# Toro Newer StylePower Max Wheel Hub - Axle End Covers



## Mr. JT Monk (Oct 27, 2020)

I searched to see if there was a thread for this and haven't found it. So - - -

I'll put these on tomorrow and take some pics.
I wanted to get some covers for the exposed wheel hubs/axle ends on the new Toro Power Max HD 928 I got last month.
There is just a flat slotted spring clip and washer holding the wheel on and to me it seems having it exposed would invite corrosion even though I made sure the axle end and inner wheel hub were greased and also outer end portion given a good coat of Fluid Film.

I bought these covers that are actually sold for several brands of lawn and garden tractor wheels after taking measurements and hoping they would fit. Why wouldn't they provide these for snow blowers?

Eureka. . . they do fit pretty nice and snug, but may also use a smear of high tac gasket seal or something on the inside of each cover to assure they will stay on. But they do fit really well as is.

EDIT : - There are many of these covers made for various lawn tractors and most reference the same part numbers across brands. However, the design and actual size from each vendor varies a lot. I had to communicate with a number of vendors and annoy them with my questions regarding actual size and material, etc.

Pictures on the Toro tomorrow after I get set up and have some day light.


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## Mr. JT Monk (Oct 27, 2020)

Ok . . . I guess this isn't as innovative as I thought. . lol.
Anyway, here are a few pics today that show what the deal is.
I just wanted some added protection for that steel clip and axle end so got these soft plastic covers.

These actually are available in a couple of sizes and slight design differences. So, some may work well on other snow blowers.

If anyone wants some of these, PM me and can give the vendor info. They were less than $9 for a set of four with free shipping.


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## 140278 (Aug 27, 2020)

my earlier 928 has 1/4 inch bolts holding the wheel to the axle not clips.


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

Plastic cups won’t do anything with water and potential salt. What you REALLY need is grease on the axle to keep your wheels from rusting and binding to the axle.


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## Mr. JT Monk (Oct 27, 2020)

CO Snow said:


> Plastic cups won’t do anything with water and potential salt. What you REALLY need is grease on the axle to keep your wheels from rusting and binding to the axle.


I disagree. . Explain how - " Plastic cups won't do anything" ?
And - - I already assured they are greased as I stated in the first post in the thread. @CO Snow
_" - - I made sure the axle end and inner wheel hub were greased and also outer end portion given a good coat of Fluid Film._ - - "

Before adding the caps I pulled the wheels off and checked plus added some grease.
It's a brand new machine.

This way with the added caps. . it cuts down the point of water intrusion by 50%. The inner wheel is then the only point water or brine can then enter and the grease is there as usual to mitigate it.


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## Mr. JT Monk (Oct 27, 2020)

captchas said:


> my earlier 928 has 1/4 inch bolts holding the wheel to the axle not clips.


Yes I see that.
I think they changed the design when they went with the newer General Transmission DI310 intuitive differential. Ergo the reason I thought these needed some help. I understand that water/salt can still get at the inner wheel/axle , but think having this outer clip end protected since it just be another access point for intrusion.


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## PlOM (Nov 12, 2020)

Like what you're doing with the new unit, and the caps look nice and functional. 

However, are the caps completely clear of the end of the inner shaft and the clip? If it's not, I wonder if the caps could be forced off as the wheel turns relative to the clip. (I think the center axle that the clip is attached to is separate from the axles that drive the wheels via a Woodruff key, and so might not be turning with the wheels.)


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

PlOM said:


> Like what you're doing with the new unit, and the caps look nice and functional.
> 
> However, are the caps completely clear of the end of the inner shaft and the clip? If it's not, I wonder if the caps could be forced off as the wheel turns relative to the clip. (I think the center axle that the clip is attached to is separate from the axles that drive the wheels via a Woodruff key, and so might not be turning with the wheels.)


Ariens wheels with the Auto-Turn differential are different to the wheels on the OP's Toro. Ariens wheel boss/hub is very short and will not accommodate the plastic covers. Also the spring retaining clip is a larger diameter than the wheel boss/hub.

The Ariens axle includes a long axle and a short axle. The long axle is splined to fit into the left side of differential and the short axle is splined to fit over the long axle on right side with the short axle splines fitting into the right side differential. The short axle has the wheel drive keyway and bushings to ride on the long axle. The short axle is splined to fit into the right side of differential and is retained to the long axle by a C clip on the long axle. The spring clip is positioned outboard of the C clip.


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## Mr. JT Monk (Oct 27, 2020)

PlOM said:


> Like what you're doing with the new unit, and the caps look nice and functional.
> 
> However, are the caps completely clear of the end of the inner shaft and the clip? If it's not, I wonder if the caps could be forced off as the wheel turns relative to the clip. (I think the center axle that the clip is attached to is separate from the axles that drive the wheels via a Woodruff key, and so might not be turning with the wheels.)


Yes. . . the hub caps are clear of the inner shaft and clip. I think I annoyed a couple vendors of these a bit asking dimensions. But, yes, about 1/16" to 1/8" space between inside of the cap and the end of the shaft and clip when the caps are on.
I also had the wheels off and checked for lube and woodruff key before doing all this. I wanted to make sure the factory had everything lubed up before devling into the snow we may get this weekend.
I also applied a thin coat of Permatex Hi-Tac non hardening sealer to the inside of the caps and let it set awhile before installing. They fit snug anyway, but I wanted to assure that the caps stayed on if bumped on something. No matter really . . they came in a set of 4 so I have spares.


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## Mr. JT Monk (Oct 27, 2020)

Town said:


> Ariens wheels with the Auto-Turn differential are different to the wheels on the OP's Toro. Ariens wheel boss/hub is very short and will not accommodate the plastic covers. Also the spring retaining clip is a larger diameter than the wheel boss/hub.
> 
> The Ariens axle includes a long axle and a short axle. The long axle is splined to fit into the left side of differential and the short axle is splined to fit over the long axle on right side with the short axle splines fitting into the right side differential. The short axle has the wheel drive keyway and bushings to ride on the long axle. The short axle is splined to fit into the right side of differential and is retained to the long axle by a C clip on the long axle. The spring clip is positioned outboard of the C clip.


Agree. . . like @PIOM i kind of studied the current Ariens and Toro parts diagrams before buying my Toro 928. Indeed, Ariens wheels and clip are different. Kind of glad the Toro design is the way it is. The caps fit nicely.
Like @captchas mentioned earlier, the older 928 and other blowers like my Craftsman/MTD with trigger steering, have the wheels bolted onto the axle.
So this new clip holding Toro and Ariens "Auto-Turn" wheels on makes them quick easy to remove, but not as stout as being bolted on. It just appears to me that if neglected, these clips and axle end are pretty exposed on both brands. Not sure about others.


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## deezlfan (Nov 8, 2017)

Like the caps. Gives it a cleaner appearance.


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## Mr. JT Monk (Oct 27, 2020)

Town said:


> Ariens wheels with the Auto-Turn differential are different to the wheels on the OP's Toro. Ariens wheel boss/hub is very short and will not accommodate the plastic covers. Also the spring retaining clip is a larger diameter than the wheel boss/hub.
> 
> The Ariens axle includes a long axle and a short axle. The long axle is splined to fit into the left side of differential and the short axle is splined to fit over the long axle on right side with the short axle splines fitting into the right side differential. The short axle has the wheel drive keyway and bushings to ride on the long axle. The short axle is splined to fit into the right side of differential and is retained to the long axle by a C clip on the long axle. The spring clip is positioned outboard of the C clip.


Yes. .. but this is about Toro, not Ariens. . . at least according to the thread title. . . .


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

Mr. JT Monk said:


> Yes. .. but this is about Toro, not Ariens. . . at least according to the thread title. . . .


Sorry, but @PIOM has shown an interest in the Ariens and Toro models, and his question seemed pertinent to me. So I thought I would address his question on the axle drive of the Ariens. Perhaps you could update him on the Toro axle drive to help him.


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## PlOM (Nov 12, 2020)

Town said:


> Perhaps you could update him on the Toro axle drive to help him.


Thanks.

As part of my ongoing "research" (and as has been suggested, perhaps taking it too far), I did look at the drive system, and also identified an apparent production change by Toro in the 928 (38840), based on the serial numbers. They went from having a full width, non-driven, support axle, with a long and short driven axles (with Woodruff keys) to having a long and short axle, one of which goes into the other, but each driven by separate splines in the differential, and the wheels locked to the axles with clevis pins. They also switched from using the General Transmission Di310 differential, to the Di300, according to the parts list. The later system, without the non-driven support axle, is the same as used in the newer Toro 828 (38830).










The later 928 drive is similar to that used by Ariens, where one axle goes into the other, but they are also driven separately from the differential. However, Ariens uses the Woodruff keys to drive the wheels and clips at the ends of the two axles to retain the wheels (as Toro had on the earlier production of 928s), as seen in this Ariens Deluxe diagram:


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## Mr. JT Monk (Oct 27, 2020)

Town said:


> Sorry, but @PIOM has shown an interest in the Ariens and Toro models, and his question seemed pertinent to me. So I thought I would address his question on the axle drive of the Ariens. Perhaps you could update him on the Toro axle drive to help him.


IT seems he is already was aware of the Toro and Ariens drive systems. He and I have talked about this several weeks ago...


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