47" Plastic impeller

[Labrat]

My father-in-law has an X700 with a 47" snowblower with the plastic impeller. last night I stopped by his place and while he was blowing snow I could hear the impeller rattling whenever there was no load on it. I checked it out and found the impeller will chuck back and forth about 1/4".

The set screws to the shaft and the shear bolt are all tight. My thought is whatever couples the plastic to the steel is failing but I wanted to ask before I tear it apart.

My 2210 is a 2003 and it has the steel impeller so I'm not familiar with the design of the plastic.

Thanks

 

[beenthere]

So you know the impeller is moving separate from the shaft?

 

[Labrat]

Yes I was able to hold the shaft and move the impeller separately.

This may be self inflicted. I noticed he would forget the RIO then remember when it wouldn't blow snow then engage the pto with a load of snow in the blower.

 

[beenthere]

The RIO has no business being connected when blowing snow.. can't back over anyone with the mower.
I thought there was an automatic disconnect.. of the RIO when the snowblower was attached.

If the "rattler" noise bothers the FIL, then put on a new impeller.

 

[Labrat]

I was thinking about disabling it for the winter. He doesn't even hear the noise, actually I did when I was at his house last night. I was worried that the impeller is getting ready to fail but wanted to make sure that play wasn't normal before I order a new one.

 

[Labrat]

Found my answer. It appears this is normal.

 

[Dutch445]

and when it does go, they can still get you the steel for a replacement. a little pricey
but they never had that problem, they just bend when abused!

 

[Labrat]

Yeah I will talk him into the steel one once his fails.

Amazing how much smoother and quieter his snow blower is compared to mine, and I have both updated pto shafts with the CV joints.

 

[beenthere]

Labrat
What do you think makes his smoother and quieter than yours? Different model? plastic impeller ? Just curious.

 

[Labrat]

I think it's the angle of the mid pto shaft where it goes under the front axle. I originally had the pto shaft without the double Cardan joint. I cut the U joint off and replaced it with a CV joint out of front wheel drive vehicle and supported the pto shaft with a pillow block carrier bearing. I eventually got a decent price on both shafts with the double Cardan joints and used them for the past 3 seasons. I'm now planning on going back to shaft with the cv joint because I feel it's much smoother.

 

[Labrat]

I know it's the end of snow season but the noise and vibration was driving me nuts so yesterday I reinstalled the shaft and carrier that I made several years ago. Vibration is completely gone and is quiet enough you can't hear it in the cab.

 

[archristenso]

Labret,

I just picked up a 2210 with a 47" snowblower this winter and I love it, but the blower does rattle a lot. Is there any chance you have specs on the shaft you converted to a cv?

 

[Labrat]

I purchased half shaft for I believe a Honda SUV and had a machinist cut the outer joint off and weld in place of the U joint on the PTO shaft. I made the support bracket and mounted the 2" pillow block bearing. That setup worked for about 10 years until last winter the splines in the quick connect failed.

I ended up replacing the pto shaft with the John Deere shaft with the Cardan joint like the one in the pic. They also have an updated front shaft that attaches to the blower that has a Cardan joint. Another contributor to the vibration on these blowers is the large sprocket on the chain drive is not concentric and will make the blower rattle if it's to tight. if you adjust the chain to around 3/8" slack then rotate the blower by hand you will be able to see if yours is good or bad. I replaced mine and upgraded from #40 chain and spacely sprockets to a #50.

Amazing that both shafts plus the chain and sprockets had to be updated to get this thing to run smooth. But I can honestly say that other than fixing the blower issues this tractor has been trouble free since I purchased it in November 2004. (hope that doesn't come back to bite me)

 

[archristenso]

Thanks for that great information. I'm going to consider replacing the shafts.

One interesting note is that most people say the vibration is bad when the blower is raised. Mine vibrates the most when it is right down against the ground, until I get into snow, then it stops vibrating.

 

[bigtiller]

I found that a slightly loose shear bolt would let the 47 vibrate a little. I switched to all-metal locknuts and blue Loctite. It still rattled but not as much.

 

[Labrat]

I found that a slightly loose shear bolt would let the 47 vibrate a little. I switched to all-metal locknuts and blue Loctite. It still rattled but not as much.

You are correct, I forgot about the loose shear bolts. I would also find the set screws on the impeller would come loose as well. I can't believe how expensive the blue Loctite is now but it works so it is what it is I guess.

 

[Labrat]

Thanks for that great information. I'm going to consider replacing the shafts.

One interesting note is that most people say the vibration is bad when the blower is raised. Mine vibrates the most when it is right down against the ground, until I get into snow, then it stops vibrating.

Keep an eye on eBay, The updated shafts show up every so often for around a couple hundred $$ ea.

Yes I found they vibrate more with no load and if you hit the right angle on the blower. Mine was worse when it was in the float position and the blower was lower than the tractor like going over a hump or frost heave in the driveway.