if your impeller is sliding forward, you will need to address that before you break excessive
shear bolts or do chain/sprocket damage. The white metal hub that drives the impeller has
set screws that are supposed to secure it to the shaft. It is common for this hub to not
stay put, and there are a few different fixes you can do. I believe that there is a bit of
design error, in the fact that there is no set screw directly on the key (which i thought was
common practice in a situation like this).
1 fix is to double check the set screws, see if they can be tightened to secure the hub
to that shaft. We have found that sometimes these screws don't really bite into the
shaft for a good secure lock. In some cases, we have removed the hub, and drilled
a hole over top of the keyway and put in a set screw there.
another fix, (and it will be quicker and get you going) is to tighten the set screws the
best you can, (making sure the fan is pushed back away from the front of the housing)
and then install one of those 1" shaft clamps around the shaft and tighten it down good,
which will lock it onto the shaft preventing the hub/impeller from sliding forward.
here's one at grainger:
DAYTON Collar, Shaft, 1 In - Shaft Collars - 1L702|1L702 - Grainger Industrial Supply