Snowblower Help - Eating Shear Bolts

[River19]

Get an estimate of the repair cost from the dealer before they dig into it. Having them fix it might be a lot more than you think. A lot depends on how much they charge an hour, and how fast or slow the tech will do the job. I can see them charging you for 10 hours of labor and who knows what for parts. I would pull it apart myself when I have time rather than have them rake you over the coals. If you have KTAC insurance, let them deal with it. Most likely they will call it a total loss and give you another one. That is how I bought mine. It was considered a total loss and sold to the high bidder that fixed it and then sold it to me.

I appreciate the suggestions.

I don't have KTAC insurance as I didn't finance the equipment. Hindsight 20/20.

It is what it is. Have expensive equipment, it may need repairs.......let's see what they come back with. The good news is I am not paying to have them pick it up. I'll pull it, put on the FEL, grab the pallet forks and load it into my truck and drop it off.

As a side note, I can also potentially make a claim on homeowners against it.

 

[BAP]

I appreciate the suggestions.

I don't have KTAC insurance as I didn't finance the equipment. Hindsight 20/20.

It is what it is. Have expensive equipment, it may need repairs.......let's see what they come back with. The good news is I am not paying to have them pick it up. I'll pull it, put on the FEL, grab the pallet forks and load it into my truck and drop it off.

As a side note, I can also potentially make a claim on homeowners against it.

I would price out repairs and parts first before considering making a homeowners claim. Depending upon your deductible, you end up paying for most of the repairs and it might not be worth having that claim against your homeowners going forward. Insurance companies don’t forget claims when calculating your future rates.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

If someone said '10 hrs labour' , I'd want a detailed ,itemized list of where they came up with that number. I've R/R 28 " walkbehinds auger/blower assys in just over 2hrs. charging north of $1000 to remove a dozen or so new nuts and bolts,slack off a chain, slide the sub assembly out just ain't 'right'.

 

[River19]

I would price out repairs and parts first before considering making a homeowners claim. Depending upon your deductible, you end up paying for most of the repairs and it might not be worth having that claim against your homeowners going forward. Insurance companies don’t forget claims when calculating your future rates.

Exactly.

Like I said, it is what it is.

 

[DustyRusty]

If someone said '10 hrs labour' , I'd want a detailed ,itemized list of where they came up with that number. I've R/R 28 " walkbehinds auger/blower assys in just over 2hrs. charging north of $1000 to remove a dozen or so new nuts and bolts,slack off a chain, slide the sub assembly out just ain't 'right'.

I have taken the Kubota snowblowers apart, and it does take a while to fully strip everything down, I would estimate about 2 hours to take it apart using hand tools, labeling parts, etc. Then comes the examination process, to determine what parts will be needed and order them. Changing the auger shaft just to check it is going to that a good 2 hours to get it out. Now we are up to 4 hours, and once the damaged parts are installed, it will be at least another 2 hours barring any unforeseen issues. I will stand by my 10-hour estimate if I was doing the job. I tend to be more thorough than most people that repair an item, and I don't rush and pull everything off without examining the part first. I also take a bunch of pictures and put parts into plastic bags and number them for reassembly.
This is a new unit for Kubota and there is a strong possibility that the tech might not have ever worked on one like it, so that will increase the learning curve and time.

 

[River19]

Based on the videos I have seen taking this unit apart........it is fairly straight forward compared to other implements......that being said, I have to focus on a number of other projects and this is the odd one out right now among others.

But, we can see what they say once I get them the unit.

I also want to take a look at it myself to see what the Service guy saw on the video and see if it is as simple as a bent auger contacting the impeller etc.

 

[ve9aa]

see if it is as simple as a bent auger contacting the impeller etc.

Wouldn't that be nice?? BFH and a pry bar and Bob's yer Uncle !

Good luck.

 

[ravensview]

Good Luck,
I have had to disassemble my snowblower a couple of times already, replaced the impeller twice, doesn’t take much to make it go Caty wumpus, between a long gravel driveway, living in a wooded area off a dirt road, with two dogs who leave chunks of firewood everywhere and lots of snow, hidden surprises pop up regularly.

The first impeller was caused by a chunk of firewood in the snow, it bent one of the impeller blades just enough that it was rubbing on the houseing, which led to the blade eventually bending out far enough to hit outside the impeller houseing, which had caused me too go through a few shear pins, dissembling is not too bad but figuring out what is happening and checking everything for trueness and proper operation can eat up some time.

 

[River19]

Good Luck,
I have had to disassemble my snowblower a couple of times already, replaced the impeller twice, doesn’t take much to make it go Caty wumpus, between a long gravel driveway, living in a wooded area off a dirt road, with two dogs who leave chunks of firewood everywhere and lots of snow, hidden surprises pop up regularly.

The first impeller was caused by a chunk of firewood in the snow, it bent one of the impeller blades just enough that it was rubbing on the houseing, which led to the blade eventually bending out far enough to hit outside the impeller houseing, which had caused me too go through a few shear pins, dissembling is not too bad but figuring out what is happening and checking everything for trueness and proper operation can eat up some time.

Living similar life. Long gravel drive, wooded area, lots of debris in this past huge heavy March storm.......

Every bad things starts with "I was helping a neighbor"......I am diligent with checking my driveway for debris as I go.......the whacko next door let all 38" pile up and he lost trees over the course of the storm,.......and here I am.

My decision is driven by the fact I do not have the time to futz with a blower right now, or ever really.....too much else to do.