# 521, Auger wont turn when engaged



## aggriffin3 (Mar 30, 2014)

"Sears Craftsman Snow Blower
2 stage
22" path
4 speeds forward
1 speed reverse
5 HP
electric start & pull start
Runs Good

*The code is 9302 serial #536918700 *

I was snowblowing with my 5/22 last night and I hit an object that caused the auger to stop. The object got wedged inbetween auger and housing. Got the object out and tried to use the snowblower but the auger won't turn, just the impellar. Sheer pins did not break, what else could be this issue? Is there a belt, chain that may have let lose and broke, or could it be auger gearbox that broke? I can turn the auger and axle all as one, but when you try to engage the lower auger with controls, it wont turn. The top impellar will though? 


Thanks

Thanks


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

So you are saying the impeller (part that throws the snow up the chute) is spinning, but the augers (corkscrews that pull the snow towards the center of the machine) are not turning?

That is bad news as it means the auger gear is most likely broken. Sears wants $63 for that part. Shop around as you might find it cheaper elsewhere. You will also need some new grease, some gasket material and maybe some bushings. You might be at around $85 for parts there already.

You blower looks pretty old so maybe it is time to look into upgrading. Also, older blowers tend to have the augers rust to their axle which defeats the shear pins. That could be what happened to yours and if that is the case it could be a nightmare to get apart.

Spend at least an hour or so trying to get things apart before going shopping, but you might have some bad news there. You may get lucky and only need a $2 pin that holds the gear to the shaft.

There is a belt / chain that engages those parts up front, but they all work off of one belt. So it half of it is working something is wrong it that center gear box.


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## aggriffin3 (Mar 30, 2014)

I just bought it last yr paid 160.00, but it appears to not have any rust on axle or auger. The auger did turn very weakly, and if I can hear correctly, I can hear a little bit of rattling noise coming from that center gear. Not sure. The previous owner may have just used bolts and not sheer bolts. 
Not good

Thanks

Art


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

More than likely you still have something stuck between the auger rake and auger housing (I've seen that on that model).

If you can turn the auger rakes without the engine running, either you have a broken shear pin or broke the auger gearcase.

Test: pull the sparkplug, remove the belt cover along with the belt furthest from the engine. Can you turn the pulley? If not there is something still jammed in the auger assembly is the most likely cause.
If you can turn the pulley, does the auger rakes turn along with the impeller shaft? If not then it's likely the auger gearcase.

Let us know, may be able to help.

Update - forgot to mention when trying to turn the pulley, there's a brake pad on the control so insure there's nothing stopping the pulley from turning.


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

+1 on the tests above ^^^.

best case, hopefully you just fried the belt. 

sometimes the auger is seized to the auger shaft (rust, old grease, etc.)...rendering the shear bolts useless. While you're down there, remove the shear bolts and see if the auger spins.


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## aggriffin3 (Mar 30, 2014)

I will get into the guts of this machine tomorrow morning. Luckily I had a spare JD single stage that I can use for the smaller snowfalls. 
How easy is it to find auger gearcase locally, Sears etc. or at this age, is this something I will have to order. Does it interchange with anything else out there that a local repair shop would be able to use?

Thanks again guys

Art


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

IIRC Sears still sells all the gearcase parts, can't speak to the price though as I don't remember. Thing is, all the machines whether 4 or 5 hp whether 536.918xxx or 536.882xxx with either the red and white or black and gray paintjobs pretty much interchange. You can swap all the parts within the same width auger or even swap out the auger assemblies entirely.

The biggest problem I find with this model is the auger rakes are rusted onto the auger shaft due to neglect. Usually takes heat, penetrating oil and a hydraulic press to get them off if there's rust. Even if you have to rebuild the auger gearcase, it's not hard to do but that one bronze gear or case sides might be pricey. Sometimes it's easier and cheaper to find a parts machine instead.

Better to find out though if it's actually the gearcase or not first. I'm still betting it's something jammed in there as I've seen that before with someone that blew some graveled driveway and got a rock caught between the rake and the housing.


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## aggriffin3 (Mar 30, 2014)

So I got into it today and turned the pulley, just the inpellar turns. As far as the auger is concern, it turns by hand, so nothing more stuck to prevent it from turning. I assume its the gear case. I will price the repair through a local repair guy, and price it based on parts found with me doing the repair. Doesnt sound like something I am going to tackle this winter. (Not heat in my garage) I was going to do a partial restoration on it this spring, so I will just wait until then to take it apart and do some painting and maintenance on it then. 
Until then, its back to my JD single stage, which I hate.

Art

Thanks guys


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## Normex (Feb 21, 2014)

aggriffin3 said:


> So I got into it today and turned the pulley, just the inpellar turns. As far as the auger is concern, it turns by hand, so nothing more stuck to prevent it from turning. I assume its the gear case. Thanks guys


 If the augers turns, you should remove both shear pins (one each side) and see when you turn the augers again if they are free from the shaft inside it, if one auger is free from the shaft then check if the shear pins,bolts are not regular bolts grade 3 or higher. If the auger isn't free from the shaft then you should start first to free it as it would be primordial as HCBPH mentioned because it may have been the cause of the gear case breakdown. Good Luck


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## aggriffin3 (Mar 30, 2014)

Yeah, both augers are rusted on to the axle. Now to figure out how to get them loose. I do not have a torch by the way.

Art


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## RoyP (Oct 16, 2014)

aggriffin3 said:


> Yeah, both augers are rusted on to the axle. Now to figure out how to get them loose. I do not have a torch by the way.
> 
> Art


You don't need a torch...get the best rust buster your money can buy. After removing the auger, put it on it's end.....give the shaft and auger a good soaking.....after a few minutes do it again. This should help free your auger from the shaft......

Too bad that your machine wasn't taken care of by previous owner.....


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## Normex (Feb 21, 2014)

aggriffin3 said:


> Yeah, both augers are rusted on to the axle. Now to figure out how to get them loose. I do not have a torch by the way.
> 
> Art


 Then you best go to a welding shop or equivalent because you won't loosen it by just adding any kind of oil unless it jammed very recently. Were you able to find if your gear axle is damaged as Shryp mentioned?


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## aggriffin3 (Mar 30, 2014)

Haven't looked into the gearbox yet. Any easy way to tell, or will I need to take it apart?

Art


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Two ways to help free them are using pipe wrenches or long 2x4 wedged in the augers. I would start with 2 pipe wrenches if you have them.

Just remember to pry against the other auger and axle shaft and not the gearbox. The aluminum will snap.


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## aggriffin3 (Mar 30, 2014)

Just curious, is there another brand worm gear that will fit or for that matter another brand that crossfits with this machine in general? I havent got to that point yet, but going to Searsdirect, it would not pull up part number 51279. 
My model number for my blower is 536-918200. 
Would love to just find a parts machine or something on ebay that will help with the cost. I paid 160.00 for this, and was only going to use it one or two yrs before I went with something bigger. But before that, I wanted to do a partial restoration on it. 
Any help or advice on whether this will be worth it, especially seeing I cant even get the augers off the axle yet. 

Art


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

536 would be Murray parts.


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## Pathfinder13 (Feb 28, 2014)

keeps your eyes open meanwhile, you may find a donor machine with a blown motor ;-)


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Pathfinder13 said:


> keeps your eyes open meanwhile, you may find a donor machine with a blown motor ;-)


Talk to places around you that do snowblower repair. I've bought a couple of machines in the last year with bad engines for $20 each. Any auger from a 536.918xxx or 536.882xxx with either a 4 or 5 Hp engine will have a compatible auger housing though the 4 hp has a 20" wide while the 5 has a 22". 4 bolts and the auger housing is off.

The OP didn't mention where he's located. I've scrapped out a couple of them and kept the augers for the gearbox or to sell outright after removing the parts I wanted.

By the way, here's a thread on another forum I put together that included rebuilding the auger and freeing up auger rakes rusted to the shaft: http://restorationmen.lefora.com/topic/4216696/Auger-Housing-RepairRebuild#.VLSCqk3nYho


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Before you start spending a lot of time searching for parts you should try to get it apart. Might be a broken shaft just inside that center case, one or both the gears inside the case or maybe one of the gears isn't pinned to it's shaft OR it gets destroyed coming apart.

The part number you listed seems to be for the gasket the goes between the two center section halves. Murray 51279MA Gear Case Gasket for Snow Throwers Product Page | GoPro Drone Club - Welcome to the Club

I come up with 50223(MA) for the worm gear. #38 in the diagram. It has a key to pin it to the auger shaft and maybe just the key let go (unlikely but we can hope).
The input shaft and the gear that drives the worm gear is 50219(MA). That's #42 in the diagram.
I tried a few different sites and keep getting NLA for both 
*.
*


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## aggriffin3 (Mar 30, 2014)

Yeah, I will check with local repair shops, and so forth on donors. 
I am located in Grand Rapids Michigan. As far as the part #. I only have the part lists for model 536-918700. I thought the two were about the same, sorry. If it warms up, I might try taking it apart and see what I can find. 

Art


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## aggriffin3 (Mar 30, 2014)

Okay, I finally started to work on this machine today. Havent removed the auger and gear yet, as I am still not sure the correct or best way to do so. Any help would be appreciated. One thing I did do, was crack open the auger gear housing to see if I could see any broken teeth in there, and everything looks good on both gears. Could it be just the key that broke or came loose? It appears the axle is turning through the worm gear, so it makes me think the key is the issue?
If so, whats my next plan of attack. I would still like to get the augers loose from axle so the sheer bolts will work properly next time. Can I just remove the axle without removing the housing and impeller shaft? Thanks Art


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Maybe a few videos from donnyboy73 might help ??

https://www.google.com/#q=donyboy73+auger+removal


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

I posted some thoughts on your other thread. You will need to tear it down if it's in the auger gear case. I thnk I had a thread a couple of years back on dealing with rusted on auger rakes. They can be a bear to get of but it can be done with enough time and leverage.


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