# Help !! Where to find Driftbreaker Auger/Impeller Pulley



## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

I made a homemade puller to remove the auger pulley (part number 48388) for my 1984 craftsman driftbreaker 10 hp 32" (model number 536.882700). Well, I destroyed the pulley while trying to remove. I looked on Ebay and found one but the guy wants almost $60 for it. Are there different pulleys that will work under a different part number of brand that is cheaper ? Or does anyone know where to get this pulley at a reasonable price ? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Larry


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## Marty013 (Mar 14, 2014)

which pulley you talking about exactly&& the one for the belt? or the chain pulley for the 3rd stage up top?? im assuming the belt pulley correct?


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

The large belt pulley that mounts to the gearbox shaft. This pulley drives the auger/impeller. The pulley is right in front of the main auger bearing


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Larry

I think I have a couple in the parts pile. One is 'fair' to say the best on it. It was rusted through in a couple of spots. The other one is from a 5 hp but I think it's the same od as the bigger frame units. I had to drill a couple of 3/4" holes in it to put a bearing puller on it because it was rusted on the impeller shaft solid. Because this is a slow speed pulley I don't think it would be an issue. It's not pretty but it should work out.

I'm willing to do a 'pay it forward' here, either is yours for the cost of packaging and shipping (assuming I can find them). Get the diameter off the damaged one and P.M. me your email address and I can send you a couple of pictures so you can see what they look like. If you want one of them, get me your address and pay the shipping and it's yours. May be a week or 2 before I can ship it, but hopefully that won't be a problem.

I found I'd taken a picture of the one that was pitted so bad, I'm attaching it so you can see what that one looks like.

Paul


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## Marty013 (Mar 14, 2014)

for the belt pulley.. could one of the same OD off a random machine be used as well?? i mean if the keyhole and shaft size work out... the OD works out.. if your old one is trust worthy for meassurments to compare might be worth to bring it to your local shop(s) and go from there


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

Paul. Thanks so much for your help. I'll send you the dimensions. I really appreciate it.


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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

Hope that works out - $60 is ridiculous even for a new one!


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

Yes. That's a possibility. I'm sure its a standard pulley. There is no way I'm paying a guy $60 bucks for a used pulley. I'm going to get the measurements tonight and see if Paul has one that he is willing to sell. Larry


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

*Impeller/Auger Pulley*

Hi Paul, I tried to send you a private message to you but it wouldn't let me because it says I need at least 15 posts before I can PM. I'm getting back to you about my impeller/auger sheath pulley (part #48388) that I mangled while trying to remove. You said that you may have one available. I don't have it off yet because its being stubborn, but I was able to get some very accurate measurements.

The overall diameter is 8-3/8" Diameter.

The impeller shaft diameter is 3/4" so I am assuming the pulley ID bore is 3/4" as well.

The bore stem sticking out is 1" long.

The "V" groove at the widest at the top is 1/2" wide.

The "V" groove depth is 9/16" deep (measured vertically straight down not at the angle).

Does this make sense? The guy that's selling pulley #48388 on fleabay says that the bore is 5/8" diameter however my bore diameter is 3/4". Is he right or am I measuring wrong. Do you have the right pulley that I can buy from you. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Just so you can get a chuckle, I've attached a picture of the mangled pulley that I still haven't gotten off. My quest in life right now is to remove this pulley not matter what. Take no prisoners !! This pulley MUST DIE !!


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Email sent

Beg, buy or borrow one of these: http://www.harborfreight.com/bearing-separator-and-puller-set-93980.html
You can borrow them from Autozone among other places and though won't be used a lot I've gotten enough use to justify buying one.


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## sidegrinder (Apr 18, 2015)

Just to clear things up, the driven pulleys on your machine look almost identical and have the same outer diameter. The difference is the bore of the hubs. The gearbox pulley is 5/8" and the auger pulley is 3/4". If you cant find what you need elsewhere, let me know and I will take a look. I know I sold a set of both back in January, but I may have others. In defense of the ebay seller, if someone is willing to pay $60, then that is what it's worth. He may be waiting a long time for that someone though...


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

Ahh, that explains it. The pulley on the tranny is 5/8" bore and the pulley on the imp shaft is 3/4". Thanks for clearing that up. Also I appreciate your offer, but Paul is sending me out an extra pulley that he has. Thanks again, Larry


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

I have swapped the impeller pulley between a 5 HP and 7 HP Craftsman blower with the Tecumseh transmission, both have a 3/4" shaft and the same pulley on them as I've swapped them before and used the same bearing on both. Ironically I've not checked the transmission shaft diameter between the 2 models mainly because the 4-5 HP ones have a smaller diameter pulley on them. It's possible some of the smaller hp ones have a smaller diameter shaft on them but definitely not all of them. I have taken a 4 speed one out of one of the 5 hp ones and used it in a 7 hp one and used the original pulley from the 7 hp and it fit fine. 

It's possible some units may have different diameter shafts with the same diameter pulleys but I've yet to notice or run into one.

The 2 impeller pulleys I offered Larry the choice of, one is from a 5 hp and the other from a 10 HP. Diameter is with in 1/32" of each other. Belt depth and width are the same and both had 3/4" impeller shafts. Worst case if you ran into a 3/4" pulley and had a 5/8" shaft, it could always be sleeved.


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## Vermont007 (Mar 29, 2015)

bigragu98 said:


> Just so you can get a chuckle, I've attached a picture of the mangled pulley that I still haven't gotten off. My quest in life right now is to remove this pulley not matter what. Take no prisoners !! This pulley MUST DIE !!


Have you tried applying a little heat?

Sometimes, just the heat from a Propane Torch is enough . . . . maybe with intermittent doses of penetrating oil.


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## 404 (Feb 1, 2015)

A stamped steel pulley will not withstand being pulled by the rim. Drilling 3 holes right by the hub, and using a tripod style puller hub with nuts and bolts might have done it.

The bearing tool shown above is very nice, but is not big enough to clear the over all pulley diameter.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

To use this on a pulley like that, you have to drill a couple of holes through the pulley. You unbolt one of the pullers and slip it around the shaft and tighten it up, not tight on the impeller shaft below the pulley. Add the uprights and the upper portion and pull away. Use some penetrant, some heat etc. Occasionally I will rap the screw with a hammer then use an impact wrench on the screw and they come off.

Larry - the pulley is in the mail. Sent an email.


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

Thanks gentlemen for all your ideas. I did drill two holes and attached a puller with bolts going through the holes and the main bolt in the center that I turned and it pushed down on the shaft pulling up on the pulley. Its on so tight that is just folded up the pulley. My pulley is now "U" shaped. I found the answer folks. Its called an AIR GRINDER. I'm cutting that sucker off tomorrow. Again, take no prisoners. Also, Paul I measured the tranny pulley and it is infact 5/8" bore whereas the imp pulley is 3/4". Why would they do that ? For simplicity sake, I would think they would both make it 3/4" and use the same pulley ?


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

Paul, thanks again for the pulley. I appreciate it. Looks like I'll have to pull my summerized Ariens Pro 28" out of the shed. We are expecting to get about 4"-6" of snow on Sunday in Mass.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

bigragu98 said:


> Also, Paul I measured the tranny pulley and it is infact 5/8" bore whereas the imp pulley is 3/4". Why would they do that ? For simplicity sake, I would think they would both make it 3/4" and use the same pulley ?


 Apparently didn't explain it well enough. On the 7-10 HP Craftsman's with the Tecumseh tranny, the tranny shaft is 3/4" The impeller and tranny pulleys are the same size. On the 5 HP Craftsman's, the impeller pulley is the same as the 7-10 hp ones. The tranny pulley is smaller diameter on the 5 hp. Now having said all this, I have taken a tranny from a 5 HP and used it on a 7 HP and used the 7 HP pulley, which is 3/4". Now I have not measured every tranny on the 5 HP ones I've torn down. It's possible some could be 5/8" shafts on the tranny on some of them, I haven't measured them all so I don't know for sure.


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

*Impeller Pulley*

Well I finally beat the machine !!! I got the sucker off. Thank God for Air tools and cutoff wheels. Check out the picture for a chuckle. Anyone want a mangled impeller pulley. Its quite a souvenir. Last question. I now need to take off the main impeller bearing. Is that Loctite'd on or is it the newer cam lock style bearing ? Any help would be appreciated ? Also I looked on Sears Parts Direct website, they want $50 for the impeller bearing !! Thats nuts. Does anyone know what cheaper generic bearing would work. I don't need the bearing flange just the bearing. Sears calls it impeller bearing part #53266


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

OK Larry, here's on the bearing. You don't need to buy the bearing assembly through Sears, it's over priced. Now is the time to check out the full auger assembly.
First off unbolt the bearing housing from the auger assembly. Also unbolt the bushings off the ends of the auger shaft. You can now slide the whole internals in the chassis backwards to get a little more room. Carefully pry off the bearing housing off the bearing. Now is the time to use a bearing puller like I showed to remove the bearing from the impeller shaft. Clean up the shaft first and shoot the bearing with penetrating oil first and have at it with the bearing puller, it should come off. If a problem, cut off the outer race with your cutoff wheel after pulling that mount housing off the bearing first. You might have to take off one of the end panels but pull the whole auger assembly out to check the bushings in the auger case.
With the assembly out, rotate the impeller shaft so it's furtherest forward and mark it (I use tape) Rotate it so it moves back and see how much it moves. If it's excessive (about 3/16" or more) you're going to need to replace the bushing on the back side of the impeller shaft in the gearcase. You'd need to split the auger case, pull the impeller off after removing the 2 roll pins and unbolting it from it's hub. The bushings are the same on both the impeller shaft and the auger shafts, now is the time to change them and the seals if they're worn. The front bushing is a smaller size and I don't remember that number. If you split the auger housing, you will need a new seal between the 2 halves or use RTV for reassembling it. IIRC, use 30 weight oil in the auger gearcase.
Getting back to the bearing, it's a standard size unit, available in most supply houses or Ebay. Press the old one out of the housing and press the new replacement back in and it's ready to go. There's a picture of one I used on a few machines, go it at a bearing supply place online. IIRC it's 1/2" wide but you can use 7/16" with a little adjusting. Once you have changed out you parts, put the auger assembly back into the housing and reassemble that, measure from the back of the impeller to the edge of the housing where the bearing goes. Once you have that, shim it to take up future slack and reduce wear, if you used a 7/16" bearing, add another 1/16" to your shim pack.
Once you have all that done, reassemble your impeller pulley and you're pretty much done in here. Use anti-seize on the screws and shaft under the bearing and pulley and put it all together. Once together, spin the impeller bearing to insure everything turns easily and you're done with the auger.

That's pretty much it.

Paul


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

Once again. Thanks Paul. I got the bearing out and have the auger, gearbox, impeller assembly out of the housing. Next challenge, the augers are so fused onto the shaft with rust. I'm going to heat with MAP gas and try to press the augers out out with my 20 ton hydraulic press. One last question what does IIRC mean ??


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## Vermont007 (Mar 29, 2015)

IIRC is, If I remember correctly . . . . IIRC


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

Thanks Vermont007. I'll catch on it just may take some time.

Paul, good news. The play in the imp shaft is only 2/16" so I'm going to leave the gearcase alone for now. Should I even bother trying to free up the augers on the shaft? I figured that if I left the augers on without the shear pins and ran it into a snowbank next season that would free up the augers. Is my theory worth trying? Lastly, I couldn't read the bearing number on the picture that you posted. Can you post the manufacturer and bearing number for the impeller bearing. Thanks, Larry


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

IIRC - yes it's If I remember correctly

Here's a couple of threads that may be useful.

Don't like one control that works both the auger and drive: Splitting the drive and auger controls on a Craftsman Snowblower in Modification Projects/Topics Forum

If you have hard rubber tires and want to go pneumatics: Modifying a snowblower from hard rubber tires to pneumatic tires in Modification Projects/Topics Forum

Rebuilding a 5 hp that includes rusted up augers and how to get them off at home: Auger Housing Repair/Rebuild in Project How To's Forum

And rebuilding a 10 HP Driftbuster: Evaluating a used snowblower purchase and proceeding with a rebuild in Project How To's Forum

Larry, that pulley I sent may look familiar, one is the one I sent you.

Hope that helps someone

Paul


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

Awesome job on the snowblower that you restored. You Sir are a professional, where as I'm a hacker. Yes, in your restoration pictures you mentioned bearing 1630-2RS so thats what I'll get. Do you need to use a retaining compound like Loctite680 in order to fasten the inner race of the bearing to the impeller shaft? I know that on my old TroyBilt (it was a real GardenWay Troybilt not an MTD Troybilt) the bearing was a cam lock style where you would twist the inner race and it would tighten up onto the impeller shaft. Pretty fascinating concept. I suspect that if bearing 1630-2RS is not a cam lock style that it would need a retaining compound.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

The bearing bolts do not truly take that much pressure, though I like to use Loctite or self locking nuts.

Here's my thoughts on the augers, assuming they're currently rusted onto the shaft. If you used grade 8 bolts and hit something, you're likely going to break something. Same thing with auger rakes rusted onto the shafts, if you hit something the shaft and auger rake is locked together and the pressure is going to be transferred to the item with the least strength, likely the auger case in this case. You have it apart, fix it now.

I've heard of others taking out the shear pins and using the machines and have the rakes come loose over time. I've not had that luxury. That thread I listed on the 5 HP above lists how I do it pretty much on any machine. Once loose, clean them up, paint them and use antiseize on the shaft and you're good to go.

That's it.

Paul


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

Hi Paul. I think you misunderstood my question about Loctite. When you install the imp bearing on the shaft there has to be some way to fasten the inner race of the bearing to the shaft. If you don't, the shaft will flop in and out on the bearing. In my limited experience I've seen two ways of fastening the bearing to the shaft 1. the bearing is loctited on to the shaft or 2. its a special bearing called a cam-lock bearing that has an eccentric on the inner race that will "lock' onto the shaft when twisted. My old Troybilt bearing was initially loctited on from the factory but when I replaced the failed bearing it called for the revised cam lock bearing. I am assuming that on these old Craftsman machines, the bearing is to be loctited onto the impeller shaft or perhaps its such a tight press fit that the bearing does not need to be loctited. I don't know what the correct method is on these old Craftsman machines.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Larry

Guess I'm not understanding why they would have loctite'd the shaft to the bearing on your old machine. On the Craftsman the impeller shaft just slides through the bearing on these machines. I clean up the shaft so the bearing slides through the bearing and use some anti-seize on the shaft so it doesn't rust together over time. The shaft may move in-and-out a little depending on how much play you have in the gearbox and that's where the shims I mentioned come into play. If you look at that picture I showed with the worn bushing on the impeller shaft, that normally takes the pressure. I like to use a 3/4" i.d. shim pack from FleetFarm (local farm supply store) and once everything is assembled up front in the auger housing, measure the distance from the inside of the impeller assembly hub to the where the front edge of the impeller bearing sits. Take about 1/32" off that distance and gather up the number of shims to fill that space and slip those shims first on the impeller shaft once greased with some white grease, then bolt the bearing and pulley on. This is one of my mods, to my thinking when the impeller shaft turns because of the worm gear in the auger gearcase when it turns it's going to want to push backwards towards the tractor unit. That shim pack will limit the amount of distance the shaft can move before those bushings take up the space and because it only allows the shaft to move backwards about 1/32" before the impeller assembly will now press against the front of the bearing via the shims. I've been doing this for maybe 10+ years and not had an issue with it. I've even done it to one that had more play in the impeller shaft movement than I was happy with but didn't want to tear down the auger gearcase (machine for one of my kids), once the shims were in place virtually all that movement was gone.

I found a picture of one of the augers I shimmed, hopefully you can see it. All I do to the shims is use a bunch of white grease on them before putting them in. If you look at the picture of the shaft you can see how the shims on the back of the impeller in the auger housing can wear over time (admittedly this was likely 20-30 years of hard use) but to me it's easier to change out those shims if ever needed to be redone rather than tear down the auger gearcase to redo bushings in there.


Hope that helps.

Paul


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## Vermont007 (Mar 29, 2015)

bigragu98 said:


> ". . . there has to be some way to fasten the inner race of the bearing to the shaft . . ."


No; that Shaft floats inside the Bearing, which just keeps it aligned. The Impeller Pulley is what *has to be* firmly attached to the Impeller Shaft.


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## bigragu98 (Feb 15, 2016)

OK. Thanks Gentlemen. I think the purpose of the machines that have the imp bearing either loctited or that use the newer style cam lock bearing was so that the shim kit would not be needed. If the bearing is loctited the bearing flange will hold the bearing in tight to the housing and since the inner race is loctited onto the shaft, there will be no forward to backward movement on the shaft in the gearbox, therefore negating the need of the shim kit. When I replaced the imp bearing on my old Troybilt, it called for the newer style cam lock bearing and I pushed the shaft forward as far as it would go into the gearbox and then locked the bearing onto the shaft and there was never any front to back movement after that.


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