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Check your snowblower "gear carriage" bolts!

5444 Views 5 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  KeviNH, 
KeviNH
Had an interesting issue with the snowblower this weekend. Was moving back some snow piles, and heard a horrible grinding noise from the front. Though to myself, Ouch! I know what that is, and shut down the PTO.

Drove back to the garage, unhooked, and everything looked fine. I did notice the auger shear bolt was gone, so I replaced it. Hooked everything back up, and same noise.

Removed the attachment again, and went through the snowblower service manual to see what else could be at fault. I noticed the PTO shaft where it enters the snowblower was loose. Took a closer look, and all 4 bolts that position the "gear carriage" (see attachment) were missing!

I checked the top two with a spare bolt, and they're not sheared off, just gone. My best guess is they vibrated free, and the snowblower ate one or more, taking out the auger shear pin. So you might want to check your gear carriage, adjust as necessary, and tighten.

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M
Had the same thing happen to me a couple of days ago. Missing 3 of the 4. Do you by chance have the part number for the bolts?
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KeviNH
I was unable to find an exact match at any local big box hardware store; I did find a near-match (right grade, too long) at Tractor Supply, I had my local Bobcat dealer replace them, I'll check if they specified a part number on the invoice.

I'd like to see a closeup of the 2016 snowblower with new "extreme-duty cogged belt drive with automatic tensioner", see if these bolts are still in the new design...
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K
I noticed my snowblower chain was loose, so I removed the cover to tighten it. Found the big top gear the chain goes around loose and the key was about to fall out, both set screws had come loose. And this summer I had to replace both carry bearings in the front PTO shaft, because grass had got into them and tore the bearings up.
For a machine I've only had a year and a half it sure has fallen apart a lot. Seems like all the Bobcat stuff is just junk or wasn't engineered right.
Take the time to check most of the bolts and fasteners on your Bobcat or Brutus, or it will get expensive.
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KeviNH
Ketchn said:
For a machine I've only had a year and a half it sure has fallen apart a lot. Seems like all the Bobcat stuff is just junk or wasn't engineered right.
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Seems like it. Must have seemed like a no-brainer to trust Bobcat to develop a hydrostatic drive and PTO, so they gave it to an engineer with no brain. :nerd:
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KeviNH
Polaris Part #3120555 List price $1.74/ea

mskibo said:
Had the same thing happen to me a couple of days ago. Missing 3 of the 4. Do you by chance have the part number for the bolts?
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Pretty much every orderable part is shown on the Polaris site, Online Parts Catalog - Polaris Commercial Vehicles.

There is an option for the Polaris snowblower, shows the bolt as part # 3120555.
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