Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): old ariens snowblower, tapered roller bearings, ariens snowblower


Question
QUESTION: Something broke inside the gearbox that is causing the auger shaft to spin freely.  The shear pins on the augers were fine.  I took them off and there seems to be a disconnect between the auger-shaft and the ring gear.  I need to take the auger-shaft off, but can get the drive shaft with the worm/pinion gear out.  There was a nut with 2 notches in the base of the gearbox that I took out, but I don't see a snap ring or anything else holding it together.  Any thoughts?  I can send pictures if need be.  Thanks in advance.

ANSWER: Please send (attach) pictures and send me the blower model number so I can look up the parts diagram.

Refer to the link below for finding the model number:

http://apache.ariens.com/images/findmodelserial2010.pdf

Eric

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Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): old ariens snowblower, tapered roller bearings, ariens snowblower
parts  
QUESTION: So after I asked you, I did some more research and found its an ariens model 910018, found the manual and am currently struggling with the snap ring that holds the pinion shaft in.  It must be the 5/16 roll pin that holds the ring gear on that snapped.

ANSWER: Looking at the parts diagram it looks like the shaft bearing are tapered roller bearings.  Tapered bearings need to be held in place, with a nut or other retainer (snap ring), in order for the bearing to work.  So, the snap ring is probably being held under pressure which is why it may be so difficult to remove.  Is there some way you can apply pressure to the shaft or out race of the tapered bearing to relieve the tension on the snap ring?

It may be a pain, but the nice thing with tapered bearings is they are very, very strong, provide smoother operation and last longer than regular roller ball bearings.

A press would be an ideal tool to apply a little pressure to the outer bearing race but you can probably come up with some homemade setup to help remove the snap ring.

Eric

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): old ariens snowblower, tapered roller bearings, ariens snowblower
bearing  
QUESTION: So I got the snap ring out by sheer force of will, and a hand from my buddy to help hold the unit in place.  Now I believe I need to get the bearing out in order for the shaft to move enough to disengage the worm gear from the ring gear.  There doesn't appear to be a seal on the outside of the housing that was under the adjustment plug.  Any thoughts on how to get the bearing out now?  Thank you tons for your time and help, by the way.  We have a snowstorm coming on tuesday and I hope to have this baby up and running by then.

Answer
Did you get that bearing out?  If so, how did you do it?  Always looking for tips or tricks.
Eric