Evil the Weasel
Platinum Member
I thought I would give my front snowblower some extra attention today in preparation for the season. The manual doesn't tell you exactly where the zerks are, but I think I hunted them all down successfully. There are 2 zerks on the auger shafts and one on each end with little plastic caps on them. There were several on the pto shaft that connects the blower to the quick hitch, and also on the long shaft that goes from the back of the quick hitch subframe to the mid PTO. Additionally, there were two zerks on the subframe itself.
I got sick of wrestling with my old-fashioned grease gun that seems to need 3 hands to operate it. One to hold the nozzle onto the zerk, one to hold the barrel, and yet another to work the pump handle. I splurged $20 at TSC on an air compressor powered grease gun from Cambpell Hausfeld. I can't believe I waited so long to get one of these. It made the process quick and easy and will come in handy on the MMM, loader, and for the autos too.
I moved my attention to the gearbox in the middle of the augers and realized I had never checked the oil level. There is a fill plug at the top, a drain plug on the bottom, and a level plug on the back side facing the impeller. After trying every metric hex key I had for the level plug, it turned out to be a standard key size. I backed the level plug out and checked that the heavy gear oil was at the right level. I'll probably change it out next year now that I see how to do it.
I finished up by giving the chain a dose of bar oil and applied white lithium grease to the chute base. I think I am good to go now.
I got sick of wrestling with my old-fashioned grease gun that seems to need 3 hands to operate it. One to hold the nozzle onto the zerk, one to hold the barrel, and yet another to work the pump handle. I splurged $20 at TSC on an air compressor powered grease gun from Cambpell Hausfeld. I can't believe I waited so long to get one of these. It made the process quick and easy and will come in handy on the MMM, loader, and for the autos too.
I moved my attention to the gearbox in the middle of the augers and realized I had never checked the oil level. There is a fill plug at the top, a drain plug on the bottom, and a level plug on the back side facing the impeller. After trying every metric hex key I had for the level plug, it turned out to be a standard key size. I backed the level plug out and checked that the heavy gear oil was at the right level. I'll probably change it out next year now that I see how to do it.
I finished up by giving the chain a dose of bar oil and applied white lithium grease to the chute base. I think I am good to go now.
