Chain Lubrication on LX2980 snow blower

[camaro88lover]

Hello. I am brand new here and I come here out of a sad situation. My fiance of 24+ years passed away almost 3 weeks ago in a solo snowmobiling accident. He was the one who did everything in the yard. He was the one who serviced our 2023 LX2610 and all the attachments. He fixed everything. So now, with him gone, I'm trying to figure out how to do at least basic maintenance and I'll have to have the place he bought it from do the bigger stuff.

Anyway, I come here with a question regarding the snow blower. It's a front mount LX2980 snow blower. On the blower, it says to lubricate the chain every 4 hours with chain lubricant. I did find what lubricant he was using, but I don't know how to lubricate the chain properly. This is probably a stupid question for you guys/gals, but how do you do that? How do I rotate the auger by hand? I tried (with the tractor off of course), and the auger doesn't move. Do I also spray lubricant on the sprocket the chain moves on? Do I spray any lubricant on anything else - perhaps where the chute rotates? How often do I do that?

I tried finding videos on it, but I only got videos on greasing certain points and other pre-use maintenance.

Thank you for your help.

 

[Toyboy]

Get a can of foaming motorcycle chain lube. You can rotate the chain however is the easiest. I like to use the foaming type because it sticks to the chain (when foam subsides it turns into a grease) and easy to use. No need to lube sprockets, the chain will transfer to them.

 

[tthorkil]

To turn the auger by hand - PTO(Power Take Off) or Tractor not running - push 'engagement Lever(#1 in drawing) away from snowblower(it has a rather stiff spring) towards front of tractor - this disengages the snowblower from tractor mid-PTO.
When done make sure to move engagement lever towards snowblower to re-engage snowblower to tractor mid-pto and turn the auger to make sure the 'dogs'? are re-engaged(can no longer turn the auger by hand.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Sorry about your loss!

Just spray some lube on what chain you can see or get to, if you overspray on the sprocket no worries.

When you get a chance look at the OPS manual for the tractor, that will help with all the maintenance.

 

[camaro88lover]

To turn the auger by hand - PTO(Power Take Off) or Tractor not running - push 'engagement Lever(#1 in drawing) away from snowblower(it has a rather stiff spring) towards front of tractor - this disengages the snowblower from tractor mid-PTO.
When done make sure to move engagement lever towards snowblower to re-engage snowblower to tractor mid-pto and turn the auger to make sure the 'dogs'? are re-engaged(can no longer turn the auger by hand.
View attachment 148204

THANK YOU! I'll go try this out. This is the info I needed. May I ask where this diagram is from? I have the owner's manuals for everything, as well as the shop manuals. But I'm a bit overwhelmed with everything, including figuring out how to even use the tractor. So, I'm just trying to take it a little bit at a time.

~Sharon~

 

[tthorkil]

Page 15 of the LX2980 Snowblower Owner's Manual

 

[camaro88lover]

Page 15 of the LX2980 Snowblower Owner's Manual

Oh boy - I would have never found that! I have the manual, but I didn't go through the assembly section as it was already on the tractor. Thank you again!

~Sharon~

 

[tthorkil]

The reason that it is in the assembly section is that part is a portion of the LX2940 SUBFRAME & 4-POINT HITCH - the framework behind the snowblower allows for the mounting of the snowblower/snow blade/ and a rotary brush for cleaning snow off surfaces.
After removing the snowblower the subframe is easily removeable also by disconnecting the PTO shaft from the mid-pto disconnecting a couple of hydraulic hoses that go to the lift cylinders on the subframe and removing two pins(rear one first then the front pin) and lifting the front hooks off the mounting frame.

 

[BAP]

I’m not sure how far away your dealer is, but if it’s not too far away, you might reach out to the sales person and explain your situation and see if they are willing to set up a time with you to go over some of the various things like that. A good dealer will be happy to show you what you need to do for maintenance, the same they would if you are buying.

 

[camaro88lover]

I’m not sure how far away your dealer is, but if it’s not too far away, you might reach out to the sales person and explain your situation and see if they are willing to set up a time with you to go over some of the various things like that. A good dealer will be happy to show you what you need to do for maintenance, the same they would if you are buying.

The place Mike bought the tractor from is about an hour away one way. However, I did call them and explained my issue and they called me back and we'll be setting up a time for them to come out and show me stuff and I'll be asking questions about basic maintenance things. They are a really nice dealer and have been very helpful for Mike in the past. Thank you for the recommendation!

 

[camaro88lover]

To turn the auger by hand - PTO(Power Take Off) or Tractor not running - push 'engagement Lever(#1 in drawing) away from snowblower(it has a rather stiff spring) towards front of tractor - this disengages the snowblower from tractor mid-PTO.
When done make sure to move engagement lever towards snowblower to re-engage snowblower to tractor mid-pto and turn the auger to make sure the 'dogs'? are re-engaged(can no longer turn the auger by hand.
View attachment 148204

This worked perfectly - thank you! Also- thank you for the head's up on the spring being stiff as I wouldn't have known that. I was able to manually turn the auger to get to all the chain and properly lubricate it. And when I moved that engagement lever back, the auger re-engaged pretty quickly (like, I barely moved it and it would no longer move by hand) so that I could no longer manually turn it. That's what should happen, correct?

I did have another question. When you manually turn the auger, do you have to turn the auger a specific way, or can you rotate it in any direction (towards you or away from you? I'm not sure how best to describe it - clockwise/counter clockwise)? I *think* I rotated it in the way it would normally turn when being used.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

This worked perfectly - thank you! Also- thank you for the head's up on the spring being stiff as I wouldn't have known that. I was able to manually turn the auger to get to all the chain and properly lubricate it. And when I moved that engagement lever back, the auger re-engaged pretty quickly (like, I barely moved it and it would no longer move by hand) so that I could no longer manually turn it. That's what should happen, correct?

I did have another question. When you manually turn the auger, do you have to turn the auger a specific way, or can you rotate it in any direction (towards you or away from you? I'm not sure how best to describe it - clockwise/counter clockwise)? I *think* I rotated it in the way it would normally turn when being used.

You can turn it either direction.

 

[tthorkil]

This worked perfectly - thank you! Also- thank you for the head's up on the spring being stiff as I wouldn't have known that. I was able to manually turn the auger to get to all the chain and properly lubricate it. And when I moved that engagement lever back, the auger re-engaged pretty quickly (like, I barely moved it and it would no longer move by hand) so that I could no longer manually turn it. That's what should happen, correct?

I did have another question. When you manually turn the auger, do you have to turn the auger a specific way, or can you rotate it in any direction (towards you or away from you? I'm not sure how best to describe it - clockwise/counter clockwise)? I *think* I rotated it in the way it would normally turn when being used.

The reason that I mentioned turning the auger to let the 'drive dogs' engage is that there is a little slop between them and if the pto was engaged when the 'dogs' were not engaged they would slam together more violently and possibly cause some damage.

 

[BAP]

The place Mike bought the tractor from is about an hour away one way. However, I did call them and explained my issue and they called me back and we'll be setting up a time for them to come out and show me stuff and I'll be asking questions about basic maintenance things. They are a really nice dealer and have been very helpful for Mike in the past. Thank you for the recommendation!

That’s great that they are willing to help you out.

 

[The Evil Twin]

The place Mike bought the tractor from is about an hour away one way. However, I did call them and explained my issue and they called me back and we'll be setting up a time for them to come out and show me stuff and I'll be asking questions about basic maintenance things. They are a really nice dealer and have been very helpful for Mike in the past. Thank you for the recommendation!

That is an awesome dealer! When they give you the run own on the machine, take notes. There is a lot to learn. Not an impossible amount, but the notes will come in handy later on.
Sorry for your loss, and good luck!

 

[Tractor Gal]

camaro88lover, I regret the circumstances which have thrown you into what may seem like an insurmountable amount of learning. BUT, you must have some ability to "do things" or you wouldn't be reaching out to ask for more detail. That, in itself, will speed you along the learning curve.

The people on this board are spectacular in the willingness to help and patience when we don't understand. The knowledge about all things Kubota...and more...is mind boggling. I read the posts about repairing things and am amazed at what can be done, mainly so that I can learn. Many repairs are way above my pay grade but every little tidbit of info may come in handy.

Keep at it and don't hesitate to post a question here, no matter how simple it may seem to you. Be careful with these machines...yes, I know you would know that...but sometimes we let our care lapse which could cause personal injury or damage to the equipment.

Tractor Gal

 

[nbryan]

I "cheat" the seat safety switch with a zip tie, as a tailbone condition means I need to mostly stand up while operating the tractor. So for the snowblower lube I stop and set park brakes and lower to idle with the blower engaged, then squirt some chain oil into the lube hole while it's spinning.
It's quite satisfying to hear the quieting of the chain & gears right away.

This dangerous and I do not recommend! The pto is spinning at 1000 rpm, and right there...

But for those that have their seat switch defeated anyway....

I'm also experienced at operating JB Model Bs and the like, hobby farming back in the 80s, so have a clue how to maintain physical safety around machines that can maim or kill you in a blink.

 

[ItBmine]

I'm still on original chain from 2013. I use spray motorcycle chain oil and when I run out I use chainsaw bar oil. And in summer I spray everything with Krown or Fluid Film to protect from corrosion when I store them.