B2782B snowblower

[ffffox2]

I have only used this snowblower for about 30 hours but have broken about 10 -12 shear pins. It only breaks on the left hand auger. Has anyone else
experienced anything like this ? I know I may have struck something once or twice ( chunk of ice or a hidden piece of wood ) but not 10 times !!
Most of snow I clear is light to medium and very rarely anything wet or heavy.

 

[DustyRusty]

Let us start with what model snowblower you are using. I am going out on a limb here, but one of the things that come to mind is if the augers are both centered in the machine housing or if the left side is tighter than the right side. The augers need to have some room for movement from left to right when the shear bolt isn't installed. If you don't have that side play, then the auger shaft has moved in the gearbox. The next thing that it could be is if when you put the new shear bolt in, the auger isn't 180 degrees as opposed to the other side. There is a label on the right-hand inside wall of the snowblower that points out this important step that must be followed. Check these items and report back.

 

[ffffox2]

Let us start with what model snowblower you are using. I am going out on a limb here, but one of the things that come to mind is if the augers are both centered in the machine housing or if the left side is tighter than the right side. The augers need to have some room for movement from left to right when the shear bolt isn't installed. If you don't have that side play, then the auger shaft has moved in the gearbox. The next thing that it could be is if when you put the new shear bolt in, the auger isn't 180 degrees as opposed to the other side. There is a label on the right-hand inside wall of the snowblower that points out this important step that must be followed. Check these items and report back.

Model B2782B . . . Augers are well greased and for sure LHS has lots of side play . . .RHS I’m not sure because shear pin hasn’t broken on that side, but I see lots of grease at the ends of the auger so I assume ( lol ) it is ok. Of all the shear pins I replaced ( and one yesterday ) I never paid any attention to the augers orientation until yesterday. They are definitely in the correct alignment now. As for the previous pins . . Chances are I should have gotten it right a couple time, if not maybe I should sell the B2650 and take a trip to Reno or Vegas . I’ll post again if/when I break another . . . we still have about 4 more months of yet, so good probability. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Rcflyer330]

Another couple of things to check. you didnt say what you where using as a shear bolt but make sure its the correct part. over tightning may cause sheer bolts to weaken and break. check for the rotating play and end to end play on both sides of the blower with the shear bolts installed if the side that keeps breaking is really sloppy you may have bigger issues.

Lastly It may sound weird but replace the right side sheer bolt there is probally some damage to it. I had a similer issue where only one side one my b2782b was breaking in 4 inches of very light fluffy snow. I decided after the second broken sheer bolt to replace both sides and found the unbroken bolt to be pretty bent up. after replacing both side I havent had one break when I thought is shouldn't have. I also remove both shear bolts at the end of the season and replace if there is any damage just so at that first wet heavy snow of the year I dont have any issues.

 

[ffffox2]

Another couple of things to check. you didnt say what you where using as a shear bolt but make sure its the correct part. over tightning may cause sheer bolts to weaken and break. check for the rotating play and end to end play on both sides of the blower with the shear bolts installed if the side that keeps breaking is really sloppy you may have bigger issues.

Lastly It may sound weird but replace the right side sheer bolt there is probally some damage to it. I had a similer issue where only one side one my b2782b was breaking in 4 inches of very light fluffy snow. I decided after the second broken sheer bolt to replace both sides and found the unbroken bolt to be pretty bent up. after replacing both side I havent had one break when I thought is shouldn't have. I also remove both shear bolts at the end of the season and replace if there is any damage just so at that first wet heavy snow of the year I dont have any issues.

wow, you must not sleep . . . I will re-move both shear bolts sometime after lunch and check the end play on both sides and will pay attention if there is any rotating play when I put new ones in. I do use lock nuts so no backing off and I stop tightening just as the nut and head of the bolt bottom out
I have used both a grade 2 bolt from Canadian Tire and the proper part from Kubota ( kubota is a grade 5, but groved ) both have broken. The last one I used was a kubota oem part . . . the head sheared off and so did the nut side ( I remember some of the others only having one end sheared, but can’t remember which ones) I saved what remained of the bolt that was still in the shaft and you can see where the remaining threads are bent/ stressed. Go get some sleep

 

[DustyRusty]

Another couple of things to check. you didnt say what you where using as a shear bolt but make sure its the correct part. over tightning may cause sheer bolts to weaken and break. check for the rotating play and end to end play on both sides of the blower with the shear bolts installed if the side that keeps breaking is really sloppy you may have bigger issues.

Lastly It may sound weird but replace the right side sheer bolt there is probally some damage to it. I had a similer issue where only one side one my b2782b was breaking in 4 inches of very light fluffy snow. I decided after the second broken sheer bolt to replace both sides and found the unbroken bolt to be pretty bent up. after replacing both side I havent had one break when I thought is shouldn't have. I also remove both shear bolts at the end of the season and replace if there is any damage just so at that first wet heavy snow of the year I dont have any issues.

If you found a bent shear bolt, then it had to either be the wrong grade of bolt or improperly installed, with a washer under the head.

 

[DustyRusty]

wow, you must not sleep . . . I will re-move both shear bolts sometime after lunch and check the end play on both sides and will pay attention if there is any rotating play when I put new ones in. I do use lock nuts so no backing off and I stop tightening just as the nut and head of the bolt bottom out
I have used both a grade 2 bolt from Canadian Tire and the proper part from Kubota ( kubota is a grade 5, but groved ) both have broken. The last one I used was a kubota oem part . . . the head sheared off and so did the nut side ( I remember some of the others only having one end sheared, but can’t remember which ones) I saved what remained of the bolt that was still in the shaft and you can see where the remaining threads are bent/ stressed. Go get some sleep

I would only be using the proper grade bolt that is grooved. I wouldn't use a Grade 2 bolt to replace a grade 5 bolt with an undercut. As for a bolt shearing on only one side, that is an interesting phenomenon since it is being sheared by a spinning shaft inside of a tube with 2 sharp edges. If that is the case, then the bolt was stressed and broke in half and then fell out and that is the only explanation that I could believe happened. A grade 2 bolt is almost always a fully threaded bolt and doesn't have much strength in this application because it is weakened by the threads. A grade 5 bolt that is undercut in the correct location to break when stressed is a much stronger bolt even with the undercut. It is made from medium carbon steel and hardened for strength and durability for its application. When something stops the auger from turning, the shaft inside continues to turn and the bolt breaks at 2 places usually leaving the broken part inside of the hole in the shaft and you need a drift pin to drive it out. It is designed this way to protect the brass gears in the gearbox. If you are breaking a lot of shear bolts, you are either feeding the snow into the hopper too fast and the augers can't move it to the fan fast enough, and they then stop turning, or your auger is binding in some fashion. Loose end bearings or worn-out end bearings could be a cause of this issue, but highly unlikely unless it was improperly manufactured, or has a huge amount of hours on it. These bearings do require periodical greasing, which I assume you have been doing.
I still believe that this is an operator error, something that I was guilty of when I first got my snowblower. I was moving the tractor forward too fast for the snowblower to digest the snow, and it would back up in the augers and shear the bolts. I found that by going slower and allowing the snowblower to digest the snow and throw it out the chute I broke fewer shear bolts. If I see that the blower isn't moving the snow out quickly, I stop and allow the blower to regain its momentum and then start up again. Possibly a better description is your snowblower is biting off more than it can chew.

 

[tinkerwitheverything]

Check to see if the brg/ bushing is worn on the side of the auger that keeps shearing . Could be that the auger is making contact with the blower housing either due to a dent or possibly getting gravel caught between the auger and blower housing.

 

[Rcflyer330]

If you found a bent shear bolt, then it had to either be the wrong grade of bolt or improperly installed, with a washer under the head.

The first bent one was actually the factory original bolt and the washer was intalled on the bottom. If it was the wrong grade it sure looked exactly like the kubota replacement that went in. I have also had one or two kubota replacements do the same thing and washer was under the nut side. maybe i am doing something wrong but i havent had one break unless it needed to.

 

[DustyRusty]

In all my years with snowblowers, I have never seen a bent shear bolt unless the wrong part was installed. I don't know if snowblowers are fully assembled at the factory or are shipped knocked down and assembled at the dealership level. It is also possible that a factory-assembled snowblower has an incorrect part in it. After all, they are assembled by humans that do make mistakes.

 

[Rcflyer330]

well here is a pic its hard to see in the picture but down near the threads its bent. when you actually hold its easier to see. i only keep it for a 100% last resort.

 

[ffffox2]

Check to see if the brg/ bushing is worn on the side of the auger that keeps shearing . Could be that the auger is making contact with the blower housing either due to a dent or possibly getting gravel caught between the auger and blower housing.

I will check . . .thanks!

 

[DustyRusty]

More information about shear bolts (pins) than you will ever want or need.

Everything you need to know about SHEAR BOLTS

I know this is a long post but I am a believer in not trusting anyone because they posted something on the internet. So I am providing all details and references so you don't have to believe me you can see how the figures were calculated. If you don't want to read what led to discover the...

www.orangetractortalks.com

 

[nbryan]

View attachment 92851

well here is a pic its hard to see in the picture but down near the threads its bent. when you actually hold its easier to see. i only keep it for a 100% last resort.

Could it be that that shear bolt's nut was a bit loose, which would allow the shear groove to slide out of alignment from its shear plane inside the tube? Then the bolt wouldn't shear under stress like it should.

 

[Orange1forme]

The first bent one was actually the factory original bolt and the washer was installed on the bottom. If it was the wrong grade it sure looked exactly like the kubota replacement that went in. I have also had one or two kubota replacements do the same thing and washer was under the nut side. maybe i am doing something wrong but i havent had one break unless it needed to.

I will have to check, but from what I recall there is no washer. Mine are both lock nuts, plastic insert inside the nut.
Looked on Messick's site and it does show a bolt, lock washer and regular nut.

 

[nbryan]

I will have to check, but from what I recall there is no washer. Mine are both lock nuts, plastic insert inside the nut.
Looked on Messick's site and it does show a bolt, lock washer and regular nut.

The shear bolts are offered with either nut and lockwasher, or poly insert locknuts, from my K dealership. I was asked which I preferred when I last went to stock up.
And yes, always use lockwashers directly beneath the nut, not the bolt head.