JCS_in_KY
Silver Member
About three weeks ago I bought a new Leinbach 7300 with a 9" auger. To date I've doug 21 holes with it. One hole down to about 30" in soft soil, didn't hit any rocks. After that I dug 20 holes to 12 - 15 inches for some pine seedlings I'm planting. All those holes were in soft soil, never hit any rocks that I know of and haven't broken any shear bolts. When digging the tractor was always at idle or within a 100 RPM of it. Today I got everything out to plant more trees, went and marked hole locations and got the tractor in position to dig the first hole. As soon as I engaged the PTO the auger bit begin flailing around. Before I could get it stopped the auger itself broke away from the post hole digger gear box and landed on the ground. When I inspected the bit I found that the shaft of the auger bit had sheared completely just below the point where it's attached to the bottom of the gear box. The remainder of the shaft (section with mounting holes) was still bolted to the tractor. Also the sheet metal guard that covers the point where the auger attaches was destroyed. I called the dealer I bought the digger from and he said he's sold 50 or more and no one has ever had a problem with one. He said he's going to contact Leinbachs in the morning to see if they will warranty the auger bit and guard pieces. John