Spring maintenance on JD 1332 snowblower

[pinetree10]

I finally got around to changing the oil in my 1332 and I was surprised at a few things:

- It only holds less than a quart of oil. For some reason I figured such a large engine would hold more than that.

- The oil had a sheen to it like it was full of very fine metal shavings. This is the first time I've ever changed the oil because it only has about 10 hours on it so maybe it was metal.

- I only found three grease fittings: Two on the auger shaft and one on the left wheel shaft (why only on the left?).

- I figured out a way to lift the wheels off the ground by putting a tall board under the support tubing about halfway up between the handlebars. How do they do this in the repair shops so they can get the wheels off the ground? I've never actually seen the inside of a John Deere repair shop. Maybe they have some cool small equipment lifts or something.

- I was surprised at the ingenuity of the drive mechanism for the wheels: Just a spinning metal disk and a perpendicular rubber disc for forward and reverse speeds. I was amazed at how dry all the gears, grease fittings, and pivot points were. It always feels good to lube it up and get it ready for next year.

Now for a question: The motor actually runs fine at high speed but when it idles it does not run even. I don't know how to explain in writing other than it goes vroom..vroom..vroom..vroom instead of just evenly idling at one speed. Is this fixed with just a simple carb adjustment? I use fuel stabilizer and never have problems starting it. If anyone has a hint I would appreciate it.

Part of me wishes it would fall apart so I could put a brand new snowblower attachment on my 2720 but then my wife would have to kill me so I guess I'm better off with the walk-behind for now. She even bought me the giant snow cab for the 1332 this past Christmas. I guess that was her way of saying she wants to keep it.

Happy Spring.

 

[jgayman]

-Yep, according to the manual the crankcase capacity of the 1332 is 28oz.

-It could be residual shavings. Actually, the manual says the first oil change was to be done after 2 hrs of operation. This is typically to flush out small bits that are normal for a new engine.

-Check your manual, it also mentions a pinion shaft grease fitting

-I've had walk-behinds for 40 years. The trick to working on the innards is to drain the fuel and oil and stand them on the front housing with the handlebars pointing towards the sky. They are very stable in this position and it makes servicing very easy. Sometimes I have been able avoid draining the fuel by placing a piece of plastic wrap over the fuel tank opening and then put the cap back on. In fact, the manual for your 1332 shows the same process of standing it on end.

-The rubber tire drive system is used on virtually every walk-behind blower except for the ones with hydrostatic transmissions. They can last a very long time. The one thing you have to be careful of is excess lubrication on the gears and shafts. If any excess oil flicks off onto the rubber tire or pressure plate drive disk you will have problems. It's very hard to clean and you usually end up changing the tire. Be very careful lubricating things. The manual very clearly shows where to apply grease and where to apply a very thin layer of oil. Again - do not over lubricate.

-It sounds like your carburetor has some dirt or gunk in it clogging one of the jets or vents. They can be tricky to clean. The first thing you can do is remove the bowl and hose it down real good with some spray carb cleaner and then carefully blow it out with some compressed air.

Like I said, I've been a walk-behind blower user for 40 years but two years ago I gave my knees a Christmas present and purchased a 54" front blower for my 2720. I don't miss the walk-behind at all. As much as the walk-behind beats shoveling the tractor-mounted blower beats the walk-behind 10-times.

I still have my old walk-behind in the shed as a backup. It is a 13HP 33inch MTD that I've had for 17 years. I hope I never have to use it.

 

[pinetree10]

After reading your post I checked the Briggs and Stratton engine manual that came with the snowblower and it says to change the oil after the first 5 hours while the John Deere manual that came with the unit says change it after the first 2 hours. Either way I probably waited a bit too long to do it. That's probably because although I've had it 5 years this was the first winter where I actually used it a significant amount of time so I figured it was finally due for a change. It says to change it every 25 hours or each season but I haven't put half that much time on it in the 5 years I've owned it. For the effort it takes and the oil it uses, I'll probably change it each season from now on unless I don't use it at all during the winter.

You must be looking at a different manual than what I was given with my unit because my manual does not mention a pinion shaft grease fitting. I did find an online manual that shows the method for standing the unit on the front housing, which isn't shown in my manual either. My snowblower is the 1332PE model. Maybe that's why the manual is different than yours.

The online manual I found also says this: "Possible engine surging will occur at high rpm when the transmission is in neutral ("N") and auger drive is disengaged. This is a normal condition due to the emission control system." I don't know if this is the reason for the surging at idle or not but I'm not worried about it because it runs great when I'm blowing snow at full throttle. I went through the whole unit and found it to be very clean.

Thanks for the feedback.