# Craftsman (MTD) Transmission blown Part 1733972



## edgenet (Jan 11, 2016)

Craftsman (MTD) Transmission blown Part 1733972

Hi Guys I have this nice snowblower and it seemed like the engine was seized it turned out to be the sealed transmission unit. What a crazy set-up. 1st I can's seem to remove the wheel axel that holds the two large gears and they are made of plastic. Next the complete sealed transmission is $300 US that will be like $600 Canadian with taxes.

Has anyone had the same problem and can anyone share a few tips on how to remove the axel as a 1st step. Thanks


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

:welcome: to the forum edgenet


I'm not coming up with anything using that part number.
What is the machines model number ??

You might want to try Sears Canada Parts 1-800-4 MY HOME


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

Black plastic transmission made by GT that uses a variable split pulley/snowmobile clutch? They're junk. I lost track of how many we replaced under warranty a few years ago. Believe it or not the plastic aspect of the transmission is rarely the problem though. It's the cone clutches and ball bearings that fly apart. Sometimes those split pulleys will fly apart too, but it's a lot less common.


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## edgenet (Jan 11, 2016)

edgenet said:


> Craftsman (MTD) Transmission blown Part 1733972
> 
> Hi Guys I have this nice snowblower and it seemed like the engine was seized it turned out to be the sealed transmission unit. What a crazy set-up. 1st I can's seem to remove the wheel axel that holds the two large gears and they are made of plastic. Next the complete sealed transmission is $300 US that will be like $600 Canadian with taxes.
> 
> Has anyone had the same problem and can anyone share a few tips on how to remove the axel as a 1st step. Thanks


Here is the link to the parts from Sears, also note the axle is assembled in a middle to allow each side to spin independently also note the axel is covered by a plastic tube. The tube covers the axel and can not see how to split the axel. How do I remove the axel ???

http://www.sears.ca/deploy/repair-m...50-521260-0_500_20M314--0137--F1_BOM_2011.pdf


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## edgenet (Jan 11, 2016)

94EG8 said:


> Black plastic transmission made by GT that uses a variable split pulley/snowmobile clutch? They're junk. I lost track of how many we replaced under warranty a few years ago. Believe it or not the plastic aspect of the transmission is rarely the problem though. It's the cone clutches and ball bearings that fly apart. Sometimes those split pulleys will fly apart too, but it's a lot less common.


Here is a picture of the transmission. My other problem is how to remove the axel so I can get to the tranny. I am fixing these for a customer and I do not want to call him till I have some straight answers and suggestions on what to do with this Pig.


http://www.sears.ca/deploy/repair-m...50-521260-0_500_20M314--0137--F1_BOM_2011.pdf


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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

You will have to split the unit in half and then remove the pulley so that you can then pull the trans/auger assembly for final disassembly to get to the trans. soemtimes those pulleys and impellers can get rusted to the shaft...... it can be a bear! Lots of PB Blaster and sometimes heat may be needed. Good luck!

You might order the bearings while your at it - they can get hurt in the process......plus it's nice to know they are good


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## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

edgenet said:


> Here is a picture of the transmission. My other problem is how to remove the axel so I can get to the tranny. I am fixing these for a customer and I do not want to call him till I have some straight answers and suggestions on what to do with this Pig.


Since I don't think I can help you with your repair, I will try to offer a copy of a picture I think you are referring to in the 96 page document you linked to.
Is this what you were asking about?


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

edgenet said:


> Here is a picture of the transmission. My other problem is how to remove the axel so I can get to the tranny. I am fixing these for a customer and I do not want to call him till I have some straight answers and suggestions on what to do with this Pig.


You don't remove the axle to get the tranny, you remove the engine, take the whole top plate off. It's been a few years since I did one of these but I'm pretty sure you can leave the engine bolted to the plate. Then simply unbolt the 4 bolts going through the sides of the machines that thread into the brackets bolted to the transmission, you can then lift the transmission with brackets still attached out.

I changed a ton of these when I was doing small engine repair and I could do one in about an hour and twenty minutes start to finish if I remember correctly. If you're feeling brave split the trans when you have it out and see what happened. Sometimes you can replace the bearings if they've flown apart and it'll work for a while. Rev C was the current revision when I was fixing these and they were just as bad as Rev A as far as I could tell. These things just flat out suck now matter how you slice it and a new one will fly apart too, it's just a matter of when.


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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

What is the common failure point on those?


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

When I was working on them I think models that used that transmission had been out for a season. Some of them were on their 3rd transmission. It starts with the machine not moving when the auger housing digs in, then after a while they just all fly apart internally.

I always found it interesting that as soon as people saw plastic transmission they assumed junk, which is absolutely true, but as I stated earlier it actually had nothing to do with the transmission being made out of plastic. It was mostly the steel bearings and the cone clutches that were problematic.


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## edgenet (Jan 11, 2016)

How do I remove the axel. I tried tapping it on both sides NO Go I do not want to break the large plastic gears.


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## edgenet (Jan 11, 2016)

dbert

thank-you for posting the Pic. I am trying not to break anything on this snowblower, it's a customers of mine.


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

edgenet said:


> How do I remove the axel. I tried tapping it on both sides NO Go I do not want to break the large plastic gears.


Again, you do not remove the axle to get to the transmission.


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## edgenet (Jan 11, 2016)

94EG8 said:


> Again, you do not remove the axle to get to the transmission.


Sorry I missed your thread above. I will try and follow your directions. I am leaving this job for the summer to cold and too busy working on other blowers these days. Best solution would be to retro fit an old style friction disk set-up. This tranny is to expensive.


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

A lot of times you can take the unit apart and fix it. Not always but pretty often.


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

Sometimes you can take those transmissions apart and fix them depending on what broke. You can get the bearings from an industrial supply house.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)




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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

Interesting..... haven't seen one of these yet. Not looking forward to it.!


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## Bob Cat (Jul 15, 2014)

Thanks Shryp for that link. What a piece of useless, expensive, overengineered waste of plastic.


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