smoothly. Upon further inspection I had discovered the pivot rod had a groove worn in it right where the sliding bracket rests while in 2nd gear. This groove caused the sliding bracket to catch on it when shifting from 3rd to 1st. So Today I installed my new pivot rod on the traction assembly. This involves removing the tires, rear axle, and gear assembly with friction wheel. I did have to tap the ends of the pivot rod as there where no threads in the new one. This work was challenging as there was no auger assembly installed yet. I couldn't simply put the snow blower on it’s face and do the work. Instead I had the traction half of the snowblower resting in a lawn chair! Hey it worked! The shifter slides really nice from gear to gear now. I even polished the pivot rod with 1200 wet sand paper before I installed it. I then applied lithium grease to all the moving parts.
My pneumatic tires and rims arrive next week so that will be next on the list to tackle. I will need to come up with axle bushings due to the 1” I.D. On the rims. The 421 axles are 3/4” O.D.

Getting closer!
Hec


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## aa335 (Jan 21, 2020)

Hec In Omaha said:


> Update:
> Thanks for all the kind comments guys! I appreciate it. In regards to adding rubber paddles to the impeller, I won't be doing it. Don't see the need.


Great job on the restoration. It looks so good with the warning stickers put on. I agree that you don't need the impeller paddles modification. I think that just ruins the original factory look that you are going for.


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

aa335,
Yeah,I want to kept it looking original but being a Native Texan I may put a Don’t Mess With Texas Sticker on the left side of the bucket!😎

Hec


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

Howdy All!
This afternoon I got off my butt and finished putting the 421 back together. New belts installed. Auger gear case topped off with Castrol GL5 85W-140 gear oil. All I got left to do is adjust the skids and scraper bar! I fired up the engine on one pull and tested everything out. The augers and impeller spin smoothly with no noises. This machine is solid with no rattles! The traction system worked flawlessly in all gears too! The gear selector moves effortlessly now that the new pivot rod is installed. 
Today my new Toro 622 tires came in! Guess what? The hubs are 3/4” diameter! So no bushings needed as others have mentioned. These rims are not for 1” axles but for 3/4” axles I looked up the 622 rim part number and it was the same as the newer 521’s that’s why I bought them. I am happy the way she turned out!

Hec


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

very nice, now get those darn levers turned upside-down !!!


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## KennyW in CT (Feb 24, 2015)

tpenfield said:


> I just used my 'PredaToro' 521 ('721' actually) today to blow a little bit of snow . . . it throws far.


I sold my boss a PredaToro 622 DURING this past storm, worked like a champ!!!


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

paulm12 said:


> very nice, now get those darn levers turned upside-down !!!


After work I buttoned up a few more things on the 421.
I made a new traction rod out of 1/4” zinc plated rod. The original rod measured .214 O.D. and had a notch worn on the Z-Bend where it passes through the traction lever. The traction lever had worn 75% through the rod. The groove resembled a hacksaw cut that almost went all the way through. Last month I was working on adjusting the traction lever per the Operators Manual and the traction rod would pop out of the hole in the lever when you squeezed it. So I tried to straighten out the Z-Bend and it snapped off right at the worn groove. I temporarily fixed it by threading the end for a 1/4x20 acorn nut. This worked but I was out of adjustment on the other end. See picture. BTW I posted this pic yesterday and noticed the acorn nut on the rod today. This reminding me to fix it!

Before










After









I also took Paulm’s recommendation and installed a rubber grommet in the hole where the chute control rod passes through its support bracket. This takes the rattle out and makes the chute smother to operate. Worked out nice!








Then I adjusted the skid shoes and scraper bar using a wooden yardstick.
Next on the list is to paint the new rims glossy white.

that’s all for now!

Hec


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Sweet unit ... The only thing I would do, if indeed you are going to clear blacktop or concrete surfaces, is put on some Arnold Poly Roller Skids. 2300 a pair on sale at Home Depot or Walmart.com. If you are doing gravel surfaces, then just leave those flat scrapper skids on. (although the long Arnold flat skids would be better on gravel)


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

All I can say is WOW! We had a little mini blizzard in the early AM and it dumped 2-3 inches but the wind was 45 MPH and the temp was 23 F. We had some drifting up to 6" in spots. So I decided to try out the 421. That little thing is a beast! It handled the EOD fine with lots of traction thanks to the new tires. I was launching snow around 33 feet. That was done in an area sheltered from the winds. I stepped off 11 paces from where the snow blower was parked and where the snow was landing. Pretty impressed. That's the good. Now the bad. After todays snow clearing I noticed my freshly painted auger housing had its paint scraped off by the snow and impeller. I think a twig or ice chunk got in there and scrapped it up. Well that paint did last long and it had a week and a half to cure in my heated basement. I will address the paint again this spring. Those close auger to impeller tolerances!

Hec


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

Howdy All,

Well today we got 4" of nice powder and went next door with the 421 to clear my neighbors drive. Well it started to stall and was surging at WOT. The engine didn't seem to be making the power it had been earlier. One time it stalled in some heavier snow and I had to do the walk of shame back to my house because I couldn't get it restarted. I was really scratching my head as to what was going on. I had noticed during these last colder days the OEM non adjustable carb was beginning to surge. Today was only 10 Deg F. When its 30 Deg F. the engine ran much better. I must say that I'm not a fan of the non adjustable carb. I yanked the original non adjustable carb and set it aside. So I picked up a rebuild kit for my adjustable carb that was on the HS40 originally on the 421. This took me a couple of carb cleanings to get it right. The first go made the engine run great but it wouldn't idle. So off the carb came. The second cleaning I removed the welch plugs to find one of the holes behind the idle chamber welch plug was clogged. I ran a wire through all the holes and cleaned the carb again with carb cleaner. I reinstalled the new welch plugs and reassembled the carb and put it back on the engine. I can remove a carb and install a carb on a 5HP Tecumseh blindfolded now. The carb worked great! Good idle and great top end. I set the WOT to 3550 RPM. I did adjust the governor too. I can engage the auger and the RPM's drop to 3450 and stay there! Before they would drop down to 3100 rpm with the non adjustable carb. That non adjustable carb was just too lean to make power. I installed the carb after the sun went down. It was 0 degrees and I was working outside my shed. So I had moved the snow blower out of the shed to fire it up and while I was making adjustments I noticed a blue spark arcing from my plug wire to the pull start starter housing, right where the plug wire pokes through. I had noticed a little pop or miss and could not get it to go away adjusting the carb. I thought it was the carb. So I pulled off the spark plug boot and slipped a piece of heat shrink tubing over the plug wire. That took care of it and the miss is gone. We are supposed to get another 3" of snow over night so tomorrow will be the real test to see if all is good. 

Hec


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## tpenfield (Feb 24, 2015)

You re-powered a 421 with a 5 HP Tecumseh, if I recall . . . (right ?)

Here is my take on the engines w/ non-adjustable 'clean-air' carbs . . . 

You might have to run a bit of choke to keep the mixture rich enough, particularly as the outside temperature drops. Reaming the main jet is always an option. If the engine is efficiently larger than what the machine would need, you can probably get away with running a non-adjustable carb. Although the 5 HP engine is an OK upgrade to the 4 HP, it is not overwhelming and the new carb tends to defeat the purpose.

For example, if you put the Predator 6.5 hp on the 421, it would probably run like a top, even with the non-adjustable carb, because it has plenty of power.

Also, keep in mind that when you run an engine lean (as the new carbs do) the engine will run hotter than normal. Engines tend to stall and not want to re-start when they get too hot. . . thus the walk of shame.

If you get tired of fussing with the 5 HP Tec engine, I would try the Predator 212cc. As I mentioned, I put the Predator 'Hemi' version on my Toro 521 and set the RPM up at about 3900 (but don't tell anybody 🤪 ). The Predators seem to be able to take some abuse.


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

Ted,
You are correct. My 5hp is a Tec HSSK50. I did a side by side comparison with a stock 421 and the 5 hp 421 was a winner hands down. That test was done when it was 34 deg F though. 
Your right the HSSK50 was probably producing the Same HP as the HS40 now that it is colder due to the non adjustable carb. I was having to run it with one click of choke applied to get the surging to stop. Even so, it wasn’t running at peak performance. 
Now the 5 hp sure sounds strong! I don’t think it ever ran this good! We are getting snow now and our high temp is supposed to be 5 deg F. Let’s see how she does now! BTW the predator option did cross my mind. Or even a Honda.

Hec


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

Glad you got everything running again. And you're right, rebuilding the old TEC carbs is really easy once you do it a few times. You just need to be meticulous about cleanliness. Note that the spec for (many of) the HSSK50 is 3300 +/- 150 rpm, so you may be pushing it. Though that could help you get a new Predator !!

tx


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

paulm12 said:


> Glad you got everything running again. And you're right, rebuilding the old TEC carbs is really easy once you do it a few times. You just need to be meticulous about cleanliness. Note that the spec for (many of) the HSSK50 is 3300 +/- 150 rpm, so you may be pushing it. Though that could help you get a new Predator !!
> 
> tx


Well the snow stopped this afternoon and we received 4” of light powder. It was 5 deg. F and I fired up the 5 Hp Tec. Started in 2 pulls and never quit till I shut her down! I dropped the RPM’s to 3450 per Paul’s recommendation. I headed out and hit some snow that ranged from 4-8” deep. The 421 was launching it at least 40 feet! The light wind carried it some but looked awesome! The 5 Hp Tec didn’t bog once and the RPM’s stayed right up there! I am so happy I got the engine dialed in now. What a difference! I sure like the pneumatic tires I picked up for it. I had plenty of traction even at the EOD! This little 421 is a little beast! 
Time to warm up with a cold beer!

Hec


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

Went out today and the 421 started on the second pull! It was -2 Deg F too. Here is a little clip of it in action. I shot this crappy video by placing my phone on my mail box. LOL!




Hec


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

looking good Hec, and the camera actually worked ok


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

Howdy All!
Today I pulled the starter recoil off the HSSK50
and removed the black circular decal in the center. I replaced the black decal with this.

Much better!



























Hec


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

We got 7-8” of heavy wet sloppy snow today. It was 34 degrees as the snow fell. When it stopped I cleared 2 of my neighbors driveways with the 421 and it never clogged once! My John Deere 37-A on my 210 clogged at least 10 times today and it has a rubber paddle kit. I tried to actually get the 421 to clog but it wouldn’t! My neighbors 11 Hp MTD clogged up on him a few times but not the 421. He was impressed with how well it did with the heavy wet snow! So was I! BTW the 421 doesn’t have a rubber impeller kit either!

Hec


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## Bkupmstr69 (Feb 22, 2021)

Hec In Omaha said:


> We got 7-8” of heavy wet sloppy snow today. It was 34 degrees as the snow fell. When it stopped I cleared 2 of my neighbors driveways with the 421 and it never clogged once! My John Deere 37-A on my 210 clogged at least 10 times today and it has a rubber paddle kit. I tried to actually get the 421 to clog but it wouldn’t! My neighbors 11 Hp MTD clogged up on him a few times but not the 421. He was impressed with how well it did with the heavy wet snow! So was I! BTW the 421 doesn’t have a rubber impeller kit either!
> 
> Hec


That is one very sweet rebuild. I have something to try to emulate. I have all the parts now and looks like it won’t snow here for a while. Thanks for the inspiration


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

Howdy All!

Today I installed 2 upgrades to my 1980 Toro 421. 

Upgrade 1- Install new style upward pointing control levers. I scored a nice set off a Toro 521. They came complete with handle bars, levers, and control rods. The hardest part was getting the kill switch wire keepers out the left side handle bar without breaking them. The plastic is 42 years old! I got all 3 out without breaking them.👍










I adjusted the levers and everything works as it should. The new levers are way more comfortable than the old ones. I love them!

Upgrade 2- I installed a New Old Stock headlight kit. The kit came with everything I needed to install it. I picked it up at a garage sale this summer in Ottertail Minnesota for $50! I was shocked to see the box on the sellers table! What a find!









The first step was to remove the pull start assembly from the blower housing.



















Then I had to drill a 1/4” hole through the pull start assembly.










Next was to install the alternator drive over the flywheel nut.










Next I installed the pull start assembly back on the blower housing and placed the spacer on top.

Sorry Miss Tecumseh Decal.









Next I installed the alternator to the pull start assembly.










Last was to install the light bracket, light and wiring harness.










I fueled up the tank and gave the rope a pull and the light came on! At idle!

Let there be light!









As soon as it gets dark I’ll see how much light I get. All I need now is snow!

Hec


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## JJG723 (Mar 7, 2015)

Hec In Omaha said:


> Howdy All!
> 
> Today I installed 2 upgrades to my 1980 Toro 421.
> 
> ...


What a find on that old original light kit! A nice old machine getting even better 👍


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## Hec In Omaha (Jan 10, 2021)

Howdy all!

Took some pics after sunset. The light does a great job! I’m very happy with it!

Light Off









Light On


















Gotta love the 80’s!😎 And made in Merica!🇺🇸

Enjoy!


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