Snow Caster Before & After Resoration

[300zx]

I just finished restoring a B748 Snow Caster for my B7100. 4 new bearings on the auger and jack-shaft along with sand blasting and powder coat really make it run and look as good as new. I am ready for snow, but I think we are done for the winter. Here are the pictures if anyone is interested.

https://picasaweb.google.com/110263893958737890068/KubotaB748bSnowCaster#

 

[Toyboy]

Nice job. Other than a different mounting arraignment, the rest looks identical to the Case/Ingersoll unit.

 

[300zx]

Toyboy, you are right. The best price on the auger bearings (hexagonal inner race) was from Case/Ingersoll. The Kubota retail price was $130, Case/Ingersoll was $17. The jack shaft bearings were standard and I got them from Tractor Supply.

 

[meanjean]

Heck of a job.
That powder coat looks A1.
Did you sand blast/powder coat yourself?

 

[cabu]

Looks really good.

How many hour's did you need to get it done?

Does your B7100 has a front PTO or how does it work with the belt?

And how far is the snow thrown away with this kind of snow caster?

Nice Job!!


carl

 

[skeets]

DAYUM,,,aint that purty,, are you really sure you want to use it???

 

[300zx]

"That powder coat looks A1.
Did you sand blast/powder coat yourself?"

I didn't do the powder coat. I had a local company do it for me. I had the snow caster, FEL, tiller and dozer all done at the same time. It was a lot better cost that way. About $180/implement.

"How many hour's did you need to get it done?"

It probably took me 30 hours.

"Does your B7100 has a front PTO or how does it work with the belt?"

It does have the PTO on the front. I needed an 18mm 22 spline shaft that I never found. So, I had a machinist fabricate a shaft with a flange that went over the front PTO shaft and bolted up to the front fan belt pulley.

"And how far is the snow thrown away with this kind of snow caster?"

I haven't run the caster yet. I have been using a Wheel Horse single stage blower that will throw the snow a good 15 feet.

"are you really sure you want to use it???"

Yes, I will use it. I expect the powder coat will be tougher than paint. I am anxious to see how it will do.

Thanks for the comments. I get a lot of enjoyment out of restoring old, but high quality equipment. In some ways it is better than some of the newer designs. It may be my age, but that is my opinion.

This is the link to the Howard Rotavator I also restored:

https://picasaweb.google.com/110263893958737890068/HowardTiller?authkey=Gv1sRgCJnsl_Cpkt6P1gE#

 

[cabu]

"...It does have the PTO on the front. I needed an 18mm 22 spline shaft that I never found. So, I had a machinist fabricate a shaft with a flange that went over the front PTO shaft and bolted up to the front fan belt pulley.

That is interesting. Me and maybe some other guy's here would like to see some pictures of your front PTO. Would you please make some pictures how it is added to the traktor.

Thanx!!

carl

 

[300zx]

That is interesting. Me and maybe some other guy's here would like to see some pictures of your front PTO. Would you please make some pictures how it is added to the traktor.

Thanx!!

carl

Carl, I am away and can't take pictures until later this week. If I forget, just bump me. I will be glad to show how I hooked it up.

John

 

[Randyj]

That looks very nice!

I had a bad experience with powder coating. I took a set of 4 steel wheels from my plow truck to a powder coating business (they do a lot of work) to have them professionally done.

They looked great when I got them back. I had new tires mounted & balanced, & bolted them back on my truck. One winter. That's all the longer they looked good. By spring, the paint was "checked". Tiny cracks all over, allowing rust to form & bleed thru the cracks in the paint. These are white wheels. Looked really bad. I took them back to the jobber, and he agreed to re-do them at no cost. Of course, I had to pay for another dismount, re-mount & balance. Well, when I got them back, they looked great, again.

Put them back on my plow truck and they looked great, for one winter. Same thing all over.

So I bought some GM clear sealed aluminum wheels. Two winters now, and they still look great.

I gave up on the powder coating. Too hard to get off when it fails. Don't sandblast like regular paint.

Sorry about the rant.

Your blower looks very nice.

 

[300zx]

That looks very nice!

I had a bad experience with powder coating. I took a set of 4 steel wheels from my plow truck to a powder coating business (they do a lot of work) to have them professionally done.

They looked great when I got them back. I had new tires mounted & balanced, & bolted them back on my truck. One winter. That's all the longer they looked good. By spring, the paint was "checked". Tiny cracks all over, allowing rust to form & bleed thru the cracks in the paint. These are white wheels. Looked really bad. I took them back to the jobber, and he agreed to re-do them at no cost. Of course, I had to pay for another dismount, re-mount & balance. Well, when I got them back, they looked great, again.

Put them back on my plow truck and they looked great, for one winter. Same thing all over.

So I bought some GM clear sealed aluminum wheels. Two winters now, and they still look great.

I gave up on the powder coating. Too hard to get off when it fails. Don't sandblast like regular paint.

Sorry about the rant.

Your blower looks very nice.

Wow, Randy! This is my first powder coating and I did everything, FEL, Tiller, Dozer and Snow Caster. I hope I don't experience the same problem. The friend who recommended this company has done several mower decks there with no problems yet.

 

[300zx]

Carl, I am away and can't take pictures until later this week. If I forget, just bump me. I will be glad to show how I hooked it up.

John

Carl, I did get some pictures of the shaft. They are at the end of the previous link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/110263893958737890068/KubotaB748bSnowCaster#

The last six pictures show my tractor's front PTO and the shaft I had the machinist make. (Don't ask me why some one took a cutting torch to the front frame, I don't know) Behind the PTO splines on the crankshaft is the fan pulley. It has Three 8mm x 1.25 holes on a 2.2" bolt circle. The idea was to slide a tube over the PTO splines with a welded flange on the end that would bolt up to the fan pulley.

The shaft in the last 3 was made using the 3/4" stub shaft I got with the Blower. It had been on a B6100 that had the front belt PTO for a belly mower. The shaft connected to a Lovejoy coupling that then connected to the top pulley of the B6100 PTO. I removed the Lovejoy coupling. I ordered a 12" piece of tubing 0.75" ID and 1.25" OD. The OD of the 18mm 22T PTO spline is 0.710" leaving 0.040" clearance inside the 0.750 tube, not a tight fit, but good enough. The machinist bored 0.003" out of one end of the tube so the old shaft would slide in without too much interference. He then machined a circular flange out of 3/8" plate with a 1" center hole and three 8mm holes on a 2.2" bolt circle. He stepped down the other end of the tube 1/8"x3/8" so he could press the new flange on it with a little interference, and welded it in place. I brought the piece home, mounted it to the PTO with 3 bolts 8mmx1.25x20mm. I slid the old shaft into the opposite end, and mounted the clutch. I then drilled a 3/16 hole through the tube and shaft and drove a roll pin in the hole.

I don't know if the 3/16" role pin will be big enough for the blower load, but if it isn't, I can always make it larger. I haven't blown any snow yet, so I will know more next winter.

I hope this made sense. Let me know if you have questions.

 

[Kytim]

Hi, nice construction. I do wonder and the removal of the lovejoy coupler as it does more than just couple. It absorbs vibrations, missalignment even if only slight, reduces shock loading on the crank journals, side loading in the shaft and....

Sorry I digress, maybe i'm over-thinking it!!

SDVic & Eserv you two have ideas about this?

kytim

 

[cabu]

Thank you very much for the pictures.

When I saw the adapter, I thought about the problem if everything is not in line. The high rpm's will even make small misalignment to damage the bearings. I really hope you are lucky and it will last long. Good luck.
I was also thinking about the point to power a front-PTO. But up to now, I have no final solution. I found a picture in the web where they use an additional pully and a belt, to get standart 1000 rpm.
Still don't know...

carl

 

[300zx]

Hi, nice construction. I do wonder and the removal of the lovejoy coupler as it does more than just couple. It absorbs vibrations, missalignment even if only slight, reduces shock loading on the crank journals, side loading in the shaft and....

Sorry I digress, maybe i'm over-thinking it!!

SDVic & Eserv you two have ideas about this?

kytim

I was concerned about the removal of the Lovejoy also, but the part of the story I didn't include was that the bearing location on the shaft was so worn down , the radial air gap between clutch and the stationary magnet was gone allowing wear. We had to remove the shaft collar, machine the shaft down and add a bushing to get the shaft re-centered in the clutch. I think the Lovejoy is a great idea if both shafts have two bearing points holding them. Since the pulley end of the shaft had only one bearing point and with the major load of the v-belt on the pulley, the Lovejoy coupling allowed that end of the shaft to move up and wear down the bearing journal on the shaft under the inner race of the bearing. How else could that shaft have worn? You could feel the orbit in the shaft before the repair. That is my theory, anyway. The second thought I had was that the original shaft didn't use the Lovejoy either, ie, the shaft that should be on the B9310 PTO was solid from the clutch to the splines on the engine PTO. My third thought was to make sure the run-out on the fabricated shaft was low. At the end of the 10" tube, we only had 0.003" of run-out when finished, which is good in my book.

So, I share your concern, but only time will tell.

 

[Kytim]

Was run-out measured when built or after installed? if it was before installation it may very well be different because of a variety of things like differences in surface on the pulley, torque applied to the mounting bolts, etc.

I would just hate to see you trash a good engine.

kytim

 

[300zx]

Was run-out measured when built or after installed? if it was before installation it may very well be different because of a variety of things like differences in surface on the pulley, torque applied to the mounting bolts, etc.

I would just hate to see you trash a good engine.

kytim

kytim, I appreciate your concern and input. I measured it after I installed it. I used a mag mount dial indicator on the shaft, but the surfaces have to be cleaned each installation. It is like installing break rotors, if both surfaces are not clean and true, the rotor will wobble.

Don't get me wrong, I would much prefer the original 18mm 22T splined shaft, they just aren't available. A clutch and shaft just sold on ebay, but it was a 28mm 22T female end on the shaft. My dealer has a PTO shaft, same problem. It fits a 28mm shaft. If I ever get the opportunity to buy an original shaft, I will. Connecting a splined shaft is much easier than loosening the radiator mounts to get enough clearance to slide the flange into place.

I am open to other suggestions, I just don't want to wear down the shaft at the bearing again using the Lovejoy coupling. What is your view of what caused the shaft wear under the bearing inner race?

 

[Kytim]

What is your view of what caused the shaft wear under the bearing inner race?

I kinda, uneducatedly think bearing failure from....I'm totaly unsure!

I saw that shaft sell as well. WOW, $160!!! Used even.

Kytim

 

[300zx]

I kinda, uneducatedly think bearing failure from....I'm totaly unsure!

I saw that shaft sell as well. WOW, $160!!! Used even.

Kytim

I know, I didn't think it would sneak through at a low price.

I just got a line on a B6100 with a belly mount mower deck that has the B9310 front PTO. The guy wants to sell the belly mower and PTO. It may be a source for the shaft I need before next winters snow blowing season.