# MTD - Cannot get broken shear pins out



## Pelican Joe (Feb 20, 2019)

I'm at my wit's end! I have a Yard Machine 10.5 hp 28 inch snowblower. It's roughly 8 years old. It's worked great, but recently had the shear pins go - all 4 of them. I was able to get the 2 out pins out using a punch and a hammer. It went very smoothly. The 2 inner pins have not been so easy. They broke off inside of the axle. I have read a lot of advice on this forum, but I have not had any luck.

I have tried using the punch and hammer - doing my best to make sure the holes were aligned. I was able to make a dent in the soft metal of the pin - but they would not budge.

I've tried Liquid Wrench and WD-40.

I've tried heating everything up.

I've tried drilling out the remains of the pin. This was semi-successful. I was able to get through one of the pins before the drill bit broke off (it's really cold outside). I went and got stronger bits - but now I can't get through at all. Not sure if this is because it's too cold outside and the metal is too hard.

I really don't know what else to do. I don't want to pull the auger out at this moment. We're still in the midst of a Wisconsin winter. I will do that when it gets warmer.

Any ideas? They are really stubborn. I can't seem to move them at all. The drill did appear to work - but I can't seem to replicate my earlier success.

It just doesn't seem like it should be this hard. I have read as many threads on this forum as I can. It seems like this is a common enough issue - but none of the tips I've seen have worked.

Thanks!!


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## strtch5881 (Oct 6, 2018)

Your drill bit needs to be sharpened. Depending on how fast your drill speed is and the lack of cutting oil can dull a bit pretty fast. Drilling bolts, low speed.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I've never had them be that difficult. Can you grind them out? Like using a small grinding stone on a Dremel? 

What kind of replacement drill bits did you buy? Drilling through an existing, broken, drill is difficult. Carbide drills should do it, but those are not super-common, and are brittle. What if you come in from the other side, where the drill did not break off? 

Are the pins definitely not threaded in the middle? No chance that they're threaded into something, explaining why they can't be driven out? 

I don't think the temperature would change the metal's behavior too much. 

Do you have a big C-clamp? You could a C-clamp to try and press the pin out. Since there's no raised pin head, you'd need to use something as a "poker", that can drive down inside the hole, to push on the pin. Perhaps a short bolt with a wide head, that's smaller than the pin diameter. On the back side of the auger, you need to provide a relief, so that the pin can have a place to push out. You could use a ratchet socket on the back side, between the clamp and the auger tube. The hole would provide a place for the pin to slide. A few washers stacked up might also work, with their holes over the pin. 

Will the augers spin on the shaft? If so, in a pinch, I suppose you could drill additional holes, and install new shear pins to the left or right of these? That's a bit of a project unto itself, of course, but it could help you get through the winter. I'd keep it as a last-resort, though.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Drilling bolts like this seems to be very risky. You have to be dead center otherwise you take a chance widening the hole and the replacement shear pin will be wobbling in the now larger hole widening the hole even further.

To get the maximum amount of power and pressure on the shear pin to force it out you MUST be using a punch that is the same size as the shear pin or close to it. Harbor Freight has a great cheap set. And you must be using a heavy hand sledge that has the weight when it strikes the punch. Not a hammer!!! Please, not a hammer. Then bang away, hard, swing! Put some silicon spray down the hole and synthetic oil. Heat will help but you really need a oxy acet torch, MAPP is hot but not hot enough.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

JLawrence08648 said:


> Drilling bolts like this seems to be very risky. You have to be dead center otherwise you take a chance widening the hole and the replacement shear pin will be wobbling in the now larger hole widening the hole even further.



If one shaft-hole is tight, and the other is wide, then it would be like only having one shear pin on that side, and when that tight one shears, then the "backup" shear pin would go into duty, and act as the primary shear pin. I doubt if you would even widen the hole, unless the shear pin were harder than the shaft - which would imply that you are using the wrong shear pin.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

I have what may be a simple solution and a not so simple solution. This is assuming you have 2 shear pins per auger rake.
First is slip a new shear pin into the hole you have cleared out, that should align the other hole. Cut a piece of 2x4 to go under the auger shaft and support it. Now you should be able to drive the other one out.


If it won't come out, pull the auger assembly, slide off the rakes and with the shaft exposed, support the shaft and drive the remnants of the old pins out.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I like the idea of supporting the auger shaft so you can really bang away at it, without stressing the gearbox too much. 

But I'm making an assumption that these are the "segmented" augers? The kind where a 24” blower has maybe 4 auger pieces total, a 32" has 6 auger pieces total, that sort of thing. And that each segment has 1 shear pin, and is independent of their neighbor. 

Is that the type that this machine uses? Or does each side have longer single auger, with multiple shear pins in it?


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

RedOctobyr said:


> I like the idea of supporting the auger shaft so you can really bang away at it, without stressing the gearbox too much.
> 
> But I'm making an assumption that these are the "segmented" augers? The kind where a 24” blower has maybe 4 auger pieces total, a 32" has 6 auger pieces total, that sort of thing. And that each segment has 1 shear pin, and is independent of their neighbor.
> 
> Is that the type that this machine uses? Or does each side have longer single auger, with multiple shear pins in it?


Good point, hadn't thought about a segmented Auger assembly. Definitely want that answered. Pulling the auger assembly should work regardless, but more work if not needed to be done that way.


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## gibbs296 (Jun 22, 2014)

Ball joint press might work. They are available for rental many places. Getting the adaptors to work could be challenging.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Ball joint press is a great idea. I'm pretty sure Oreilly has a loaner, Auto Zone listed this one.

https://www.autozone.com/loan-a-too...3-pcs-ball-joint-u-joint-press-set/449947_0_0

.


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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Ball joint press is a great idea. I'm pretty sure Oreilly has a loaner, Auto Zone listed this one.
> 
> https://www.autozone.com/loan-a-too...3-pcs-ball-joint-u-joint-press-set/449947_0_0
> 
> .



Yeah - worth a try - beating the **** out of it without supporting the auger somehow could get ugly..... otherwise you might take a coupl of 2x4's cut to a length with a v_groove you can support the auger in and try puching them out with a BFH.... lol but that would be my last ditch effort. Good luck!


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

gibbs296 said:


> Ball joint press might work. They are available for rental many places. Getting the adaptors to work could be challenging.


Sounds like a great approach. Along the lines of what I was trying to suggest with a big C-clamp, but with putting a wrench on this, it can generate much more force than when using your fingers to tighten a C-clamp. Though I guess you could still use Vise Grips or something on a C-clamp, to help twist it harder.


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## groomerz (Feb 7, 2015)

I’m not familiar with your model but it looks like segmented augers 2 per side 4 total with a spacer between them. Is this what you have?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Sid (Jan 31, 2014)

Make sure that the punch is not pointed ]center punch] as it will expand the end of the bolt you are driving. As posted it is important to strongly support the auger shaft, while you drive the pin out. If when you drill, start with a drill the same size as the bolt, it won't drill very well, but it will give a center mark to start drilling, use cobalt bits as they are a little harder than most bits. And maybe drill from both ends. Use cutting oil.
Sid


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