# 17yr old Simplicity Pro 32 bent impeller - how?



## SteveKoz (Nov 17, 2014)

I share this Pro 32 with a neighbor. It has been an awesome machine from day one. Over the last few years she hasn't been throwing the snow as far as it use to. I tried replacing the belts but that didn't do much. Where I use to clear the driveway with one throw I now have to throw it twice. Not fun. I bought it to a local dealer to give it the once over and he said the belt needed tightening. Other then that she should be fine. Cost me $100. Last storm it performed just as bad as ever. Today I bought it to another dealer who sells "as is" equipment figuring I would just sell this one and buy a new one. Guy looks in the housing and says, your impeller is bent. Not just a little but wow bent. Here's a pic.









He said all I need to do is heat up the fins with a torch and bend them back over. I tried to do that in the parking lot but realized it wasn't going to be as easy and it sounds. These fins are pretty heavy metal. I left it with the dealer to fix. He just called saying it's going to be apx $600 to fix since the impeller has to be replaced.. can't just bend back. I asked him to do a compression test on the motor to see if it's still strong before fixing anything. Will find out on Monday. Long way to get to my question but here it is.. How could this get bent that bad? I thought maybe a fist size rock but that would have made some serious noise especially when bending all 4 blades. Just looking for some thoughts. Thanks


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

Wow! I am in the wrong business.

A $100 to just tighten the belt!
$600 to replace the impeller!

Edit,
You would be better off buying another blower. and I would not buy it off of those two.

The reason....someone ate something while blowing...maybe a cat or dog?
Something hard got sucked into it. That shouldn't do that just from age?


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## liftoff1967 (Jan 15, 2014)

What does the neighbor have to say? I blame him (unless "you" chewed up the neighborhood dog, cat, or cinder block)

Have you (or the neighbor) taken out the shear pins and greased them? I'm surprised they held up to whatever got to the impeller to bend it like it is. I learned with my first blower to take out the shear pins after every season and grease them, otherwise they rust in solid, doing no good when I was at my daughters for the first time snowblowing and found a landscape rock. No good!


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## liftoff1967 (Jan 15, 2014)

Steve, here's a thought. Take the impeller out, go to a local sheet metal shop that has a press brake. They should be able to bend it back into shape for ya.

Where you located at? Being a sheet metal salesman, I know of a few shops around the US. It's a long shot, but maybe I can help ya out before ya spend 600 bones.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

even a small rock can bend them. I know that first hand. I had to spend 200.00 on a new impeller.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

what he said...remove the impeller and shaft from the unit. once you get it out in the open, you can work. heat the bent hinged creased area CHERRY RED with a torch, then bend it back with vice grips, or a sledgehammer. I have a Gilson 55012 that had similar bent vanes on impeller. I straightened it per above, and then had the local machine shop weld it up to brace it, so it would not bend so easy again. that one also had a bent impeller shaft that had to be replaced. it was not that expensive but it was time consuming. do yourself a favor, while you're in there, change the rear impeller support bearing. 

how does it happen ? I don't think from any single impact or ingestion of large rocks, sticks, or debris....I think they slowly get twisted out of shape as the years go by, from hitting successive obstacles one after another, like blows from a hammer, slowly bending it over. also the strain of pushing the snow probably moves them a few thou every year. it's a cumulative thing. just last night my Luminaire shut off while clearing some relatively shallow snow. I disengaged the clutch, and it started right back up. Looked inside the chute, there was a rock stuck between one impeller blade and side of housing- really wedged in there. it did not bend things like that. it may also be the design and hardness of the impeller itself. the Gilson blowers I own, have soft metallurgy compared to the Ariens and Cadet. so some will bend easier than others. they cut corners and cost, by not heat treating to as high a spec hardness.

the worst thing about the whole impeller job, is the impeller pulley if it's pressed on to the impeller shaft. the ariens type is way ahead in that the drive pulley is not on the impeller shaft, but cogged to it by a dog clutch yoke. those are easy to get apart, just take the set screws off and they slide right off

pressed on impeller pulleys are a beetch...

you may want to comb Ebay and Craigslist and other used parts sources, see if you can just find one in good shape, to drop in there shaft and all. save yourself a lot of worky...


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

600 bucks is just too much to fix an old machine unless you are really in love with it.
Being a Simplicity 32" a replacement would be spendy but 600 just isn't reasonable to me. I'd try to be handy or find a friend who could repair or replace the impeller.

You also need to get approval as the neighbor who shares the unit should be kicking in 300 bucks. At least in my world he should.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

yeh 600 is salty...I think that's all I spent on all my machines put together to buy them !


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

Yeah, I agree with all the above. $100 for a belt change is probably twice what it should be, and the impeller repair or replace is excessive. Possibly exceeding the value of the machine, which should have also been advised to you prior to the repair.


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## Laundryboy (Oct 18, 2014)

I picked up a rock once that really did a number on mine. I removed the impeller myself and took it to a repair shop, it cost twenty dollars.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Impeller*

Here's a couple of suggestions. First off, $600 for an impeller is very high IMO for the cost of that repair.

I've straightened multiples before. I removed the impeller and auger from the housing first. There likely is one or two roll pins holding the impeller on the shaft, drive them out and it should come off the shaft. Using a Maap torch, heat the vanes to cherry red with it blocked or clamped so it won't move and then hooked a large crescent or vice grip wrench on the vane, bent it back into shape while the metal was still cherry red. At least one of them looks like you're going to have to heat it up in more than one area. Start closest to the backing plate and do that first then cool that and heat it up closer to the tip.

I also had one that was very bad. Had a parts machine with a good impeller in it, so I just swapped them. Simple solution that worked because the models were close enough for parts swapping.

Propane torch isn't hot enough for most impellers I've worked on. You need at least a Maap or acetylene torch to warm the metal out to cherry red to bend them back into shape without breaking. I would not just try to bend it back into shape without heat, it will likely break attempting that.

Good luck, hope this helped.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

Laundryboy said:


> I picked up a rock once that really did a number on mine. I removed the impeller myself and took it to a repair shop, it cost twenty dollars.



after jamming a rock in one of my machines, got to thinking maybe this is one area where a paddle kit may help- the rock was jammed in the relatively large gap on this old machine, between the impeller blade and housing. if there was a paddle kit installed, it would have sealed that gap and tossed the rock out instead

but the dangerous downside is, then the rock would come flying out with the force of a slingshot.

after all the stones I picked up with 2 blowers last week, in the close quarters to cars and neighbors' homes, don't think I'd want to be tossing stones with great velocity out of the machine...those paddle kits are nice for pavement and concrete, but don't know about that with a gravel driveway...it may turn the machine into a gatling gun


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## SteveKoz (Nov 17, 2014)

Thanks for the replies. I don't want to blame the neighbor but that was my first thought too. Repair shop number 2 said it could happen over time, heavy snow, ice, etc.. but after trying to rebend them back wet snow didn't make sense. Many years ago we had a gravel driveway and we broke a few shear pins. Haven't broke any since paving the driveway over 10 years ago. Maybe the damage was started then and slowly got worse over the years.

I was going to blow off the first shop as a "never shop there again" and leave it at that BUT it's a mom and pop business and Pop didn't work on my blower. I called him to let him know what someone in his shop felt was good service by not checking the impeller. The only reason I bought it to him was to check why it wasn't throwing snow and you would think the impeller would be a part you check. He appreciated me giving him the heads up and said he would investigate.. what he does now is on him.. I'll never bring in anything for servicing there unless he calls me back after he investigates.. not likely. 

I thought about fixing or trying to fix this unit myself BUT being partners with someone takes away the fun. One reason I stopped trying to bend the blades was the thought about breaking one and then it's my fault so it becomes my responsibility to get it fixed. $150 to have them rebend to the proper shape (my cost $75) seemed reasonable. I like repair shop 2. He could have taken me pretty easy. I went there telling him I want to put this in the As Is lot and sell it and buy a new one. To me, I already had it checked over and it was just a tired machine. He said he wouldn't get rid of this machine, it's an animal. He even suggested me doing the labor to save the $150. Since it's already at his shop, as long as the motor is still strong I'll let him fix it. He said apx. $550 to do the job including a new scraper bar. I rounded to $600 just cause that's what usually happens. $300 my cost and I get a fixed machine seems to make sense. BUT just in case he says it's more... should I get a new Simplicity or Ariens?


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I can cut and past 14 pages of discussion or we can wait to see if you get it fixed. 
Tell us which Simplicity and Ariens models you're thinking of and what $$ they run in your area and who they are available from.


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## JerryD (Jan 19, 2014)

This past spring I replaced the massively bent impeller in my Toro 832. If I had to pay someone to do it, it would have easily been over $600.00 in labor alone. I actually had to make a puller to push the shaft out of the bearing. 
I would absolutely invest some sweat to at least take it apart in order to save some money.


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

SteveKoz said:


> Thanks for the replies. I don't want to blame the neighbor but that was my first thought too. Repair shop number 2 said it could happen over time, heavy snow, ice, etc.. but after trying to rebend them back wet snow didn't make sense. Many years ago we had a gravel driveway and we broke a few shear pins. Haven't broke any since paving the driveway over 10 years ago. Maybe the damage was started then and slowly got worse over the years.
> 
> I was going to blow off the first shop as a "never shop there again" and leave it at that BUT it's a mom and pop business and Pop didn't work on my blower. I called him to let him know what someone in his shop felt was good service by not checking the impeller. The only reason I bought it to him was to check why it wasn't throwing snow and you would think the impeller would be a part you check. He appreciated me giving him the heads up and said he would investigate.. what he does now is on him.. I'll never bring in anything for servicing there unless he calls me back after he investigates.. not likely.
> 
> I thought about fixing or trying to fix this unit myself BUT being partners with someone takes away the fun. One reason I stopped trying to bend the blades was the thought about breaking one and then it's my fault so it becomes my responsibility to get it fixed. $150 to have them rebend to the proper shape (my cost $75) seemed reasonable. I like repair shop 2. He could have taken me pretty easy. I went there telling him I want to put this in the As Is lot and sell it and buy a new one. To me, I already had it checked over and it was just a tired machine. He said he wouldn't get rid of this machine, it's an animal. He even suggested me doing the labor to save the $150. Since it's already at his shop, as long as the motor is still strong I'll let him fix it. He said apx. $550 to do the job including a new scraper bar. I rounded to $600 just cause that's what usually happens. $300 my cost and I get a fixed machine seems to make sense. BUT just in case he says it's more... should I get a new Simplicity or Ariens?


The impeller should be the first thing to check...if not the second thing.
Like I said I am in the wrong business if that is what the shops are getting. And they do the same with other yard machines.
I have never brought anything to a repair shop yet. That still sounds high to me? How much is the new impeller by it's self? 
But if you don't have the tools and a little mechanical knowledge I guess you have no other option. 

Heck, for another couple of hundred you can buy a nice new machine? You could pick up something decent for $800. Or depending on what you need maybe cheaper.
And yours is 17 years old?
As long as your driveways are not a mile long with a 5% grade, you folks could get a new one? 
New is nice.


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## SteveKoz (Nov 17, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> I can cut and past 14 pages of discussion or we can wait to see if you get it fixed.
> Tell us which Simplicity and Ariens models you're thinking of and what $$ they run in your area and who they are available from.


Thanks.. Plan was to drop off my 32 Pro in the As Is lot and pickup the Simplicity H1730E. That unit seems to be the best in their lineup for the money. Had to pickup a chain saw part from another place and the Ariens Platinum 30 looked pretty good too. Both are $1599.. Both are from dealers in CT.


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## shoptool (Feb 5, 2017)

Laundryboy said:


> I picked up a rock once that really did a number on mine. I removed the impeller myself and took it to a repair shop, it cost twenty dollars.


Wow, that impeller is also just like my Simplicity 32. that was given to me by a neighbor as is.
I will try to take apart & bend them back & weld some triangle bracket behind each blade. 
Pre-drill some holes in the blades to accept, some rubber belting I will install to stop slush build up.
Also replace any bearings, as well on that shaft.


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## JayzAuto1 (Jul 25, 2016)

IDK Guys, Is there more to this story?? You would expect to find damage to the impeller housing also. Granted, it's only part of the picture, BUT, Something large enough to bend FOUR Impeller Blades BACKWARDS???? And NO DAMAGE to the Housing??? Was it Painted AFTER the Damage??? And nobody knows nothing??? IDK, more to this story. 
Also, hard to say what's too high of a price..... What else is included in that price?? Are they new parts? I agree, $600 for a used impeller is high. OR, is it $600 for a new impeller? and a new bearing(who would go thru all that and NOT replace the bearing?), and while we are there, new belts, tune-up, oil change, Shear Pins, touch up the torch marks by painting it?? You get the idea.... let's see a written estimate before we cut Pop's reproductive organs off. 
How' the rest of the machine cosmetically/mechanically? What does the partner say or admit to? Is he in a position to pitch in on a new machine. Just the fact's ma'am. Hard to make an informed decision without ALL the facts. ABOUT how many hours on it?? 
Maybe the next machine/s are solely owned.... No Partners....hence no one else to damage the machine or blame it on. Is there any residual value in that carcass?? Trade in value?? sell, trade, let it rot?? Anyone that has Actually TRIED to heat/Beat/Bend those blades back, knows it's no easy task. Not to mention just exposing it to work on it. IF someone does that for $20, I'll roll the dice and send a couple there for him to try it. Then, they bend easier the second time around.....Weld supports?? How much time and money to invest in this?? And when it's done, will it be as 'Good as New'?? Will it VIBRATE when done?? How many machines go to the graveyard with the original, undamaged impellers?? If anything, toss a used one on, and call it a day. 
Please let us know the happy ending, Thanx, Jay


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

thread from the dead here LOL 2014 but still some good info


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## JayzAuto1 (Jul 25, 2016)

Thanx.....watching the Super Bowl too.....Trying to. But that was an interesting post


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Looks like you made the decision. My suggestion would be to go to a welding shop and let them heat and straighten the blades. I'd also ask them if they can reinforce the blades. I feel confident this would be the cheapest, strongest, fastest, best way to do this.


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