# big Craftsman Drift Breaker 10/32 broken friction disc casting pt2



## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

or maybe it should be called a DISC BREAKER ??

I'm posting this in its own thread because it's pretty darn critical and important IMHO, if you are into older used snowblowers and buying them.

wish someone had told ME ahead of time about this because I never even looked at it closely...just thought something was loose and I'd have to reattach it with a new cotter pin or snap ring or E-clip or bolt/nut etc.

here is the BROKEN 1978 Craftsman Drift Breaker 10/32-14" friction disc assembly. 
this is from the big impressive 3 stage machine with the dual headlights. 
I'd consider this its Achilles' heel
this friction disc is a little bigger than some others of that era and especially newer ones, this one is 6" diameter and rides on a 3/4" shaft

some of the spares I've seen laying around are only 5" discs or smaller, and ride on larger 7/8" shafts

if you have one of these, or any friction disc machine for that matter, best keep that cross shaft clean and well lubed/greased, if it gets stuck and someone tries to force it to shift, the small outer ring of material making up the snap ring groove, can break off, rendering the machine inoperative. it will be down until it's replaced, and stuck in whatever gear it was in when it broke.- unless you can jury rig up some sort of shifting mechanism to get by, until a replacement is found.

this one has relatively brittle cast aluminum body retainer casting, I noticed that some later years are a steel retainer that will be inherently stronger. 

this must have broke on the previous owner and that's why the machine sat, the gas in it was very old like turpentine or vinegar...and carb needle/seat/float seized solid with green ****- and that's why he sold it- he never told me about it when I bought it for $75. good thing I started low on the price, eh ? I offered 50, then 60, he came back at 75.
but no worry, we'll fix 'er....


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## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

I need to take a look at mine. I'm not sure if they are the same. I know I have more play than I would like in the ball joint type connection between the shift linkage and this piece. It shifts ok though.
Here is a photo I took last year. Does it look to be the same as yours?


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

if it's a 6" wheel then it's probably very similar, although yours has a slightly different version of the throwout bearing and linkage. the linkage on mine is a piece of round stock steel that is bent into linkage. yours looks like flat stock bar ?


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

*oh yeh ? we'll just see about this....*

I've been offered a replacement friction disc assembly for this Drift Breaker by one of our the generous, knowledgeable mods here, who happens to be an AMF Craftsman machine aficionado...thanks much.

but I also don't go down easy, and not being able to repair something, is an insult to my own self respect...so this morning I got up early and got to looking at this. a few days ago I was thinking, maybe d/t the edge and put little 4-40 set screws in there, to hold the bearing on

then it hit me- I have used Super Glue Gel on some pretty amazing repairs in the past. I have fixed a leaky aluminum mag wheel tire stem hole with it, and that tire is holding air to this day. (a replacement mag wheel is $150). we also used it when the kids were in Cub Scouts, to assemble their Pinewood Derby cars, and attach the weights- and if the 2 parts are cleaned, roughed up, and prepped- that stuff does NOT come apart easy. You have to chisel the parts with a sledgehammer to get them apart. 

Duro or Permatex Super Glue Gel is stronger than the strongest thread locker compound you can buy. I use it as thread locker and if the bolts are not a very high quality steel, it will rip the theads off, or snap the head off the bolt when you try to get it back apart. Some temporary repairs require a torch and wire brush to get that stuff to release. 

before you go off laughing about using super glue on a repair, let me remind you that your house is held together by glue. plywood and laminate floors and linoleum and tile, are all held in place by some form of glue compound. entire homes are assembled using "liquid nails" glue and "screw and glue" has become a term used by carpenters for some time now- as the best way to build a structure for strength. a lot of today's furniture is glued together, and it's been used on stereo speaker and receiver cabinets for 50 years

read on...


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

first I disassembled the entire friction disc assembly, removed the wheel from the cross shaft, and cleaned the broken retainer casting snout, and inside of the inner race on the throwout bearing. I used thinner and a rag, then roughed up the area with 80 grit, then treated it with the little marker that comes with Permatex super glue. It looks like a felt tip magic marker but goes on clear, and cleans/preps the surfaces for the glue. when you use the prep stick, it sticks about 20x stronger than without it.

the bearing is held on by a snap ring, but the inner race turns WITH the friction disc by design. so that can first be SUPER GLUED together, as the 2 pieces turn together anyway when working correctly.

I smeared the glue on the inside of the inner race i.d., and the outside of the casting retainer snout, and slid the bearing on. it locked up in about 1 minute, and I could pick the assembly up by just holding the bearing.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

a close up, it's dirty and greasy around the outside, but the 2 inner surfaces that were glued together were squeaky clean and sanded.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

I was going to d/t and thread in some 4-40 hardened set screws, but didn't have any set screws handy, could not find them. what I did find was ROLL PINS I had from other repairs.

next the casting retainer stub was drilled through, just above the inner bearing race, with the drill bit riding on the hardened race as it went in at an angle. a new drill bit went through the aluminum quick.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

the drill bit was around .092" and the roll pin was about .100" in diameter. next I tapped in one hardened roll pin, notice the angle of the hole and pin. the roll pin is butted right up against the inner race of the bearing, just like the snap ring used to be. only this time, the inner race is also glued to the casting retainer stub as well.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

to spread any stress evenly across the part, another hole was drilled directly across from the first one, and another roll pin tapped in.

the burr inside the the i.d. left from the drill bit, was deburred with a small file

the roll pins were tapped in until they were just at the surface of the i.d. hole, and sticking out on the outside to hold the bearing race in place if need be, the same way the snap ring used to, before the ring groove broke off

this repair is stronger than the snap ring and groove that was on there to begin with. reason being, the roll pins have a bigger bite, on much more material deeper down in the casting- and the super glue by itself, is very strong. that alone may have held it in place


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

for added insurance against excessive stress on the repair when in use, the shaft was cleand with a small hand grinder using a wire wheel. all the surface rust and dried grease were removed, leaving it shiny clean.

this machine saw some serious use, as the worn edges of the area where the lower gear ratios were located, can attest to

when they are cleaned like this, and then lubed with synthetic grease or oil, they shift like a hot knife through butter


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

dbert said:


> I need to take a look at mine. I'm not sure if they are the same. I know I have more play than I would like in the ball joint type connection between the shift linkage and this piece. It shifts ok though.
> Here is a photo I took last year. Does it look to be the same as yours?




I looked at your picture in a closeup.
It will looks like soon you will need a new friction drive wheel.
Yours is looking thin, you want to catch it before you chew up the friction plate. You don't want to do that!

It is a lot cheaper replacing the wheel instead of the friction plate.

Keep an eye on it, I would get one to have so your ready.


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

the center ridge is still sticking up on the center of the rubber wheel, it's not worn down flat yet, still has a good deal of life left in it.










I put a new disc on the Dynamark Luminaire and was surprised, the new ones really aren't that thick to begin with. now that one was really BAD. it had about one season or so left on it before hitting platter

this one, she's good to go...


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

Big Ed said:


> I looked at your picture in a closeup.
> It will looks like soon you will need a new friction drive wheel.
> Yours is looking thin, you want to catch it before you chew up the friction plate. You don't want to do that!
> 
> ...



yeh friction disc on Dberts machine is flattened, no raised ridge left. it has some life left on it but she's gettin' low. the one on the Luminaire was even WORSE than that ! it had about 1/2 that left. it may have lasted this year, that's about it.


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