19 year snow blower dead - I don't think anything new will last as long

[Brian Elfert]

My 19 year old Troy-Bilt snow blower is dead. A bearing support for the auger broke and no longer available. This was one of the last units made before Gardenway went bankrupt. This is not an MTD. This thing is a tank. It broke a few years back and the hardware store I bought it from said to spend $500 on repairs instead of a new one as it is made better than today's units. (It did not cost $500 to fix that time.) The engine starts on the first pull every time.

I'm not happy that it is dead simply due to a $30 or $40 part.

I think the only snow blower that will last as long is the Honda and I don't want to spend $2,000 on a snow blower. I think I spent at most $800 on mine in December 2000. The bad part is it is supposed to snow overnight and I have no way to remove the snow from my 175 foot driveway other than a shovel. Ariens would probably be my choice today, but they still have a Chinese engine. I have a feeling the engine will be the first thing to go.

[John K Jordan]

... A bearing support for the auger broke and no longer available.

Probably not enough time before the snow and I don't know what the bearing support looks like, but is it possible to repair by welding or machining a replacement? Here on farm I tend to repair rather than replace.

Lacking that, could your existing engine be adapted to the new snowblower when that engine dies? I've never looked at a snowblower but I know it's usually not difficult to adapt an engine to a different lawn mower.

Living in TN I've never used a snow blower. I guess I'm missing out on one of the joys of life, eh? :) Growing up in PA we had plenty of snow but everyone I knew used shovels or a plow. I have "fond" memories of helping shoveling the driveway out after a nearly 3' snow. It took days.

JKJ

[Jerry Bruette]

Sorry to hear about your breakdown. I wonder if you might find the part you need on eBay, if not could you possibly have one made?

For the interim, could you have someone plow your drive? Around here a lot of the landscape/lawn service businesses will do snow removal in the winter.

[Ted Calver]

How about some pictures. Maybe someone will see another solution.

[Dave Lehnert]

I am not as far north of you (Cincinnati) But I have a Toro electric and love it. Had it for about 10 years.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioG3C9s6wNc

[Bill Dufour]

The Southern Pacific Railroad, which knows something about rotary plows, uses a diesel electric to drive the blades but it still has a steam boiler that runs to heating pipes to keep the moving parts from freezing up. That includes the fan bearings.
2-3,000 horsepower for the fan.
6,000 horsepower plus for the pusher locomotives. At least two pushers are used, more for deeper snow.
Bill D.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjBQ3MaBYiU

[Andrew Seemann]

I feel for ya. I've got the old man's MTD from the mid 90s. I keep resurrecting it because it will take a least a grand to replace it. Mostly it has only needed relatively common engine parts, no model-specific drive train parts yet. Fortunately they have lowered the forecast closer to 2 - 4 inches for us now.

If it makes you feel better, the Chinese have gotten annoyingly good at making stuff these days.

[Kev Williams]

What will "go" first will be the fuel line and the primer tube if so equipped, which will likely guck up the carb's fuel bowl, IF you use gas with ethanol... Sure fire fix for all that is to find some ethanol free gasoline and use ONLY that.

Winter of '71 when I was in high school, a huge storm was coming in, so my dad bought an Atlas snowblower. Single stage, just the main auger spinning at ludicrous speed, and it picked up the snow and threw it. One snowy day in '84 I hit a railroad spike my stepson left on the driveway. Wouldn't start, found out the sudden stop sheared the flywheel woodruff key. New key, ran great again. Around '95 it wouldn't start after sitting for the summer. After 24 years I figured I was due for a new one, gave the old one to my neighbor. He drained the gas and cleaned out the float bowl, put in new gas and it fired right up... I bought me a new MTD.. about 4 years ago I gave IT to my brother in law, there was nothing wrong with it other than it wouldn't quite sling snow from one edge of my 4-across driveway to the other, so I picked up a 3-stage Cub Cadet, which does ;)
My BIL is still using the MTD and as of when we moved out in '06 the neighbor was still using the Atlas, for all I know it's still going..

I wouldn't worry too much about a new one breaking down :)

That all said, I'm with John, you can probably have your part fixed, or a metal shop would probably fab you a new one for $100 or two...

[Jim Koepke]

How hard have you looked for the part?

Someone other than Troy Built may have NOS or have parts from other sources.

Try > Troy-Bilt snowblower auger bearing support <

If you have a part number, even better.

jtk

[Jason Roehl]

Sounds to me like a 175' driveway in MN is probably not the situation to be going cheap on snow removal equipment. $800 in 2000 is probably not too far from $2000 today. You guys get some big snows on a regular basis up there. You want something that can handle it--maybe find out what the pros use and where they shop. I bet it's not Lowe's/HD/Menard's.

[Nathan Johnson]

I feel for ya. I've got the old man's MTD from the mid 90s. I keep resurrecting it because it will take a least a grand to replace it. Mostly it has only needed relatively common engine parts, no model-specific drive train parts yet. Fortunately they have lowered the forecast closer to 2 - 4 inches for us now.

If it makes you feel better, the Chinese have gotten annoyingly good at making stuff these days.

I bought a 24" Ariens with the 208cc Chinese LCT engine 9 years ago. I run non-oxy gas, change the oil and plug yearly, and haven't had a single issue. I think these days, if you do your maintenance, most of these things will run fine.

[Frederick Skelly]

The Southern Pacific Railroad, which knows something about rotary plows, uses a diesel electric to drive the blades but it still has a steam boiler that runs to heating pipes to keep the moving parts from freezing up. That includes the fan bearings.
2-3,000 horsepower for the fan.
6,000 horsepower plus for the pusher locomotives. At least two pushers are used, more for deeper snow.
Bill D.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjBQ3MaBYiU

Neat video Bill!

[Brian Elfert]

I have looked all over online for the part and no go yet. MTD has the part list with a Buy Now button, but clicking the button says not available. I think I might be able to replace with a flange bearing. The question is how much time and money do I spend on something 19 years old? What if something else breaks that is definitely not fixable?

$800 in 2000 is only $1,200 today. I don’t know for sure that I even spent $800 on it.

[Barry McFadden]

Just curious as to why you put 2 identical posts up.... one at 10:34 pm and one at 10:47 pm?

[Lee Schierer]

My Simplicity snowblower is well built with no plastic parts other than the fuel tank. It starts on the first pull and throws heavy wet snow25+ feet and rarely if ever clogs. I live in snow country in northwester PA so it sees a lot of use.
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[Mike Cutler]

I have looked all over online for the part and no go yet. MTD has the part list with a Buy Now button, but clicking the button says not available. I think I might be able to replace with a flange bearing. The question is how much time and money do I spend on something 19 years old? What if something else breaks that is definitely not fixable?

$800 in 2000 is only $1,200 today. I don’t know for sure that I even spent $800 on it.

Brian

Everything is "fixable". Just a matter of time, skill and money, but no worries, I understand exactly what you mean.
175' of driveway is a lot of area to deal with. I think if possible you should bite the bullet and buy a new one.
We use the Honda's at work pretty much exclusively, and they seem to be holding up well. I'll never buy another Honda product personally, but there machines are nice.
Ariens would be my next choice,but not the models from Home Depot and Lowes. Go to an actual Ariens dealer.
I have the Cub Cadet 3 stage, and it's nice, but it only truly shines in deep snow. In snow up to 4" that first impeller isn't doing much. Get 6"+ and now that impeller has something to do.
First thing to go will probably be fuel system related. Carburetors are plastic bodied these days, and rebuild kits are kind of a thing of the past. It's become a throw away part for the most part.
I also have an old Troy-Bilt, 5HP, from the late 80's, so I do know which part(s) you're looking for. You might try eBay, or the snowblowers.com website. Might be able to source a used part.

[Bill Dufour]

Neat video Bill!


Best i could find. The snow is not that deep.
Bill D

[Brian Elfert]

Just curious as to why you put 2 identical posts up.... one at 10:34 pm and one at 10:47 pm?

I certainly didn't do it intentionally.

[Brian Elfert]

I lucked out and found the part in stock somewhere. I called Small Engine Parts Warehouse (sepw.com) and they said they deal with a company that stocks obsolete parts. This company has the part and with any luck I will have it this week. I have purchased a few parts from SEPW and have a package arriving from them today in fact. I attached a picture of the part.

Simplicity was one of the brands I was planning to look at tonight before I found the part. I doubt the Ariens models are any different between power equipment dealers and big box stores, but I would have to look at the model numbers between the two.

I thought about having the part made if I couldn't find one, but I don't know where to go for this plus the cost wouldn't be cheap. I kinda figured the time and expense wouldn't be worth it.

[Jim Koepke]

I doubt the Ariens models are any different between power equipment dealers and big box stores, but I would have to look at the model numbers between the two.

A manufacture has to do something to cut the costs for the big box stores. Many products are 'cost reduced' to meet the demands of mass marketers.

jtk

[Brian Elfert]

A manufacture has to do something to cut the costs for the big box stores. Many products are 'cost reduced' to meet the demands of mass marketers.


With the volume of snow blowers sold at big box stores I bet the same 'cost reduced' models are also sold at power equipment dealers. There are certainly products sold only at big box stores that are less well built than the products sold elsewhere. I bought a Moen faucet at Menards for one of my bathrooms and asked the contractor remodeling the other bathroom if he could get the same fixtures for that bathroom. The plumber said that product line was big box only and not available from his wholesale suppliers. I recall I ended up buying the fixtures at Menards myself. The fixtures haven't had any issues in five years now, but they should last far longer than five years,

[Tom M King]

Glad you found the part!

[Rob Luter]

My 19 year old Troy-Bilt snow blower is dead. A bearing support for the auger broke and no longer available. This was one of the last units made before Gardenway went bankrupt. This is not an MTD. This thing is a tank. It broke a few years back and the hardware store I bought it from said to spend $500 on repairs instead of a new one as it is made better than today's units. (It did not cost $500 to fix that time.) The engine starts on the first pull every time.

I'm not happy that it is dead simply due to a $30 or $40 part.

I think the only snow blower that will last as long is the Honda and I don't want to spend $2,000 on a snow blower. I think I spent at most $800 on mine in December 2000. The bad part is it is supposed to snow overnight and I have no way to remove the snow from my 175 foot driveway other than a shovel. Ariens would probably be my choice today, but they still have a Chinese engine. I have a feeling the engine will be the first thing to go.

First off, a 175' drive calls for a plow truck. Second choice would be a big honking snow blower. A drive that long amounts to almost 3/4 of a mile of clearing path for a 24" blower. Unless I was retired and loved cold weather, I'd be looking at at least a 30" two stage, and perhaps a small tractor with a blower accessory. But I digress.....

I bought a 24" MTD for under $400 in '96 and it lasted 20 years. The recoil starter on broke during a big storm and I had to buy the replacement over a weekend. I bought a new 24" Troy Bilt by MTD (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Troy-Bilt-24-in-208-cc-Two-Stage-Gas-Snow-Blower-with-Electric-Start-Self-Propelled-Storm-2410/305562533?mtc=Shopping-VF-F_Vendor-G-D28I-28_33_CHORE-TROY_BILT-NA-Feed-PLA-NA-NA-VB_Snow_Blower&cm_mmc=Shopping-VF-F_Vendor-G-D28I-28_33_CHORE-TROY_BILT-NA-Feed-PLA-NA-NA-VB_Snow_Blower-71700000040854868-58700004379572935-92700037109474593&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_rfvBRCPARIsANlV66Pxu_tM0AdHjrg6E9dZ uVWQnMBH69f7YuuiN5I--LLch0Tv1hjWMzoaAjdcEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) in 2016 (under $600) and it's been flawless. Starts first pull, handles deep drifts, and has electric start if I need it. I live in a lake effect snow zone so it gets a workout. Living in the great white North, your mileage may vary. You might need a bigger version. Is there offshore content? Yup. My point is, it's a robustly built blower with a good engine. I wouldn't fret about an MDT built blower. I sold the old one on Craigslist for $200 and I'm guessing the other guy will get another 10 years out of it.

[Kev Williams]

As to the video Bill posted up- notice right in the middle of the video that behemouth snowblower, like every other snowblower, started pushing the snow instead of blowing it, and had to stop-

...guess the operator forgot the silicone spray, ay? :D

[Dave Cav]

175 foot driveway

A 500 cc quad with a 48" blade.

I have a 3 car garage that's actually about as wide as a 4 car, a shop that's as big as a 4 car garage with an apron in front of it, and about 75 feet or so of driveway. Plus I'm on a corner so I get to clear the sidewalks on two sides of the house. And my two neighbors are even older than I am so I often end up going all the way down the block. I have a quad with a blade AND a 30" Ariens (from the power equipment dealer).

[Brian Elfert]

The first 110 feet of my driveway is only 12 feet wide so that portion only takes three trips up and back with a 24" snow blower. The remaining portion of the driveway widens out as wide as 30 to 40 feet. It isn't great to do with a 24" snow blower, but I can't afford nor do I have room for a quad with plow or similar.

The reality is I have a great big 48" snow blower attachment that weighs 450 pounds sitting in my garage on blocks. It attaches to my Toro Grouondsmaster 228-D riding mower. The mower is currently down with a hydraulic cylinder issue. It wasn't lifting properly on one side so I took the cylinder to a hydraulic shop and they said it was broken and they fixed it. It still doesn't lift all the way and not sure if the cylinder is broken or if it just has air in the lines. I am currently removing the fuel tank so I can get to the cylinder, but it is going to be too cold to work in the garage for a while as it is only 15 degrees now and getting colder.

[Brian Tymchak]

I am not as far north of you (Cincinnati) But I have a Toro electric and love it. Had it for about 10 years.



Mine lasted 14 years, and actually was still running when I retired it last year. It was starting to lay down, not blowing the snow as far. I had gotten tired of the cord management aspect of using an electric blower, and there was something also about the height of the chute direction handle that aggravated my back. So I moved over to a single stage gas powered Cub with really nice chute controls. The performance difference was incredible.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have 2 drives that I blow one is 150 feet and the other is 175 feet I also blew out my neighbors 200 foot drive when he lived there. I have had my Yardman snowblower for over 20 years and it is still going strong I do live in the secondary snow belt

[Steve Fish]

Glad you found the part Brian. I’ve got some “old iron” Gravely stuff back in Connecticut that I found over the years. I collected a few of these machines out of nostalgia because that’s what my dad had when I was knee high. OSHA be dammed, you can’t kill a “dog eater “ snow thrower. Not my picture, but I’ve got both models shown here plus their latest 2 wheel before they discontinued (bought out by Ariens) that can still run. Convertible L-8 and a comm10/12
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[Ted Calver]

... OSHA be dammed, you can’t kill a “dog eater “ snow thrower. ..

My dad had a Gravely and one of those dog eater snow blowers. Never heard them called that before, but it fits. During high school (50's) I used to earn $2 each plowing the neighbors driveways during some mean Syracuse winters. That thing could eat some snow. Mowed lawns during the summer with a big old front mounted mower unit on the Gravely too. It was a beast. I think the closest thing you can find today are the Italian made BCS (https://bcsamerica.com/) machines, which are like the Mercedes of two wheeled garden tractors. Love to have one of them for my garden.

[John Suhreptz]

Dog eater snowblower! LOL. That made my day

[Steve Fish]

My dad had a Gravely and one of those dog eater snow blowers. Never heard them called that before, but it fits. During high school (50's) I used to earn $2 each plowing the neighbors driveways during some mean Syracuse winters. That thing could eat some snow. Mowed lawns during the summer with a big old front mounted mower unit on the Gravely too. It was a beast. I think the closest thing you can find today are the Italian made BCS (https://bcsamerica.com/) machines, which are like the Mercedes of two wheeled garden tractors. Love to have one of them for my garden.

Yeah me too! I remember seeing those online a while back. Just looked them up again. They look like a sweet little 2-wheeler. Sorry for the side track guys

[Frank Drackman]

A manufacture has to do something to cut the costs for the big box stores. Many products are 'cost reduced' to meet the demands of mass marketers.

jtk

It's easy to tell if the big box stores are selling a cost reduced product. It will have a slightly different model number. Same model number, then is is the same machine.

[Jim Koepke]

It's easy to tell if the big box stores are selling a cost reduced product. It will have a slightly different model number. Same model number, then is is the same machine.

Depending on the maker, it could also be a different designation in the serial number.

This reminds me of an experience with some Snap-On tools. My friend had a ratchet that was identical to mine except for a G- at the beginning of the model number. The G- signified these were made for a government bid and were not subject to the standard Snap-On warrantees. Mine was obsolete and when it wore out a replacement ratchet mechanism wasn't available. It was a bit of a hassle, but it was eventually exchanged by Snap-On.

jtk

[Brian Elfert]

Depending on the maker, it could also be a different designation in the serial number.

This reminds me of an experience with some Snap-On tools. My friend had a ratchet that was identical to mine except for a G- at the beginning of the model number. The G- signified these were made for a government bid and were not subject to the standard Snap-On warrantees. Mine was obsolete and when it wore out a replacement ratchet mechanism wasn't available. It was a bit of a hassle, but it was eventually exchanged by Snap-On.


I suspect there are some laws that would get broken if items were built differently, but had the same model number. Snap-On modified the model number so it was clear it was not the same item as their regular item.

I bet the only difference for Snap-On between government and regular was the warranty. The item itself was the same, but the reduced warranty meant meant less cost for Snap-On.

[Brian Elfert]

It's easy to tell if the big box stores are selling a cost reduced product. It will have a slightly different model number. Same model number, then is is the same machine.

The Ariens website doesn't show different model numbers, but companies don't always show everything online. I have not had a chance to stop by the power equipment dealer to note the part numbers for their Ariens snow blowers to compare against Home Depot and Lowes. I would have been there Monday evening had I not found the elusive part for my snow blower.

One advantage with Home Depot and Lowes is there are various ways to get some serious discounts not available at the power equipment dealer. One can buy a Lowe's 10% coupon on Ebay. Home Depot gift cards are 10% off at a local gas station chain right now. I still like the power equipment dealer because they have been around for 100 years and I want them to stay around. I have purchased power equipment both from the dealer and some from Home Depot over the years.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Snow? That's why half of the people in PA, and NJ now reside in NC. Our county is growing at the rate of 65 people a day, not including live births. Would the last person leaving NJ, please turn the lights off

[Brian Elfert]

People are still moving to Minneapolis in spite of the snow. Growth is not as fast as the southern states for sure.

Anyhow, the part for my snow blower is out for delivery. It occurred to me that perhaps the bearing seized in the support housing which caused the part to break. It is probably a common bearing easy to get, but it just adds more time to get the bearing. MTD wanted $40 for a bearing and I bought one at an auto parts store for less than $10.

[Brian Elfert]

My part arrived last night. It is really old stock. The part has FMC Bolens on the plastic package. FMC sold Bolens in 1988! The part number is the one I need and it looks like the part on the snow blower. I didn't get a chance to replace the part last night.

[Brian Elfert]

Darn it, I am going to be buying a new snow blower now instead of fixing mine. It turns out when the auger bearing support broke that the loose auger caused the impeller shaft to pull 3/4" out of the gear case. I assume the worm gear has pulled partially or completely off the shaft inside the gear case. It doesn't hardly seem worth $100 to $200 to have the gear case torn down especially if the gear case is shot. The gear case is NLA unless the place I got the other NLA part from has one.

I stopped by my usual power equipment dealer earlier today and they are not carrying Simplicity this winter that I wanted to look at. The few other Simplicity dealers in the metro area are all closed on Sunday. I am also going to check Craigslist for a used one, but I suspect anything good is gone since we have had several major snow events in the past two weeks.

[Andrew Seemann]

It might be worth checking if it is just a shear pin or something similar.

Or it might be more worth it to just say the h#ll with it, and go and get a snowblower you don't have to worry about for the next decade.

Fortunately, no snow coming for the next week or so, just cold and clear:)

[Brian Elfert]

It might be worth checking if it is just a shear pin or something similar.

Or it might be more worth it to just say the h#ll with it, and go and get a snowblower you don't have to worry about for the next decade.


I can literally see where the impeller shaft has come out of the back of the gear case by almost an inch. The auger shaft in the one side is about 3/4" in front of where it is supposed to be due to the gear case issue. I thought of one last thing to try before I get a new snow blower.

I am going to call to see if the snowblower I want to buy is in stock shortly.