# Toro 521 auger lube



## nt40lanman

They seem to have a thick grease in the auger gearbox but I've always put 90wt oil in them. Is that horrible? A friend got one and I may be advising him on maintenance.


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## Colored Eggs

Mine also had grease in it. I don't think it lubricates the gearbox as well as mine wore a brass ring on the top that was not getting any lubrication. Its quite possible that maybe they began with oil in them as they seem to have a spot to put some in but maybe they leaked and the grease was put it due to that fact. I wish I had a manual to see what that said was the correct lubrication type.


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## detdrbuzzard

the owners manual i have on pdf says to use grease, it just doesn't say what kind
found it in the manual thats posted on the board, use mag1 grease


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## detdrbuzzard

toro website says 7oz of mag-1 but everything i find for mag-1 gl-5 is an oil


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## micah68kj

Is this it?


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## detdrbuzzard

micah68kj said:


> Is this it?


i'm not sure i'll have to ask rob or roy , they both have an ope repair shop


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## nt40lanman

Well, things went bad, I'll start a new thread.


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## micah68kj

nt40lanman said:


> Well, things went bad, I'll start a new thread.


Saw that tnread. Dang, man I hate to hear that. Keep us informed.


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## micah68kj

detdrbuzzard said:


> i'm not sure i'll have to ask rob or roy , they both have an ope repair shop


Were you able to find out anything about that gear lube William?


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## detdrbuzzard

micah68kj said:


> Were you able to find out anything about that gear lube William?


 well i hate to say it but i forgot and i was at the shop today. i've got to stop at bob's shop tomorrow so i'll ask then


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## micah68kj

detdrbuzzard said:


> well i hate to say it but i forgot and i was at the shop today. i've got to stop at bob's shop tomorrow so i'll ask then


Ok. Thanks William.


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## detdrbuzzard

i reminded myself my re-reading this thread this morning


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## nt40lanman

All the 521s I have seen have a grease in the gearboxes. I always tip them back and get as much gear lube in as I can. Maybe there's a particular method for greasing them besides opening them up?


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## detdrbuzzard

rob says he used grease too, i just got home from the shop


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## Kiss4aFrog

I don't know about blowers but on riding lawn mowers that also get used for blowing snow so they're in the -20 stuff too, the manufacturers recommend "00" in a lot of the geared transmissions. I had no clue what it was and did some research. It's close to a liquid and just barely a grease. It seems to work great for lubrication as it will move around like a liquid on moving parts better than a regular grease will. If it can lube a transmission on a 800 pound machine pulling a 200 pound guy around the yard hour after hour, year after year it should be more than enough for an auger drive. 

Prime Line 7-06612 - Grease, 00 3 | O'Reilly Auto Parts

Super Lube "00" Grease 9 Ounce Tube 770 127 | eBay


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## detdrbuzzard

nt40lanman said:


> All the 521s I have seen have a grease in the gearboxes. I always tip them back and get as much gear lube in as I can. Maybe there's a particular method for greasing them besides opening them up?


 so when you put grease in them what do you use


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## micah68kj

detdrbuzzard said:


> so when you put grease in them what do you use


Does anyone have an owner's manual or shop manual that gives instructions on how to fill the gear box? 
I own a few Mantis tillers and they use 00 Lithium gear lube. You actually have'to open it up to check and fill it.


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## nt40lanman

detdrbuzzard said:


> so when you put grease in them what do you use


It looks like something thick in there. I don't know if there's a special way but I can't get grease in them and I'm not taking it apart so I just pour 80W-90 in till it's full. I don't care what Toro says, I don't like the idea of a grease so stiff that could be pushed off to the sides. If it leaks a little gear lube, ok by me. If there was a grease fitting I could hit with a grease gun and **PACK** the thing solid, that would be acceptable.


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## detdrbuzzard

nt40lanman said:


> It looks like something thick in there. I don't know if there's a special way but I can't get grease in them and I'm not taking it apart so I just pour 80W-90 in till it's full. I don't care what Toro says, I don't like the idea of a grease so stiff that could be pushed off to the sides. If it leaks a little gear lube, ok by me. If there was a grease fitting I could hit with a grease gun and **PACK** the thing solid, that would be acceptable.


 nooo, what brand and type of grease do you use


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## nt40lanman

ooOOOOooohhhh.... Just whatever 80w-90 automotive gear lube I have available.


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## Toro-8-2-4

SHYRP posted a sticky for a Toro 2 stage snow blower service manual. You can download it as a PDF.

In there it has a lubrication chart. Most models call for a Lubri-plate moly grease. Some call for 90 weight GL5 gear oil. 

It tells you not to deviate from this but like someone earlier said, I don't see any harm in using 90w gear lube as long as it does not leak out and become a problem and make a mess.

Most all worm drives I have seen in factory automation use a gear oil in the 90w neighborhood.


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## detdrbuzzard

the guy at the toro dealer said they use gear lube also


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## micah68kj

detdrbuzzard said:


> the guy at the toro dealer said they use gear lube also


William, you're referring to something like 90 wt gear lube? Can you nail your guy down on *exacrly* what weight lube they use? Do they remove the old grease or just top off the caxe?


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## detdrbuzzard

micah68kj said:


> William, you're referring to something like 90 wt gear lube? Can you nail your guy down on *exacrly* what weight lube they use? Do they remove the old grease or just top off the caxe?


 he said 80/90wt gear oil but didn't say what brand they use. i'll be back at the dealer to get the drain plug ( remember i lost it ) when it arrives, i'll see if i can talk to one of the service guys about what gear oil they use. if you read the owners manual it just says to fill it until the lube runs out, oil or grease


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## micah68kj

detdrbuzzard said:


> he said 80/90wt gear oil but didn't say what brand they use. i'll be back at the dealer to get the drain plug ( remember i lost it ) when it arrives, i'll see if i can talk to one of the service guys about what gear oil they use. if you read the owners manual it just says to fill it until the lube runs out, oil or grease


Owners manual?? What's that? I just got the machine. No manual.
You saying they can be mixed? The grease and gear oil/lube?


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## detdrbuzzard

i don't know if the oil and grease can be mixed
i sent you a couple emails too


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## micah68kj

detdrbuzzard said:


> i don't knoe if the oil and grease can be mixed
> i sent you a couple emails too


Got the emails.
Can you maybe ask those guys if the oil and grease can be mixed or does the original grease all need to be removed before putting gear oil in there?


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## detdrbuzzard

micah68kj said:


> Got the emails.
> Can you maybe ask those guys if the oil and grease can be mixed or does the original grease all need to be removed before putting gear oil in there?


i'll ask him *almost* anything for you joe


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## micah68kj

detdrbuzzard said:


> i'll ask him *almost* anything for you joe


What a guy!


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## detdrbuzzard

micah68kj said:


> What a guy!


 ok joe the guy i spoke with said they just add gear oil unless the gear case is leaking


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## nt40lanman

I guess I won't worry about grease and oil mixing. It's not Lamborghini. It just needs some slippery stuff on the gears.


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## jtclays

NT40, Does Toro have a brass gear against a steel worm like Ariens?????
If so, I'd want to get all those shavings out. My experience has only been with Ariens and JD and they show significant shavings in 70-late 80's machines. I actually think the shaving removal would increase the life of these close in parts. Instead of packing them tight with grease and likely pushing the shavings into the gearing. Just thinking out loud here, but I wonder. Like any sealed component, ONCE YOU BREAK THE SEAL, NEW "SITUATIONS" MAY OCCUR, but it may be worth the effort to swipe that crap out instead of waiting for failure.

Rambling thoughts.


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## detdrbuzzard

jtclays, yes toro's have a brass gear with a steel worm gear also


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## Wrenchbender

nt40lanman said:


> I guess I won't worry about grease and oil mixing. It's not Lamborghini. It just needs some slippery stuff on the gears.


I would differ on that. MAG 1 grease is more slippery than ordinary grease or oil, and is really resistant to squeezing out of tight clearances. I never touched the auger gearbox on my 521 for 20 years, from when it was new, because I foolishly believed the instructions that said it didn't need to be serviced. Well, I suppose they want to sell new snowblowers once in a while. When the gears finally would not mesh well enough to drive the auger, I took it apart and the worms were worn sharp.

It might have been a good idea to occasionally (maybe every couple of years) "top off" the grease (for those machines that require grease and not oil) with a couple of pumps of MAG 1 style grease, available in tubes at NAPA. I don't know if my gears would've lasted many more years that way, but I have a feeling they could have.

There is a plug on the front of the gearbox (at least on the 521 and probably other machines) that is big enough to get grease in with an ordinary grease gun tip held tight against it. The hole is a pipe thread, so you can't replace the plug with a grease fitting.

BTW, after rebuilding the gearbox, it took a whole "mini" sized tube of grease to pack the gears and case fairly well, and I added about another 1/2 tube through the hole after I ran it for a while. I thought over-greasing might put too much pressure on the shaft seal, so I stopped pumping it in before it felt tight or started backing grease out of the hole.

Not quite up to Lamborghini specs, but probably better than putting any old slippery stuff in there.


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## ToroGuy

After cracking open my 1989 Toro 521 gearcase it was a little surprising to see just how little grease was left in there. I know that this was never topped up since it left the factory and the result was a rounded brass worm gear. Im now replacing the worm gear (not the cheapest thing either...) and will be filling the case with Super Lube 00 grease. Anyone have experience with this grease? I would go with MAG-1 but it is almost impossible to find in my area.


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## UNDERTAKER

I posted this before. when they left the factory the auger gear boxes had grease in . them for shipping purposes. but the manual states. use 80-90 gear oil. no synthetic. the seals will not hold the synthetic stuff. the powershift trans get the lubraplate mag 1 grease.


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## detdrbuzzard

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> I posted this before. when they left the factory the auger gear boxes had grease in . them for shipping purposes. but the manual states. use 80-90 gear oil. no synthetic. the seals will not hold the synthetic stuff. the powershift trans get the lubraplate mag 1 grease.


 some toro's use grease in the gear box, my 521 says to use lubriplate mag1 grease. some use grease some use gear oil. if someone wants to use gear oil rather than grease well its their machine to do as they please


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## Wrenchbender

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> I posted this before. when they left the factory the auger gear boxes had grease in . them for shipping purposes. but the manual states. use 80-90 gear oil. no synthetic. the seals will not hold the synthetic stuff. the powershift trans get the lubraplate mag 1 grease.


Not in some models. detdrbuzzard was correct about this: The Toro 521, and perhaps many others use grease in the auger gearbox (there's really no wheel drive "transmission" to speak of in these machines, just open gears).

I got what the folks at NAPA said was a MAG1 equivalent called _Sta-Lube "Extreme Pressure" Moly-Graph._ The "extreme pressure" refers to pressure between surfaces, like gear teeth... not a gear case with lube under extreme pressure!

PN SL3144

You can find actual "MAG1" grease on-line, but it's usually in large quantities and/or too expensive. I'm pretty sure the Sta Lube will work just fine. It came in a 3-pack of 3 oz. tubes.


Toro Guy-- there's a whole thread on rebuilding the 521 auger gears from last winter. (I believe the thread is called "auger pulley stuck" because that was the hardest part of the repair.

I bought the worm gear and the toothed gear as a set from Amazon for 80 bucks. I thought that was worth it. I also posted on the same thread this year regarding how much grease I used on re-assembly (One 3 oz tube) and how much I pumped in after (maybe 1/2 a tube).

If you find a spec on how much grease the gear case is supposed to have, please post. Toro obviously wanted this to be a wear item that would wear out and most people would just replace their snowblower. The old "under normal conditions no grease needs to be added" thing... until it breaks. Then add new gears.


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## EricWww

Hey guys- I'm new here just found this thread. Little background on myself I love tinkering with small and larger engined devices- just replaced an engine in a relative's Honda civic in driveway, rebuilding my late 90s Chevy sports car and last year restored a late 70s Cub Cadet/IH garden tractor. I also rebuilt a small Honda tiller's gearbox which resembles the snowblower's gearbox. 

Anyway, I'm currently rebuilding my augerbox of my 'recently inherited 88 521- it's actually not broke but I DL the owner's manual and it states use the 80W gearlube. It all leaked out and I could see the seals were no longer holding- likely just deteriorated after 30 years. Decided to disassemble the blower/gearbox and put it in my parts washer. There was all sorts of old 30 year old grease in there, but the parts looked pretty good- as we didn't use the blower all that much. It was still functional but after all this time in my opinion any grease should use replacement, particularly with the seals disintegrated and letting in crap. 

I then read the 2 stage service manual and it mentions to use the lubriplate. I added that to my parts order since I'm replacing the seals, ordering Toro paint (making drift cutters and doing touch up!) etc. I know it was kinda pricey $14 a tube) but for any vehicles/small engined toys I have, I don't mind paying a little extra to getting the "correct" item instead of a substitute.

Anyway- my main question here- the service manual mentions the Lubriplate but the owner's manual mentions 90 weight gear oil.... which is it, or should I use both? In my tractor mounted snow blower, I've used both- with the gear oil thinning the grease, and think it's probably the same thing here. I figure- reassemble with the lubriplate but then top it off with the gear oil. 

P.S. I didn't see the other thread but yes the pulley was stuck- wound up torching it to expand the metal then hammering it out with a drift lol.


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## sciphi

Some years used grease, others used gear oil. I'm not sure why the change was done. Use what that year is specified for.


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## EricWww

Hmm OK the service manual only goes to 1990- and the owner's manual I DL'd I'm not sure what year its from. Seeing as though there was the thicker grease already in the gearbox when I washed it out, plus I already ordered the Lubriplate, perhaps I'll just go with that. (I do tend to overthink things sometimes lol)


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