# Rust welded augers ....



## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

This is the very reason you have to keep your augers free spinning, and well lubed, counting on the shear pin to do its work … and never use a hardened bolt in place of a shear pin.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

ouch


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Yeah, this was a Craftsman my neighbor gave me, he bought a new machine ... hope he takes care of his new one better than this one.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Yup - looks to have seen better days.


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

So far I’ve repaired 2 Ariens a craftsman and a Troy bilt that looked like that.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

man. i've got a real nice auger that won't come off the shaft. heated it, let it soak a couple days, reheated, pounded it, even put in a vice and used a 6 foot bar to try to move.

NOTHING. 

getting irritated.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

It took me awhile to get these augers off this shaft on this Craftsman.


I heated with the good Benzomatic pistol gun, using MapPro gas, tapped it, all while rigging a harmonic puller against the backside of the end of the auger blade. All the while spraying it with Trizol (best penetrating spray in my opinion) Heat, spray, tap, pull .... note also that I had an air gun on my puller , which also shocks as it pulls. .... Took a long time, and even let it sit overnight with great tension on the puller. lol ... When I started , I thought no way , but I knew I would get it with my perseverance.... rust welding is some serious stuff.....



Btw, I found and ordered the gear on the auger shaft for 19.97, + 6.99 shipping from a place called Flip Manufacturing in Texas.


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## gsnod (Sep 2, 2013)

oneacer -- I'm having a hard time visualizing this: "a harmonic puller against the backside of the end of the auger blade." Any chance you have a picture of this set-up? Stuck augers are a real pain, yet with regular diligence (and heat and plenty of penetrating spray, pressure and tapping) they EVENTUALLY come off! 


I heated with the good Benzomatic pistol gun, using MapPro gas, tapped it, all while rigging a harmonic puller against the backside of the end of the auger blade. All the while spraying it with Trizol (best penetrating spray in my opinion) Heat, spray, tap, pull .... note also that I had an air gun on my puller , which also shocks as it pulls. .... Took a long time, and even let it sit overnight with great tension on the puller. lol ... When I started , I thought no way , but I knew I would get it with my perseverance.... rust welding is some serious stuff.....



Btw, I found and ordered the gear on the auger shaft for 19.97, + 6.99 shipping from a place called Flip Manufacturing in Texas.[/QUOTE]


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

@gsnod,


Yes, here it is,works very well.


I just repainted the bucket unit, and my brass auger shaft gear should be here today. I also tapped the augers and put in new Zerk grease fittings, and will be packing the auger gear case with "00" grease.


FWIW, ... I also through in a photo of my new XTrac going on one of my Ariens. They rims were rusted bad .... I cleaned them up and ditched the tubes, and installed valve stems, as the new tires are tubless. I only use tubes on my split rims.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

I'll have to try that jig setup oneacer.....I've got quite a few Ariens augers that I've been putting off freeing up.....


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Having the air gun helps immensely, but cranking it by hand will eventually get it as well .... heat , Trizol (weasel ****), tap auger shaft, turn puller .... repeat .... 


If you feel you are getting nowhere, spray it, make sure there is tension on it, and let it sit overnight.


Eventually, you will notice the slightest movement, then you know its only a matter of time


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

oneacer said:


> Having the air gun helps immensely, but cranking it by hand will eventually get it as well .... heat , Trizol (weasel ****), tap auger shaft, turn puller .... repeat ....
> 
> 
> If you feel you are getting nowhere, spray it, make sure there is tension on it, and let it sit overnight.
> ...


you know , I have done dozens of these so know just about every method but i have one from a hs724 that just won't come off. I heat it 3-4 times, let penetrating oil soak. (it is not going thru ) banged it until I was sore , put it vise and used a 6 foot pry bar . just about everything I can think and not one mm of budge.

my last step is to install onto the auger housing and use a pipe wrench with a cheater bar.

the auger itself is in beautiful condition. The owner kept it outside for 15-20 years always tarped. the other side was stuck but not too bad. I'd hate to have to cut it off. a new auger is over $200 . Have already spent several hours on this over the last 3-4 days.

I even drilled a couple holes into it where the auger tranny shaft is to try to get penetrating oil around the shaft.


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## gsnod (Sep 2, 2013)

This is a cool set-up. Makes sense to put in grease zirks when you've got the augers off the shafts, although most owners won't own a grease gun. Still -- it's the right thing to do, and even having a layer of grease from 10 years ago will help with keeping the rust away.


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## barney (Nov 21, 2017)

Keeping your augur shaft greased is a lot easier to do if your machine has zerks which is one of the advantages I see in buying an Ariens. No zerks on my 2017 Toro 826. I'm thinking I'm going to have to tilt the machine sideways and try to dribble 3in1 oil down the the shafts. Not sure what else I can do other than dissassembly and I'm too old, too non-handy for that.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

@ Barny,


There is a penetrating oil out there called Trizol ... I have been using it for years. If you have no way to grease the auger from its shaft, I would pull the shear pin/bolt , and spray that in the bolt hole, as well as in both ends of the auger, and then spin the auger, and replace the shear bolt/pin. That penetrating oil is great stuff, and will be sucked down the shaft ends, as well as in the bolt hole. I would do this in the beginning and end of each season


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

I use a bearing separator on the auger end, a 1/2-13 bolt threaded into the auger shaft end to protect the threaded hole ( and it has a partially drilled / countersunk center hole in the head to keep puller from wandering ), and a big puller on the end. Heat and oil help with the stubborn ones. Sometimes I even use three foot pipe wrenches on them to get the initial rust bond to break.


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

This was a tough one, had to break out the 2' & 3' pipe wrenches to get the job done !!!
If you zoom in to the end of the auger shaft you can see my custom bolt to protect the threaded hole.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Again, … proof that with the right tools, yankee ingenuity, and perseverance, there is no rust weld that can not be broken sooner or later, some just take a little more time and persuasion …


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## turmlos (Aug 21, 2016)

orangputeh said:


> you know , I have done dozens of these so know just about every method but i have one from a hs724 that just won't come off. I heat it 3-4 times, let penetrating oil soak. (it is not going thru ) banged it until I was sore , put it vise and used a 6 foot pry bar . just about everything I can think and not one mm of budge.
> 
> my last step is to install onto the auger housing and use a pipe wrench with a cheater bar.


What are you heating with, and for how long? Oxy-acetylene or oxy-propane would be your best bet if you have access or can borrow it.

Have you tried water quenching? I didn't see that mentioned. It's saved my bacon on several occasions, even with a lowly propane torch. It'll likely take several heating and cooling cycles though.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

turmlos said:


> What are you heating with, and for how long? Oxy-acetylene or oxy-propane would be your best bet if you have access or can borrow it.
> 
> Have you tried water quenching? I didn't see that mentioned. It's saved my bacon on several occasions, even with a lowly propane torch. It'll likely take several heating and cooling cycles though.


thanks. that water quenching has worked in the past. in most cases i can get them off over time. I have been defeated twice though but after seeing Shaws /Oneacer posts with the bearing pulling set up looking forward to do battle again with the extreme cases


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

@orang,


I have faith in you .... it may seem like your getting nowhere, but after heating and weasel ****, and crank on the pulley (1/2 inch air gun helps), tapping lightly for shock, (no slamming it to do damage)..... even if it means leaving tension on it overnight and walking away for a break. Trust me, you will get it ... I have had some where in the beginning I thought like you, saying to myself, no way is this coming off ....  Then you see the slightest movement, thats when you know you got it..


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

oneacer said:


> Again, … proof that with the right tools, yankee ingenuity, and perseverance, there is no rust weld that can not be broken sooner or later, some just take a little more time and persuasion …


Yup.......

Had a bad one a few years ago.....
32" Ariens that was rusted with a mixture of un-obtainium & kryptonite. !!! ( 30 years of no service )
After much swearing / hammering / heating / wrenching I decided to put it underneath the trailer hitch on my 3/4 ton truck and block it up for no movement... heated it again... a 2' pipe wrench & 8' extension pipe on it... then jumping on the end of pipe several times released the auger from it's rusty grave !!! Phew ....


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

And finally the worst ever encountered.....

Above posted procedure only lifted up my truck !!!
So I took my whizz wheel and cut both sides of tube lengthwise for 14" or so, then inserted a large screwdriver into newly made slot and twisted... then it finally broke free !!!

A little sanding and I tig welded it back up to be whole again. Ran a 1" cutter down the inside of tube to clean up any penetration burn through, painted, greased up and assembled. Still working to this day as I know where the machine is. Dam, that was the worst one yet !!!


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## ELaw (Feb 4, 2015)

I've seen a number of these "stuck auger" threads and in hindsight am surprised I haven't seen one thing mentioned: an air hammer!

My ST1032 I rebuilt a couple of years ago I apparently didn't maintain well enough, because near the end of last year I discovered one of the augers to be well and goodly stuck on the shaft.

After trying as much force as I felt comfortable with with the machine still together and no luck, I pulled it apart. Sprayed PB Blaster in the relevant places, let it sit for a week (respraying as necessary). Then tried prying, pounding, and a gear puller + bearing puller + impact wrench, all without moving it 0.001". I know heat is an option that can work, but I didn't want to ruin the finish on my nearly-new auger, and last time I had this problem and tried heat (on the same machine), a friend and I heated the thing so much the shaft ended up bent and the auger still didn't come off (yes there's more to that story).

Anywho a few days ago I had the bright idea to try an air hammer... I didn't own one but thanks to Amazon.com I now do.

I bought a couple of short grade 8 1/2" bolts and screwed then into the ends of the shaft to protect them, then supported the auger on a few stacked-up 2x4's and had at it with the air hammer. 10 minutes later, the auger was free of the shaft! I ended up pushing the shaft out the long way as I suspected (correctly) the rusted area was near the short end, and I didn't want to push that area all the way through the auger.

Anyhow, next time you encounter this problem, if you can get your hands on an air hammer, give it a try!


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

Years ago I posted up this tool I made for the auger tube itself.
Kinda works, sometimes not.


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

I think I have seen an air hammer mentioned before on a similar thread. But most people don't have one. Great thread with lots of ideas and hope for those who feel hopeless.


Heat always seems to work on rusted stuff. It comes down to having enough of it. A hand propane torch often is not hot enough. Cycling it helps to break the bonds. Quenching is good but you may risk cracking something so use that approach judiciously.



CRC has a product called Freeze off. It is basically penetrating fluid with some kind of refrigerant in the can so the oil comes out really cold. I have used that a few times after heating up a bolt and then hit it with the Freeze off. I am not sure if it is made any longer. I I bought it about 15 years ago and I never use it much. I still have 1/2 of a can left.


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

One thing to remember when using heat on a frozen shaft is when the heat transfers itself towards an oil seal. You have to be careful or you will damage the oil seal by melting it. I.E. Gearbox, auger driveshaft seal.
I remember that CRC "Freeze-Off". I think it had Freon as a propellant in it so that's why you don't see it around anymore.


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

ST1100A said:


> One thing to remember when using heat on a frozen shaft is when the heat transfers itself towards an oil seal. You have to be careful or you will damage the oil seal by melting it. I.E. Gearbox, auger driveshaft seal.
> I remember that CRC "Freeze-Off". I think it had Freon as a propellant in it so that's why you don't see it around anymore.



RE Freeze off, that makes perfect sense. Yes having rubber or plastic near the parts in question has often been a deterrent for using heat. It takes good judgement as to how to proceed.



has anyone ever use one of those induction heaters for removing frozen bolts?. It supposedly controls the heat better. I am not sue it would be work for an auger shaft but on smaller items where there could be plastic or rubber near by. Also where an open flame may be a hazard. It may be ideal.


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