john Deere 2320 noisy snowblower?

[Dale1995]

Hi guys, well snow has finally come to northern maine, and I just took out my tractor and front mount 47" snowblower for the first time. I used to own a x485 with this same snowblower setup and it was very quiet even when you raised it to its maximum level. In the past I remember reading that these snowblowers when installed on the 2000 series were noisy when you raised them up. Mine was very noisy this morning so I keep it as low as possible when backing up. Do others who have this setup have this same problem (as far as noise) Is there a remedy to this or am I going to have to just grin and bear it! I would be interested in finding out what others think and what they may have done to remedy the problem.....other than that I love this new machine. Also have any of you had to put chains on this machine to help blow snow? I was wondering if I could put them on just the back or maybe just the front. My local john deere dealer told me a set of rear chains was $225.00 a bit pricey for me....where else might I get chains for this beast!

 

[Pipestone Kid]

I have a 4110 and the same blower. If I raise it all the way up, it's noisy, but if I stop just a little bit short of all the way, it is fine. What tires do you have on your machine? I have turf and have never needed chains. I have a long drive that goes up quite a steep hill and back down, so you might say that I have to go uphill both ways.

 

[Dale1995]

I have a 4110 and the same blower. If I raise it all the way up, it's noisy, but if I stop just a little bit short of all the way, it is fine. What tires do you have on your machine? I have turf and have never needed chains. I have a long drive that goes up quite a steep hill and back down, so you might say that I have to go uphill both ways.

I also have turfs, my driveway is about 150' long and is inclined at the roadway, I didn't have any slipage this morning....but that snowblower noise is annoying especially when you have spent close to $23,000.00 for this setup.

 

[2Malamutes]

I have the 2320 w/47" blower as well, and I also know to keep the blower down a little to prevent the noise. The first time I raised it all the way up I was a little worried, so I had my wife raise it while I watched what was happening, and I think there are 2 factors. First, the joint in the driveshaft does not seem to like the angle having the blower all the way up creates, and second the second stage doesn't seem to like being at that angle either. There isn't a lot of clearance behind the second stage normally let alone when you try to run it unloaded at an angle.

I have turfs as well with 2 JD rear wheel weights on each side, and I've never had an issue with slippage and our driveway is nothing but slope.

 

[chipsndust]

There is a thread on this issue with 2305/2210 owners.
I found that if you make sure the yokes on the all the universals are "lined up" it is much quieter. Also, the driveshaft from the PTO to the front mounting kit can be installed incorrectly. The smaller, inner shaft connects to the front PTO drive assembly, the larger, outer shaft attaches to the transaxle shaft. Also, make sure the spring collars are fully engaged.

 

[nmu98]

The chain in the blower can also be noisey if it is dry also. I hit mine with chain lube that I have for my sport quads.

 

[2Malamutes]

Also, the driveshaft from the PTO to the front mounting kit can be installed incorrectly. The smaller, inner shaft connects to the front PTO drive assembly, the larger, outer shaft attaches to the transaxle shaft.

Can you clarify the above? My driveshaft has only one collar, at the transaxle end, while the other end has the hexagonal/splined section to pass through the front quick hitch. I don't see how that could possibly be reversed. The short shaft coming out of the blower itself likewise has only one collar, to attach to the aforementioned splined section, and so I don't see how it could be installed incorrectly either. Thanks.

 

[Labrat]

I've had the 47 blower since 2003. It is a noisy unit. I've tried several things to quiet it down but the only thing that worked was installing a cab. There are several things you can check. Lube the chain as nmu98 stated. Check the set screws and the shear bolts on the augers they seem to loosen periodically. The dealers have offset the sprockets slightly to lower the noise. I tried it but couldn't get it any better. The reason it gets worse when raised is from the change in the U joint angle. It will do the same if you put down pressure on the blower and lift the front of the tractor.

 

[chipsndust]

Can you clarify the above? My driveshaft has only one collar, at the transaxle end, while the other end has the hexagonal/splined section to pass through the front quick hitch. I don't see how that could possibly be reversed. The short shaft coming out of the blower itself likewise has only one collar, to attach to the aforementioned splined section, and so I don't see how it could be installed incorrectly either. Thanks.

2Malamutes:
This is hard to describe without a picture, but I'll try.
The snowthrower driveshaft has a yoke and coupler on the end.
The mid-to-front PTO driveshaft has a yoke and coupler on each end. (You can see that the yokes on each end are oriented the same, "in phase".)
The smaller, inner end of the PTO driveshaft (the end with the spline) goes toward the front.
Both these couplers (the one on the snowthrower driveshaft and the one on the splined end of the mid-to-front PTO driveshaft) get attached to the front hitch assembly. With the engine off, if you put your mid PTO in neutral you can turn the entire drive train by hand.
Couple the snowthrower driveshaft to the hitch assembly. Couple the rear coupling of the driveshaft (the larger, outer end) to the mid PTO. Turn the driveshaft by hand until the yoke is lined up with the snowthrower yoke that is already attached to the front hitch assembly.
When you couple the front driveshaft coupling to the front hitch assembly, make sure the "knuckles" on the universals are oriented the same way as the "knuckles" on the snowthrower driveshaft.
Since everything is already coupled, standing between the snowthrower and the front of the tractor, you can see the yokes attached to the front (from the snowthrower) and the back (from the mid PTO) of the front hitch assembly. If they are not "in phase", it's probably easiest to uncouple the snowthrower, turn the shaft until it's lined up with the pto driveshaft, and recouple.

47" Snowblower Operating Manual OMM147922 J2 says (on page 6, Connecting Driveshaft) NOTE: For optimal performance, align attachment driveshaft yoke with mid-to-front PTO driveshaft yoke.
Front PTO Kit Installation Instruction Manual LVU14264 J2 says (on page 2, Install Front PTO Driveshaft) IMPORTANT: Avoid damage! The spring collars on the PTO driveshaft must lock in position on the transaxle shaft and drive assembly shaft.
And:
NOTE: This kit uses a telescoping driveshaft. The smaller, inner shaft connects to the front PTO drive assembly, the larger, outer shaft connects to the transaxle shaft.

Hope this helps. Aligning the two drive shafts eliminated the noise for me, I know others had a lot of noise, even with the shafts aligned.

 

[2Malamutes]

chipsndust, thank you for your detailed explanation, I think I see the problem now. Apparently there has been a redesign for the 2320, or at least for my newer 2320 as what you are seeing and what I have are not at all the same. My 47" Snowblower Operator's Manual OMLVU18040 J5 differs greatly from the text you outlined below. First, my mid to front driveshaft is not a telescopic type, and in addition does not have a coupler on each end (Front PTO Kit Manual LVU18039 J5.) When installing the driveshaft, the fixed length shaft must be slid too far forward through the front bearings, lined up with the rear splines, and then pulled rearwards to engage the single locking collar. There are two yokes, but they are not adjustable in orientation. It sounds like the problem is people are referring to a thread with an older design that is not applicable to newer 2320 blower installs.

I do have a single collar on the blower, and it is of a telescopic type (although not reversible) with two yokes, so the only thing I could apply from your explanation would be aligning the PTO driveshaft yoke closest to the front PTO with the yoke on the blower driveshaft closest to the front PTO.

That might have been difficult to explain without pictures as well, so this evening I'll post some shots to clarify.

The snowthrower driveshaft has a yoke and coupler on the end.
The mid-to-front PTO driveshaft has a yoke and coupler on each end. (You can see that the yokes on each end are oriented the same, "in phase".)

47" Snowblower Operating Manual OMM147922 J2 says (on page 6, Connecting Driveshaft) NOTE: For optimal performance, align attachment driveshaft yoke with mid-to-front PTO driveshaft yoke.
Front PTO Kit Installation Instruction Manual LVU14264 J2 says (on page 2, Install Front PTO Driveshaft) IMPORTANT: Avoid damage! The spring collars on the PTO driveshaft must lock in position on the transaxle shaft and drive assembly shaft.
And:
NOTE: This kit uses a telescoping driveshaft. The smaller, inner shaft connects to the front PTO drive assembly, the larger, outer shaft connects to the transaxle shaft.

 

[Dale1995]

chipsndust, thank you for your detailed explanation, I think I see the problem now. Apparently there has been a redesign for the 2320, or at least for my newer 2320 as what you are seeing and what I have are not at all the same. My 47" Snowblower Operator's Manual OMLVU18040 J5 differs greatly from the text you outlined below. First, my mid to front driveshaft is not a telescopic type, and in addition does not have a coupler on each end (Front PTO Kit Manual LVU18039 J5.) When installing the driveshaft, the fixed length shaft must be slid too far forward through the front bearings, lined up with the rear splines, and then pulled rearwards to engage the single locking collar. There are two yokes, but they are not adjustable in orientation. It sounds like the problem is people are referring to a thread with an older design that is not applicable to newer 2320 blower installs.

I do have a single collar on the blower, and it is of a telescopic type (although not reversible) with two yokes, so the only thing I could apply from your explanation would be aligning the PTO driveshaft yoke closest to the front PTO with the yoke on the blower driveshaft closest to the front PTO.

That might have been difficult to explain without pictures as well, so this evening I'll post some shots to clarify.

I just checked my snowblower operating manual and I have the same numbers also omlvu18040 j5, I searched long and hard and I could not see what he was talking about. All I can see is that I can index my universal joints so they are the same. I blew snow with it for the first time yesterday, and it wasn't quite so noisy with snow.....but it seems to blow better than my older 47" snowblower I had on my X485 back in 2003.

 

[chipsndust]

[/quote]I do have a single collar on the blower, and it is of a telescopic type (although not reversible) with two yokes, so the only thing I could apply from your explanation would be aligning the PTO driveshaft yoke closest to the front PTO with the yoke on the blower driveshaft closest to the front PTO.

That might have been difficult to explain without pictures as well, so this evening I'll post some shots to clarify.[/quote]

We might be saying the same thing? The two shafts which couple to the front hitch assembly (with the short shaft built into it) need to be able to flex in the same plane as they spin.
I took some pictures of mine. The first one is the snowthrower driveshaft coupled to the front hitch assembly. The second one is the mid-to-front PTO driveshaft coupled to the the front hitch assembly. Hopefully you can see that the two universals are "in phase". The outer yoke on each shaft is in the horozontal plane.

 

[2Malamutes]

We might be saying the same thing? The two shafts which couple to the front hitch assembly (with the short shaft built into it) need to be able to flex in the same plane as they spin.
I took some pictures of mine. The first one is the snowthrower driveshaft coupled to the front hitch assembly. The second one is the mid-to-front PTO driveshaft coupled to the the front hitch assembly. Hopefully you can see that the two universals are "in phase". The outer yoke on each shaft is in the horozontal plane.

50% of what we were saying is the same. 2320 owners do not have a short shaft built into the front hitch assembly, and thus no locking collar on the front hitch end of the shaft from the mid PTO. The shaft passing through the front hitch is one end of the solid, non-telescoping shaft originating at the mid PTO as seen in my photos.

As I said, the only thing from your original post that is applicable to 2320 owners is syncing the universal joints.

 

[chipsndust]

I see the difference. Pictures really help!

 

[JSR LLS]

Great explanations guys, 2malamutes, you need to get that machine dirty!

 

[2Malamutes]

Great explanations guys, 2malamutes, you need to get that machine dirty!

That is one thing I don't mind about using the tractor all winter in the snow, it makes a nice wash cycle, although the fact that I towel dry it after every use (and maybe my OCD) might have something to do with it as well.

 

[Wildbill34]

One thing I found out is that if the front PTO shaft is not the right size (length) it will vibrate the heck out of the blower. Let me explain, if the front pto shaft is too short the noise is really prevelant when you use the float on the blower as you are using it (real quite when lifted in the air, but real noisy all the way down). If you raise it just a hair then the significant noise/vibtation goes away. Meaning you are extending the pto shaft past its usable length which either causes it to bind a little or get to sloppy, in either case it causes the vibration/noise. Conversely, for those which are too long then the noise really come about as you raise them up and the shaft compresses too hard. Which in turn create additional stress on the shaft and hence the vibration. The vibration can be bad enough to cause you to lose shear bolts on the impeller on a regular basis. Take it from a feller who learned the hard way and now is ordering the proper front PTO shaft.

 

[gbourk]

I have a 2004 2210 that with the yokes aligned and in the right order still vibrates as if it is coming apart. U joints good. Can see no problem based on install. At a loss
G

 

[Labrat]

G
It is inherent for the excessive vibration on the 2210 because of the excessive U joint angle on the mid shaft below the front axle. If you have someone sit on the machine and run the blower at pto speed you can see the deflection on the mid pto shaft. The vibration gets better under load but with no load or light load the vibration is annoying. I replaced the U joint with a CV joint and supported the shaft with a pillow block bearing and it totally eliminated the vibration.

 

[Dale1995]

G
It is inherent for the excessive vibration on the 2210 because of the excessive U joint angle on the mid shaft below the front axle. If you have someone sit on the machine and run the blower at pto speed you can see the deflection on the mid pto shaft. The vibration gets better under load but with no load or light load the vibration is annoying. I replaced the U joint with a CV joint and supported the shaft with a pillow block bearing and it totally eliminated the vibration.

I have a 2320 with the same 47" snowblower and also find the excessive vibration annoying to say the least. I love your retrofit with the cv joint and pillow block bearing. I hate to reinvent the wheel. What did you use for the cv joint and pillow block bearing, were you able to reuse your same drive shaft? Any pictures and/or part #s would be very helpful! Please elaborate how you changed all of this over.....thanks