# New to forum...Just bought Toro 421 Blower...



## 87iroc

New to forum...introduced myself over at the new member area.

Just bought a new to me Toro 421 Snowblower. As I said over in welcome forum, I live in Southern Indiana so didn't want much cash outlay for something that won't get used much. Regardless, as with any old machine...it needs some TLC.

The thing started tonight after I got it home and I cleared the driveway.

It needs some skids as to be expected. I took the plunge and bought the HD ones over at SnowblowerSkidz or some such site I saw here. really liked the HD nature of them. Figure rather than spend 20 bucks every 5 yrs spend 40 bucks once. Didn't do much research...so hope that doesn't hurt me(in retrospect I just spent almost as much as I payed for the whole blower...lol). 

Anyway, a couple things I need...

1) Tire Chains. Do I just measure OD of tire(old hard rubber tires) and width and order accordingly? Going for 'cheap'...trying to keep total outlay here low(yah, blew that on skids)

2) Need to go through the thing and service everything. I will search through the service manual that is on here(great find) for general info....any watch outs I should know?

A couple general questions...

What was difference between 521 model and 421 model? Just motor size? Or was the gearbox/everything different in the drive? I see more references to the 521 than the 421.

Any way to know how old it is? I'm guessing at least 20...but as its a 421...and not the newer model numbers. Maybe its older?


Thanks!
Greg


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## Colored Eggs

The only difference is the size. I have a 3521 which is the same size just a smaller engine than yours. The nice thing about the toro is the engine can be easily swapped if ever needed. 

Mine has tire chains which I am thinking of selling. If your interested in them give me an offer. However! just for a heads up, they make the snowblower a pain in butt to move when the engine is not running 
For maintenance.. Check the gearbox to make sure its well lubed. and check the friction disk.


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## Shryp

Do you need the chains? I had a 3521 and didn't need them.

The only different between 3521/421/521 was the engine.

For the year you can look that up on the Toro website with the model number and serial number from the ID tag. You can also get some manuals from them.
Toro | Customer Support


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## micah68kj

Hi 87 Iroc and welcome.
I have a Toro 521 that is a little newer. It has pneumatic tires in it. As Colored Eggs says, chains are prety much a pain. It'll mean more $$ but if I had your machine I'd try to find some newer, pnuematice tires/wheels. If you're getting lots of wheel slip you may need to slow down your ground speed. 
If that machine has been regularly maintained it should last you a very long time. Maintenance is the key to equipment longevity. Toro makes a fine machine.


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## detdrbuzzard

hello 87iroc, welcome to SBF!!. the pneumatic tire change is not a direct swap. the axles on 3521's, 421's, and early 521's is smaller in diameter than late modle 521's like joe has and the tube shaft on the back of you wheel is much shorter than the 521's with pneumatic tires
as shryp said you can get manuals from the toro website. from the main page scroll down to the bottom and click on " manuals " they have a free down load but there is a fee for a hadr copy. you will have to enter the model number for your machine my 521's model 38052 serial number is 6013139 which makes my 521 about an '86. early 521's had levers that are below the handlebars like yours later ones have levers on top of the handlebars like mine but still have hard rubber tires. then there the later 521's like joes with pneumatic tires and taller chutes, i put the tall chute on my 521 to get more snow throwing distance. it will bolt right on


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## micah68kj

detdrbuzzard said:


> hello 87iroc, welcome to SBF!!. the pneumatic tire change is not a direct swap. the axles on 3521's, 421's, and early 521's is smaller in diameter than late modle 521's like joe has and the ttubr shaft on the back of you wheel is much shorter than the 521's with pneumatic tires
> as shryp said you can get manuals from the toro website. from the main page scroll down to the bottom and click on " manuals " they have a free down load but there is a fee for a hadr copy. you will have to enter the model number for your machine my 521's model 38052 serial number is 6013139 which makes my 521 about an '86. early 521's had levers that are below the handlebars like yours later ones have levers on top of the handlebars like mine but still have hard rubber tires. then there the later 521's like joes with pneumatic tires and taller chutes, i put the tall chute on my 521 to get more snow throwing distance. it will bolt right on


Wow. Without looking I just figured they'd be a direct swap. When I made a swap on my old Gilson I had to cut part of the inboard axle tube off the Craftsman wheels and I also had to add a section of 3/4" copper tubing inside each axle shaft because I didn't like the flimsy plastic bushings that Craftsman ( Murray) used.
But, it's a nice machine he has and the swap would be worth it.


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## detdrbuzzard

i haven't done the pnumatic wheel swap a: because of the diameter of the axle and b: i'm worried that after cutting the tube on the back of the wheel that there won't be enough clearance between the tire and the body of the machine. its to cold to worry about now but come spring i'l take some better measurements otherwise i'll see if i can find an axle from a late model 521 and swap axles


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## detdrbuzzard

if you look at your tires iroc there are holes in them for studs if you just gotta have chains otherwise a quick ebay or amazon search by tire size will find you a set of chains


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## 87iroc

Thanks for all the info guys! My skids are wore down to almost nothing and the augers are almost touching the ground if they aren't touching anyway. I just used it for the first time last night and had never operated a snowblower before....so I have stuff to learn.

I have HD skids on order that I will get installed and then make the call on getting chains or not(Thanks for the offer colored eggs). Hadn't thought about what you guys had pointed out on the chains being a PITA and adjusting ground speed makes sense. On the chains its already a bit tough to move round anyway. 

The pneumatic tire bit will be worth a look. A little fabrication isn't anything that scares me. I'll take a look at it. I had my old troy bilt tiller 75% tore down putting it back together. I plan on going through the blower next year some but for now...with the snow we just got and the highs in the teens I won't mess with it for a bit.


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## detdrbuzzard

take the trans cover off and take a look inside, make sure every thing that should be greased is and everything that should be oiled is


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## 87iroc

I will add it to the to do list when I start my Christmas vacation in a week and a half....Go through it and see how it looks under the covers. I checked the skids a bit closer and they've worn down and the bottom of the actual 'hood' has been dragging the ground along with the augers. DOH! It could have used new skids a long time ago I think!! I also need to look at the scraper blade in the back...


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## detdrbuzzard

may as well order a scraper bar an put that on along with the new skids,you don't want to damage the housing or the auger or and auger bering


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## 87iroc

Got my skids tonight from Snow Blower Skidz or some such site. Things are tanks! I'll get them put on shortly. Scraper bar is on the to do list...

The augers appear to be worn down some. I'm sure they were touching the ground as it was used the last few years. Would be interesting to know how much of the bottom of the housing is wore down.


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