# Such Rust



## hanyoukimura (Oct 16, 2015)

Our new from 2006 Craftsman 31A-3CDE799 snowblower has fought its last snowstorm. After the the Simplicity wouldn't start I pulled out the Craftsman. That little champ of a Tecumseh motor fired right up, but the belt slipped off not long I started using it. The reason? Excessive flexing of the unit. Why?










Because rust is an @#%& that's why. There's very little solid left of the blower housing. It's basically held on with two of its4 bolts, the belt, and hope and dreams. 

Shame because the tractor is in good shape and everything technically works. If I could locate a front end for cheap I'd fix it.


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## 43128 (Feb 14, 2014)

why? because its an mtd, with paper thin sheet metal and coated with the crappiest thinnest coat of paint mtd can use. love how a 10 year old mtd is completely rotted through, while the 40 plus your old ariens machines i sell usually only have some minor surface rust(almost all caused by scratches) which are easily fixable, ive never had an older one come with in with rot. usually those mtds rot at the side panels and then they collapse. just goes to show the quality of these machines. anyways it isnt kind of sad to see it like that, but i bet if you post it for 50 on craigslist somebody would buy it(i would pay 25 for a good used set of tires to swap onto ariens rims and 25 for a good used tecumseh to resell, and them i have some scrap steel leftover to use for projects and fabricating parts).


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## hanyoukimura (Oct 16, 2015)

I have made that connection. It's hilarious how badly rusted it is vs the other two machines I have. 

This one is my mom's though and its lightness made it easier for her to use it. The Simplicity weights roughly nine hundred thousand tons, bless its heart (which is why its not a rot box I know).


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## 69ariens (Jan 29, 2011)

43128 said:


> why? because its an mtd, with paper thin sheet metal and coated with the crappiest thinnest coat of paint mtd can use. love how a 10 year old mtd is completely rotted through, while the 40 plus your old ariens machines i sell usually only have some minor surface rust(almost all caused by scratches) which are easily fixable, ive never had an older one come with in with rot. usually those mtds rot at the side panels and then they collapse. just goes to show the quality of these machines. anyways it isnt kind of sad to see it like that, but i bet if you post it for 50 on craigslist somebody would buy it(i would pay 25 for a good used set of tires to swap onto ariens rims and 25 for a good used tecumseh to resell, and them i have some scrap steel leftover to use for projects and fabricating parts).


Not just mtd I have seen 10 yr old ariens, toros simplicitys rot out too. All related to powder coating paint


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## unvjustintime (Dec 15, 2016)

The lightness came from leaving metal in the driveway every storm. Am I getting stronger?


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## jtclays (Sep 24, 2010)

hanyoukimura said:


> . The Simplicity weights roughly nine hundred thousand tons, .


:icon-clapping-smile That's frickin funny. They do seem to be built out of industrial shelving first to get them up to 300+ pounds, and then bolt the engine on. My parents neighbor had a Pro 36 model that i used to joke with him needed a reverse "beeper" like a sand truck:yahoo:


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## guyl (Jun 12, 2016)

Man, that pic is nasty. I'd also hold out for a replacement front end. One nice thing about MTD is that they're abundant and many parts are common across their various stencil brands. You're bound to find a compatible one for cheap, if not now then at the end of winter. People usually give them up when the engine problems crop up. Future project?


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## Ballroomblitz (Nov 20, 2015)

A little maintenance during it's years might have prolonged it's lifespan, wouldn't hurt to clean up any bare metal after the season or apply some Rust Check Spray. Still plenty of used parts can be salvaged for a future project.


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## hanyoukimura (Oct 16, 2015)

Ballroomblitz said:


> A little maintenance during it's years might have prolonged it's lifespan, wouldn't hurt to clean up any bare metal after the season or apply some Rust Check Spray. Still plenty of used parts can be salvaged for a future project.


Indeed, it probably could have had better anti-corrosion maintenance. With that in mind, The Simplicity got Fluid Flimed to help protect it. She's not getting any younger!


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

Hey Brother....put that nice Tecumseh on the Jacobsen...just a thought. It will be good for fifty more years.


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## The Q (Dec 19, 2016)

69ariens said:


> Not just mtd I have seen 10 yr old ariens, toros simplicitys rot out too. All related to powder coating paint


Yeah, I think it also depends on how well the owners maintain their equipment. I have a 18 yr. old YardMan (MTD) that doesn`t have a spot of rust on it because I clean and rinse the salt off after every big snow event.


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## dhazelton (Dec 8, 2014)

I live near a scrap metal yard and see a snowblower there almost daily. If you near some place like that check it out. Maybe you could get a blower with a bad motor and do a swap.


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## hanyoukimura (Oct 16, 2015)

Well, I hate to throw it away since the back half is solid and it's never failed to run and two snowblowers are always better than one after a snowstorm! Decided to perform a Merger of Equals if you will. Here's the old front end in all of its, erm, holy glory.










I did a bit of hunting and came across an guy on CL who sells snowblower parts. Turns out he had a complete 5/22 front end and offered it for $50 with my old one. Bit of drive but not bad. nice thing about these little units is that the front ends completely fit in the Prizm's trunk. Here's what I got:










The guy was shocked how badly rotted mine was. We chatted for a bit, he threw in some nice skids for it, and home I went.

Today, I finally got a chance to perform the operation. I picked up a new belt for the front end since the original was on its way out and some nice new bolts to mount the skids and the two halves together. Operation went smoothly and I declare it a success. It lives once more!














































Ready for action!


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

nice score !


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

Great Job!


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

Wow-zer. You stole that ! Fantastic.


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## jtclays (Sep 24, 2010)

That looks great! Keep the drive pulley and 3 cog impeller adapter. You got that front end cheaper than buying the MTD/Craftsman "Polo Green" can of spray paint:eusa_clap:


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## guyl (Jun 12, 2016)

Wow, nice!


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## AbominableSnowman (Nov 14, 2016)




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## hanyoukimura (Oct 16, 2015)

jtclays said:


> That looks great! Keep the drive pulley and 3 cog impeller adapter. You got that front end cheaper than buying the MTD/Craftsman "Polo Green" can of spray paint:eusa_clap:


Right? I wish that paint wasn't so bloody expensive and difficult to get (no Sears around here).


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

Nice save there hanyoukimura!


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## jtclays (Sep 24, 2010)

No Sears anymore anyways. MTD subbed that paint. Did Sears ever make anything...................ever????????


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

That'll all buff out.


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## Tomatillo (Nov 11, 2016)

Catalogs.




jtclays said:


> No Sears anymore anyways. MTD subbed that paint. Did Sears ever make anything...................ever????????


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

69ariens said:


> Not just mtd I have seen 10 yr old ariens, toros simplicitys rot out too. All related to powder coating paint




My 1995 Predator 212cc repowered MTD 5/22 looks darn near mint and I repainted it in 2012. Was that your snow blower since the day it was built?. It looks like it was ridden hard and put away wet with road salt and snow mixture all over it since it needs a catalyst like salt to rust that badly. My 2 other snow blowers have almost no rust at all on them either and one of them is from 1973 and that is a Predator 212cc repowered Montgomery Ward Gilson 8/26. You got to clean that wet road salt off them or they will rot out. Thankfully I am on a barely traveled city circle drive and not a main road were the snowplows dump tons of salt on the road.


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

micah68kj said:


> That'll all buff out.


 

Hi Joe, I be happy to administer an Adacel Tdap shot to the owner of that Rust Bucket since you will definitely need a tetanus booster shot before touching that one.


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## snowflitesly (May 5, 2016)

micah68kj said:


> That'll all buff out.




baaahaahahaha, 


just dip it in a large tub of Coca-Cola....


then again, the whole thing might dissolve




but holy crap, talk about letting it go that bad, hahahahahaha, I mean, did you leave it in the field beside the barn all those years??!!! baaahahaha, priceless pic


nice find and rebuild nonetheless, nice work recycling, keep it up


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## hanyoukimura (Oct 16, 2015)

snowflitesly said:


> baaahaahahaha,
> 
> just dip it in a large tub of Coca-Cola....
> 
> ...


Nope, stored inside all of its life. However I live on a main road and they dump calcium chloride by the truck full. 

It's the little blower that could though. Handled this 18"+ storm without a problem with its new front end.

I love that little Tecumseh motor, its never once failed to start within two pulls and runs like a champ.


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## snowflitesly (May 5, 2016)

hanyoukimura said:


> Nope, stored inside all of its life. However I live on a main road and they dump calcium chloride by the truck full.
> 
> ....



Yeah, they put that crap on my road too, but I always spray the auger good before having it dry up in the garage. 


In Alberta, they supposedly do not use anything on the roads there. Never had this confirmed tho, maybe someone here can confirm this.


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