# Impeller bearing replacement and kit install



## paul78zephyr (Feb 15, 2013)

Hello all,
Toro 1128OXE new fall 2005, 83 hours on the meter. I do all my own maintenance on this machine. 

The impeller bearing was shot as there was alot of play in the shaft and noise from the impeller scraping on the housing. I figured that if I opened it up to replace the bearing I would also install a kit in it while I was in there.









There are many ways the machine can be opened up for access but here is the methods I used (note some pictures may be slightly out of sequence):

I started by removing the chute. Remove chute stick control cover and slide back









Mark location of cable then loosen the pinch bolt and remove the cable

















Im not a tool hog but my old ratcheting box wrenches came in handy here


















Once disconnected the chute just lifts off


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## paul78zephyr (Feb 15, 2013)

Unbolt the chute control rod from the control









Remove the pulley cover, pulley/belt guard, and disconnect the impeller/auger drive belt from the engine pulley









Disconnect the impeller pulley brake retract spring (I should have just removed the entire brake assembly here as it needed to come out later)









Remove the lower side cover









There are three large bolts on either side that hold the impeller/auger housing to the rest of the frame. The middle ones on both sides go into slotted holes and dont need to be completely removed. Again, stainless bolts intalled 10 years ago came right out (ratcheting box wrenches help here too)

























The back half of the machine will not stay upright on its own so I just rested it against my wheel barrow


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## paul78zephyr (Feb 15, 2013)

To access the impeller bearing the impeller/auger drive pulley must be removed. I had read some real horror stories about removing these things. 










Start by loosening the two set screws. Not much working or sight room.









I dont have any 8 point sockets so I had to improvise using a method I saw on a youtube video. Yes thats a 5/16 open end wrench in a vice grip

















With the sets screws loosened the pulley would not budge (no big surprise) so I improvised again using some recommendations I found on the internet - use a puller which required two holes to be drilled in the pulley









I did alot of automotive engine rebuilding in my younger days but hadnt used this thing in years









The shaft protector on my puller was too big for the shaft so I just used a small socket









And the dam thing came right off - no theatrics or even any cussing


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## paul78zephyr (Feb 15, 2013)

At this point I decided to remove the impeller housing upper cover. Stainless bolts installed 10 years ago came right off
































Housing upper cover








First look in with cover removed


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## 43128 (Feb 14, 2014)

thats kind of disappointing that the bearing only lasted 83 hours, considering both of my ariens are still using what i assume to be the original bearings, and they are 40+ years old. does this toro using a bearing or does this toro use a bearing or a bushing?


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

So, Toro had its impeller area plastic cover "anti clogging" system back in 2005...? I thought it was something much newer.:smiley-confused009:


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## paul78zephyr (Feb 15, 2013)

The three impeller bearing retaining bolts are carriage head bolts and are buried behind the impeller. These bolts/nuts have never been replaced









Since I am going to replace them I needed to move the impeller out of the way. A broken record here - but the stainless bolts I previously installed for the impeller shear bolts came right out allowing the impeller to slide forward on the shaft allowing ample room to remove the bearing retaining bolts









The shaft woodruff key and thrust washer must be removed









The extent of the wear on the bearing is visible even before I removed the bearing









All bearing retaining bolts removed









And this is what came out. What a mess. Its hard to believe but the unit was actually working and throwing snow the last time I used it

































Thankfully the shaft where the bearing rides was in very good shape


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## paul78zephyr (Feb 15, 2013)

New impeller bearing and flanges reading to be installed with new stainless bolts

















Installed on shaft









And bolted down with new stainless bolts and locknuts


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

You do know that a 12 pt socket works for taking off those square bolts. as long as the socket set. is not bought off a truck on the side of the road. that also sells dogs playing poker wall rugs. along with a few other things that I will not get into here.:icon_whistling::icon_whistling:k:k:k:


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

That is the same bearing set up that the POWERSHIFTS run. I still have to look into a sealed roller bearing replacement. the next time I change 1 of those out. but then again that might just be sometime in the next century.:wavetowel2::wavetowel2:


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

Stick a fork in that baby!!!! it is toast. did you put in 5/16 by 1/2 long stainless steel carriage bolts and nuts????????? better replace that bolt holding up that post. that looks like it will be going next.k:k:k:


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

thanks for the write up and pic's paul


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## paul78zephyr (Feb 15, 2013)

I purchased an impeller kit for a three blade impeller on ebay. It comes with pre-drilled rubber pieces, steel backing plates, and hardware but I am going to use - what else - stainless hardware. 

The kit is 'universal' and the rubber needs to be cut to fit each application. I took alot of measurements and made a template. For this application the rubber pieces will only use two mounting holes









Rubber cut to size. You need to make sure the location of the mounting holes is such that the mounting hardware does not interfere with the bracing on the back of the impeller blades









This is the way the rubber was in the kit and how I needed to cut it









Using my template I center punched for the holes









And started with a small drill bit. I used a series of bits to open the holes for the 5/16 bolts I was going to use. I double checked the rubber pieces for alignment before opening the holes all the way
















You can see the block of wood I used to hold the impeller in place while I drilled the holes









As I said I did not use the backing plates that came in the kit as they are plain (mild) steel so I used stainless fender washers over the rubber

















I used the same processes on the other two impeller blades. I set the blades so that they were as close to the inside of the housing as possible but still allow the impeller to turn freely


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

You could have used a old flapper paddle from a ss. more than likely a hardware store would have given it to you. because they trash bin them anyway. juts tossing that 1 out.


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## paul78zephyr (Feb 15, 2013)

Basically re-assembly is the reverse of the disassembly. Any non-stainless hardware not replaced previously was replaced with stainless

I replaced the square head set screws on the pulley with socket head cap screws

















I filed any small burrs off the woodruff key and re-installed it in the shaft keyway. I coated the shaft, key, and the inside of the pulley hub with anti-sieze









The pulley slid right on about halfway and just needed a few gentle taps with a hammer and a block of wood to seat it the rest of the way

























Tightening the new set screws was much easier









Finally ready to re-assemble the impeller/auger housing to the frame. With the center bolts installed the housing lifts up to get the pulley over the lower frame lip and the bolts align with the slots in the frame. I thought I may have trouble doing this alone but it was actually pretty easy









In one piece again


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## paul78zephyr (Feb 15, 2013)

I found getting the belt back on was easier if I removed the brake (which I should have done earlier)

















Re-install the brake, covers, and chute

















Replaced the spark plug for good measure (.030 gap)









Ready for a few more years









Hope this is helpful
Paul


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## 404 (Feb 1, 2015)

Wow well done. Superb write up and pictures. There must be some sort of ball bearing that would fit this space, has anyone found one? This is from 

SBPF204-12 3/4" Pressed Steel Bearing 3-Bolt Flanged Mounted Bearings

Anyone think that could be made to work?

I have the same problem on one of my Toro machines, and I HATE the original bearing design.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

That 1 works for the old school TORO'S. but I do not know about anything after them.:facepalm_zpsdj194qh:facepalm_zpsdj194qh


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## Sid (Jan 31, 2014)

I put a cast iron flanged grease able ball bearing in my Sears/Murray.Just had to add a spacer to make up for the extended inner race on the original bearing. Should outlast the blower, and me.
Sid


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## Blackfin (Jan 25, 2016)

Nice write-up & pics. Well done.

If you ever have it apart again you might consider having some of that bucket rust chemically neutralized and/or media blasted and then coated with something like pick-up truck bedliner spray and a coat of Rustoleum on top of that.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

Awesome write-up - very meticulous job. 

One thing that bothers me is the amount of rust on your machine. Mine is about the same vintage, and it has no wears near that much. Maybe I am just lucky.

Enjoy the ride.


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## toroused (Mar 1, 2015)

By "chemically neutralized", I believe Blackfin is probably referring to a rust converter like an Ospho, which will literally knock down about 80% of that type of light, aggressive rust overnight. It's great stuff for that type of application. 

Link: Ospho


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

toroused said:


> By "chemically neutralized", I believe Blackfin is probably referring to a rust converter like an Ospho, which will literally knock down about 80% of that type of light, aggressive rust overnight. It's great stuff for that type of application.
> 
> Link: Ospho


 A couple more are Evaporust or Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator. I know it shouldn't be a problem but I don't like seeing cap screws (ss or otherwise) on things like pulleys. A socket can put a lot more pressure on a bolt vs an allen wrench on a cap screw.

Regardless of that, the writeup was well done and hopefully will be useful to someone else in the future. Thanks for sharing.


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## 404 (Feb 1, 2015)

Now that the pulley has been perfected with the cap head screws and the AS one can be certain it will NEVER have to be removed again. Works that way for me all the time.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

HCBPH said:


> A couple more are Evaporust or Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator. I know it shouldn't be a problem but I don't like seeing cap screws (ss or otherwise) on things like pulleys. A socket can put a lot more pressure on a bolt vs an allen wrench on a cap screw.
> 
> Regardless of that, the writeup was well done and hopefully will be useful to someone else in the future. Thanks for sharing.


are you also referring to allen socket. not being of the same bottle as the socket itself??????????????????????


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## mrfixit (Dec 3, 2016)

Thanks for taking the time to do this write up with pictures.


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## deepstuff (Mar 7, 2017)

I have a 1028 LXE Blower that takes bearing number 63-3450. Is the part number for the kit including this bearing, 12-8789?
*
*


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## RAYAR (Mar 7, 2015)

Nicely done. I'm surprised that they use a bushing instead of a bearing for the impeller shaft. In one pic, it looks like the axle bushings are worn. If they are, that's another task that needs attention ASAP.
*** I just noticed this post is almost a year old ***


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Nice write up. I had a toro 3521, that i would once in a while hit the shaft and bearing with WD for added lubricity.

I have to agree HCBPH on the use of cap screws. Regardless of being stainless they are less reliable then a standard 6 point hex or even those old square heads.


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## 43128 (Feb 14, 2014)

every one of those i do i replace those stupid sqaure heads with a cap screw. you can get a much better grip on them with an allen wrench. i also glob on the antisieze so the pulley slides right off when its time for a new bushing


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## deepstuff (Mar 7, 2017)

So does the auger shaft turn inside the bushing or is the bushing tight in the shaft and turn in the housing?


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

deepstuff said:


> So does the auger shaft turn inside the bushing or is the bushing tight in the shaft and turn in the housing?


* The shaft turns inside of the bushing the bushing itself is held in tight via the race.*


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

hsblowersfan said:


> So, Toro had its impeller area plastic cover "anti clogging" system back in 2005...? I thought it was something much newer.:smiley-confused009:


* That was is the model that replaced the POWERSHIFT in 2005.*


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## snowflitesly (May 5, 2016)

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> You do know that a 12 pt socket works for taking off those square bolts. as long as the socket set. is not bought off a truck on the side of the road. that also sells dogs playing poker wall rugs. along with a few other things that I will not get into here.:icon_whistling::icon_whistling:k:k:k:


lol, when i saw the open end wrench and vise grip (yikes!!!) i thought the same thing but u beat me to it, 

that indeed a 3/8 12 point socket is the miracle tool for this job. 12 is a multiple number of 4, hehe.


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## snowflitesly (May 5, 2016)

And did not go through all the responses, so don't know if this was mentioned. but the pulley puller idea is great, but IMO, I would keep the threaded holes as close as possible the the pulley's hub to avoid all possibility of warping the pulley, and those are not cheap. Of course, this assembly is only 12 yrs old, but sometimes the shaft, pulley and key way tend to be a little seized up and rust welded to each other. Just a heads up.


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