# Restoring a 726



## Old_Deere

Hi All;

New to this site. I have a 70's 726 which I am doing full restoration on.
Serial# P726F 072642M Is this from 1976?
Had it now for 15 years with no problems, but time for a complete overhaul. H70 motors 1976 and '78(I have 2, one found in neighbors' garbage) have both been totally restored (rebored and all...). Will be replacing all auger and input shaft bearings as well as the driveshaft ones. Since I am running wheel chains, I have made 3/16" thick brackets which will bolt on to the tranny housing to support additional external bearings similar to the monster V-twin Ariens on this site. 

I am in the process of trying to remove one of the primary augers which is rusted in place. Have tried a propane torch with a steering wheel puller mounted on the shaft end, lots of penetrating oil...hasn't moved at all. Will bring it to work and to get more heat. The bronze gear is still press fitted in place, Should I remove it first? I'd rather not as it's located correctly from the factory now. I'm lucky that I am a Cad Designer in a large sheet metal manufacturer, and have access to all the toys...Lasers, press brakes, welding etc. Unless someone has a home remedy....

Anyone knows where I can get the auger differential oil seals on line? Are they unobtaininum? Are they a PITA to change?(I have service manual) If I can't find them, I'll use 00 grease as someone has suggested here. At the moment , I'm using 80-90 oil which needs to be refilled at the end of each season.

Only thing I can't do is a nice paint job, have compressor., but no paint gun. I guess I'll brush and spray paint. Oh well; At least it's protected.

Wish I found this site sooner, Lots of info here...

Unfortunately most of the snow missed us here in Montreal this year and went south. Just cold and no fun outside with my toy.

Any input is appreciated, Thanks in Advance.


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## Grunt

Hello and welcome to the forum OLD Deere. Here is a link to the Deere service manual that will help with current and future repairs. The manual is 33 megs in size and could\will take awhile to download, but worth having.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9k1uzy1s5s61ma2/526-726-732-826-832-1032-TM1234-01740.pdf


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## hankster1

I painted my old machine with a small paint roller it came out real nice.
Hank


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## dbert

Old_Deere said:


> Only thing I can't do is a nice paint job, have compressor., but no paint gun. I guess I'll brush and spray paint. Oh well; At least it's protected.


Welcome Old_Deere

Myself and thousands of others have had good luck with the cheap gravity feed HVLP gun at Harbor Freight. Just Google and see for yourself.
There is probably some Princess Auto equivalent of this HF gun. I hate to see $20 get in the way of brush or roller marks.


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## dbert

Another tip regarding painting info. There is a ton of stuff at the sister site
MyTractorForums.com with a sub mostly just for painting.
Mechanical, Paint & Restorations - MyTractorForum.com - The Friendliest Tractor Forum and Best Place for Tractor Information


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## Old_Deere

Thanks to all for the welcome and advice. Found all oil seals and bushings on McMaster-Carr. Auger is still stuck in place, even with mucho heat and beating. Now soaking for a few days in penetrating oil. I don't want to destroy the shaft . May have to slice the auger and weld back together(hopefully a last resort).

Keep you all informed on the progress. Although, if I'm successful in getting it off in one piece...You'll all hear the celebration from wherever you are...


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## Kiss4aFrog

I'm guess you already know about the JD parts site for looking up parts but just in case: John Deere - Parts Catalog


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## ELaw

A few tips on getting augers off the shaft from recent experience:

If you can get your hands on an acetylene torch, try using it to heat the augers, but you must get them very hot very quickly. The idea is to heat the auger as much as possible without heating the shaft enough to soften it. I recently had the same issue with an Ariens I'm fixing up and at one of the shear bolt holes the shaft softened and collapsed on one side, effectively bending it. The shaft is now junk.

Also depending on your machine's construction, you might be able to do what you want by removing just one auger instead of both. In that case if you can't get one auger loose, before getting too nasty try to get the other one loose - it might come off more easily.


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## dbert

I remember seeing someone here that resorted to making a cut down the length of the auger to get it off the shaft. 
I had a snapper that I soaked with PB blaster for weeks, heated with a torch (just map gas, i don't own an acetylene one). I did the battery charger electrolysis and thought for sure it would work when I saw the rust finding it's way to the electrodes. Bent a puller and well... after awhile I did give up and sold the engine and scrapped the rest. I dont want you to give up like I did though so keep at it. I'm still disappointed in myself.


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## Kiss4aFrog

I always say you need to be smarter than the machine but with old neglected stuff it's just not always possible no matter what you pull out of your bag of tricks. 

I've been working on wheels on a tiller and a blower for over a year. Half an hour here, next week or .. half an hour there and both are still sitting in the shed soaking.


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## Old_Deere

Sigh, There is no joy in Mudville....

Had to slice the auger tube lengthwise all the way thru to the axle. I had heated it cherry red; still didn't budge with major beating. Reweld the cut. Fix(fill) the gouge in the axle itself caused by the die grinder. Shear pin hole totally destroyed,now filled. Will redrill later. Axle was bent due to partial melting. Got it roughly straight by eye in a lathe chuck and 3 foot tube and hammer. Fixed the final .070” runout in the center of the axle by measuring with dial indicator, gage blocks and hammering lightly the high sides. Now have approx. .010” run out over 26”, good enough. I will install grease zerks on both augers to prevent this from happening again.

I will create a sanding jig to get the inside of the auger shafts clean after the welding and distortion. Will use a cut section of broom handle with emery paper slotted thru it and a power drill driving a hex head wood bolt on the other end of the broom handle. (update: this worked very well)

New bushings everywhere in the diff, but will keep the older ones with slightly more clearances due to wear, for the outside ends on the shaft to compensate for the runout.

Didn't want to do this the long way, But there you go....


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## Kiss4aFrog

How about some photos along the way :icon-wwp:


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## sidegrinder

I have a pretty well equipped shop with acetylene rosebud and 20/50ton presses, but corrosion still has me crying uncle from time to time. It's amazing what a difference a little bit of grease can mean a few years down the line...


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## GtWtNorth

Welcome from a fellow Quebecer (South Shore)! That's a lot of work to put into your JD, but I guess you don't have much choice since they are somewhat rare around here (no used parts available) compared to MTDs & Toros. Good luck and pls post some photos.
Cheers


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## Old_Deere

GtWtNorth said:


> Welcome from a fellow Quebecer (South Shore)! That's a lot of work to put into your JD, but I guess you don't have much choice since they are somewhat rare around here (no used parts available) compared to MTDs & Toros. Good luck and pls post some photos.
> Cheers


I'm also from the South Shore (St-Bruno)

Yes, Way too much work invested, but done with little money. It does however, keep me off the streets at night. I should of, but didn't take photos of the tear down and resulting carnage. I will post photos of the final result showing some mods I have done.


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## Old_Deere

Just a quick post to follow up (with promised pictures) on the restoration of a JD 726.

Bucket is all painted up with a custom 3/16 Stainless steel 304-2b scraper bar. Used the laser at work to cut square holes to accept the original sized carriage bolts.


























Because I'm using chains, I have installed extra outboard driveshaft bearings as well as new stock inboard ones. Brackets cut from 3/16" angle iron. welded a gusset in place for extra strength. I like the oil access port on the bearings for periodic lubrication.




















Main and secondary augers and diff have all new bearings and oil seals.
Note the distance of the shear pins are not equally distant from the diff. This is because I had to drill a new hole thru the auger and axel caused by the near demise of the unit (see my previous posts). Grease zerks installed








I have laser cut and will install an impellor kit using .090" SS 304-2b. This may be overkill, like the scraper bar, but will be the last time I ever do this.
Found the rubber at Tractor supply.

Two H70SK motors rehoned with valve jobs and totally gone over. New carb on the black one ($23 on ebay and runs like a charm)








Thanks to all for the info on the paint, I have mechanical and electrical skills but no painting skills. Therefore; it's a brush job. Came out pretty well, but I won't win awards.

More to come later....


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## dbert

Looks great...Old Deere


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## DaHen

Thanks for the update.


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## Rob711

Going to be awesome machine! Thanks for sharing


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## Old_Deere

Well; I'm done. Actually a while ago, just haven't posted yet.

Pretty much everything was disassembled, cleaned, or replaced, and reassembled. Painted with brush and spray can, many coats! last pic shows the spare H70SK. I realize the motor should be JD yellow, but it makes a nice match to the black handles which were rusty chrome.

Installed the impellor kit, but after running for a few minutes, It had worn down and seated to the impellor housing. I'm only closing about a .090" gap. We'll see if the throw distance is improved.

It's been a fun job (except the auger fiasco), took quite some time. Glad its done, but now need something else to work on.

I must admit I have a wandering eye to both of my neighbors who have newer Ariens and Hondas. But this '76 JD (built by JD in Horicon) is a tank and is ready for another 40 years of work.

If it ever blows up: I'll buy an Ariens Platinum 24. Had a '75 Ariens 624 which was bulletproof. (sold it when it wasn't needed)

Thanks to all for advice and comments. This is an awesome site.

I'm almost afraid to say this, but, BRING ON THE SNOW!


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## Kiss4aFrog

Nice job on that. Wouldn't be surprised if the neighbors are eyeing you this winter.


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## nwcove

very nice !!!


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## GoBlowSnow

Man that thing is beautiful..


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## dbert

GoBlowSnow said:


> Man that thing is beautiful..


It really is. 
There was a whole lot of love put into that machine.
Give yourself a pat on the back Old_Deere.


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## DaHen

Darn, looks like it just come off the showroom floor. Great work.


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## bcjm

Did you use it this winter? How far did it throw the snow?


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## Old_Deere

bcjm said:


> Did you use it this winter? How far did it throw the snow?


Used it just once about a month ago. Performed just about the same as before, which means I put it together correctly!
We have not had a heavy wet snow yet, so I can't comment on the homemade impeller kit.
I'll let you know when I find out...


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## recshmn

Just bought a 726 with a Briggs engine. This JD Snow Blower looks like new and is all original. Owner said it has sat in Garage for years. Looks to me like it was never used. Augers and second stage still shine bright yellow with no paint chips anywhere. It started up first time I tried but runs on choke and surges a bit. I just put carb cleaner in gas and let run awhile. Sounds like it is trying to smooth out. Again looks like it just came off showroom floor. I paid 350 for it. Heck, the tires still have the rubber flash tips on the tread. Hope it smooths out so I dont have ta rebuild carburetor.


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## Yanmar Ronin

Sounds nice, and welcome to SBF. 🍻

Can we see a picture or two?


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## farmer52

Nice! Post some pictures of the 726?


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## Tony-chicago

Clean carb and hallelujah


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