Impeller on BX2816 seized?

NewKubotaFan

New member

Equipment
BX23S
Nov 21, 2023
5
1
1
Alaska, USA
First time out with my 2816. I picked up a baseball sized rock and of course all operations came to a crashing stop. Bolt on the sheer fan sheered like it was supposed to. Without the bolt in place the auger will turn but the impeller will not. Turned auger to marry the two halves of the sheer fan and replaced the bolt. Fired up PTO and the blower made a horrific sort of grinding noise. Shutdown right away. Should I start my troubleshooting by looking at the reduction box? The gear box? Or somewhere else entirely? Thanks in advance for any suggestions/tips.
 

animals45

Active member

Equipment
L3301l
Apr 22, 2021
269
84
28
Mabie CA
Have ya checked to see if there is anything wedged behind the impeller ?
With no shear pin in the 2nd stage impeller & the shaft can ya turn the pto shaft with yer hand & see if the impeller SHAFT & the rest of the blower spins ? I've seen rocks get lodged behind that impeller plenty of times .
animals45
 

yorkies77

Member

Equipment
Kubota BX23S
Jun 7, 2020
68
53
18
Idaho
I have the same snowblower and had the exact same problem. One blade on the impeller was bent and was scraping on the housing. I just ran it and in a few minutes it was fine. I’m going to have to replace the impeller on it. Darn large rocks really do a number on it.
 

DustyRusty

Well-known member

Equipment
2020 BX23S, BX2822 Snowblower, Curtis Deluxe Cab,
Nov 8, 2015
6,237
4,816
113
North East CT
Running the blower with the fan impeller hitting the case is bad news. You will wear a hole in the sheet metal case. Disassemble and repair the fan or buy a new one. When I bent mine, I purchased a new one but never installed it. Today is sits in the garage as a spare, and they have gone up in price 3 fold. My old one was way out of balance, and the snowblower would vibrate, but it always blew the snow so I kept putting it off. I sold it with the tractor when I bought the BX23S and a new-to-me (used) snowblower. I have learned to check the driveway for anything that will damage the blower before it starts to snow.
 

NewKubotaFan

New member

Equipment
BX23S
Nov 21, 2023
5
1
1
Alaska, USA
Thanks for the tips and suggestions. After further inspection, one of the ears of the impeller fan is bent and contacting the housing. Having a hell of a time getting the auger off to pull out the fan. Anyone have any tips?
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
11,419
4,908
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
from the diagram in the manual,it's made like 99.44% of walkbehinds so...
remove bolts hold auger end bearings
remove worm gearbox support bolts
remove rear bearing on 'fan' shaft
slide auger/fan assy out as one big, awkward piece.....
 

DustyRusty

Well-known member

Equipment
2020 BX23S, BX2822 Snowblower, Curtis Deluxe Cab,
Nov 8, 2015
6,237
4,816
113
North East CT
No one said that this was going to be easy. You need to start at the rear and remove the upper Tooth Gear Sprocket. Once you have that removed, then you should be able to pull the augers and gearbox off. That shaft that is on the tooth gear sprocket goes all the way to the front gearbox. To remove the augers, you take the 3 carriage bolts off of each side of the triangular flange bearing ends at the augers. Here is where it might get dicey because on some there is a depression on the side of the case, which will require that you slide the bearing towards the center of the augers. Make sure to mark both the left (driver) and right (passenger) sides of the augers because they are different. There is no service manual for the snowblower repair, so I suggest that you download all the pictures from the Messicks or Coleman websites use them for reference, and note any differences between the pictures and the actual blower. Take lots of pictures with your phone. The blower breakdown which has the important information is https://messicks.com/KU/96466 snowblower front and snowblower rear. Now to be honest with you, I have not had the occasion to take a BX2816 apart, however, I have repaired a few of its predecessors, which are for the most part identical.
Your snowblower BX2816 shares some parts with snowblower BX5450, so if by any stroke of luck, you can buy either of these machines used inexpensively I would jump at the opportunity. Off-season I have seen them as inexpensively as $700. When you look at the cost of the individual parts, you will understand why I make this suggestion. I recently purchased a gear-driven snowblower for less than what the gear reduction box costs, and I am torn between selling it or keeping it for parts for my BX2822 Snowblower since some of the parts will interchange.
 

NewKubotaFan

New member

Equipment
BX23S
Nov 21, 2023
5
1
1
Alaska, USA
Removing the rear bearing and the upper sprocket seems to be where I am stuck. I loosened the set screw from the bearing and the two set screws from the sprocket. I can get the sprocket to slide back and forth on the shaft but can’t get the shaft to move at all. I saw a reference in another post that maybe I need to turn the collar on the bearing counterclockwise? I don’t see how to do that though
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
11,419
4,908
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
hmm 'eccentric bearing'.
First I remove the setscrew from the ring portion(collar) , put on white towel so I can FIND i later...
Then I use large channel locks on the 'ring' portion and turn CCW about30* and it 'magically loosens and will fall off. They are precision made will feel silky smooth when they rotate.
 

DustyRusty

Well-known member

Equipment
2020 BX23S, BX2822 Snowblower, Curtis Deluxe Cab,
Nov 8, 2015
6,237
4,816
113
North East CT
GreensvilleJay has given you the correct answer. There might also be some tension from the impeller. One thing that I can't stress enough is not to put your hands anywhere near the impeller until it is loose. It can be jammed and if it springs loose and your hands are near it, you will get hurt. I suggest that you use a hammer to tap the impeller in the opposite direction of the way that it normally goes until it is free of the case. Presently it might be putting some sideward pressure on the shaft preventing the shaft's removal. This is one of those times that it would be easy for me to diagnose the issue if I were there but by long distance, I can only guess. No matter what you do, don't hammer on the shaft, because you might damage the gearbox at the front of the blower. When you get the shaft out and have the impeller in your hands, I suggest drilling the shaft area and putting in a grease fitting. I know that the grease isn't required, but it will keep any rust at bay on that section of the shaft where the impeller will spin freely when you break the shear pin, just like the front augers.
Are you planning on replacing the fan or just straightening it? Most likely it will need to be replaced since it will be out of balance and the blower will vibrate. The vibrations will not harm anything, but it will be annoying. Also, check your chain for any damaged or bent links. When my blower ate a rock, it destroyed the chain, and I didn't want to buy the expensive chain that Kubota uses, so I purchased a 10' box of number 40 chain and made up a bunch of them. I would replace them every year or two because they weren't the quality of the Kubota chain, but it also gave me a reason to check the rest of the rear end of the machine. I use chain bar oil on the chain for lubrication. Everyone seems to have their own particular choice of lubrication, and the important thing is that the chain is lubricated.
Let us know how it is coming along, and if you get stuck again, don't hesitate to ask more questions. We all learn from other mishaps and mistakes.
 

NewKubotaFan

New member

Equipment
BX23S
Nov 21, 2023
5
1
1
Alaska, USA
First of all thank you all for all your suggestions, tips and help. I feel like I’m 99% there. I tapped the impeller fan free yesterday and it spins freely back and forth until it contacts the housing. I’ve got the entire back of the blower disassembled and I removed the reduction box and chain. Where I am stuck is in removing the upper sprocket. It pulls out to the end of the shaft and stops. It feels like something is holding it there. Is the 1/4 key holding it in place? Do I perhaps just need to go get a gear puller to pull the sprocket off? I plan to repair the impeller for now. I might eat my own words but the blower vibrating a little is going to be less annoying then paying ~$250 for a new fan, plus whatever the Alaskan markup is on it or the shipping to get one here from the lower 48. Thanks again.
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DustyRusty

Well-known member

Equipment
2020 BX23S, BX2822 Snowblower, Curtis Deluxe Cab,
Nov 8, 2015
6,237
4,816
113
North East CT
Many times there will be 2 set screws, and I suggest removing them both, not just loosening them. Push the sprocket back on and feel the end of the shaft with your finger for any burs. If so, take a file to the end and round it off a little. As long as the sprocket is sliding on the shaft it should be loose, but if it won't come off easily I would use a gear puller on it. If you have one of the national branded auto parts stores near you they will have a gear puller that you can rent for free. You pay the value of the puller and when you return it, they give you your money back. You can also try to put a piece of wood behind it and use some leverage to see if it will pop off. Possibly even a spray of penetrating oil might help. Time to get creative. Just don't forget to put the key back in when reassembling it.
 

GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
11,419
4,908
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
GREAT you're really,really close and WHY is it so CLEAN ????
Sigh, I never get to work on anything that clean..... :(

Here's what happens.. When the setscrew is rammed TIGHT during the install, it mushes a wee bit of the 'key' that's in the grooves of the shaft and pulley causing the binding that you have. It's no longer square. It's surprising how little 'bent metal' can cause grown men to increase their vocabulary !

The problem with a gear puller is that it HAS to get around the sprocket and close to the hub to pull. If the finger only gran near the teeth, it'll bend the sprocket.

What I found works 99.44% of the time is to place a few large combo wrenches and a 'pickle' fork between the sprocket and the bearing, Tap on the pickle fork and the sprocket comes off,nicely, no damage. This is also how I get pulleys of riding mower engines that have been there for 20-30-40 years... Yes 'fun' holding 2-3 wrenches,fork and tapping the hammer....
When you do get it apart, run the key back and forth on a fine flat file to remove the slight 'burr' and to 'true up' the square sides. Adding a SMALL amount of neverseize will help next time....
 

Russell King

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L185F, Modern Ag Competitor 4’ shredder, Rhino tiller, rear dirt scoop
Jun 17, 2012
5,367
1,415
113
Austin, Texas
I noticed in your pictures that the key seems to be sliding with the sprocKett along the shaft. That indicates that the key is stuck to the sprocket.

I think that the key is bent so that the sprocket doesn’t want to slide off the key. You may have to put more force on the sprocket to get it removed. I would recommend you replace the key during the repair
 
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GreensvilleJay

Well-known member

Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
11,419
4,908
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
The setscrew has 'mushed' the top of key, binding it to sprocket.
Use a drift to tap it to the back and sprocket will pull off.
May take 1-2-3 'tappings' but it'll come off, probably quicker than me typing this reply.
 

NewKubotaFan

New member

Equipment
BX23S
Nov 21, 2023
5
1
1
Alaska, USA
It took me a while to have the time to get back to this project but I am happy to report that it is compete and the blower is running great. The punches and gear puller were definitely the items missing from my toolbox to make this successful. I appreciate everyone’s wonderful suggestions and support through this process.
 
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DustyRusty

Well-known member

Equipment
2020 BX23S, BX2822 Snowblower, Curtis Deluxe Cab,
Nov 8, 2015
6,237
4,816
113
North East CT
Now, buy your shear pins from the Kubota dealer and make sure that they have the relief cut into them. They are more expensive than Grade 5 bolts, but unlike the Grade 5 bolt, they will break when you hit that object that wasn't designed to go through the snowblower.
 
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