You made an important investment when you purchased that snowblower to get you through the grueling winters. Naturally, you want to take care of that investment and make it last. But to do that, you’ll need to be aware of a tiny part that's paramount to the functioning of your machine: Shear pins.
A shear pin (also known as a shear bolt) is a weak bolt that connects the auger to the auger shaft. That connection allows the augers to rotate, collect snow and send snow into the impeller fan, where the snow is thrown from the chute.
If a large object gets wedged between your augers and the housing, the pins break as designed to protect your auger gearcase from incurring damage. All two-stage snow blowers have at least one shear pin on each side of the auger gearcase.
The auger will spin freely once the shear pin is broken, forcing the other auger to do all the work. The augers are pretty expensive to replace, and so is the gear case; on the flip side, shear bolts are just a couple of bucks.
Here's how to replace the bolt so that your snowblower works properly.
What You’ll Need for This Project
Step #1: Remove the broken shear bolt
You're going to use a half-inch wrench and a half-inch socket with a ratchet to take the old shear bolt out and put a new shear bolt in.
Step #2: Get your new shear bolts
You probably have a couple of shear bolts at the top of your snowblower; they often break, so you need to keep spare pins to replace them when needed. Take one of them (or both, if all of them broke) and replace it as soon as you can; you'll always need them. Here at HomCo you can find thousands of bolts, so get stock up anytime!
Step #3: Replace the shear bolt
Get the holes lined back up, put the new shear bolt through the auger and the axle that the auger rides on, so it’s back in its original place. Proceed to tighten the bolt, both augers should spin at the same speed again.
[Rise and repeat the section as necessary]
Conclusion
Simple solutions can help you avoid steep bills caused by a simple lack of knowledge. Getting to know your gear and how to fix it should be top of your list of best practices. After all, it’s not just about getting machines to help you with your projects, but about learning how to take care of the upkeep that will help you get the job done.
You made an important investment when you purchased that snowblower to get you through the grueling winters. Naturally, you want to take care of that investment and make it last. But to do that, you’ll need to be aware of a tiny part that's paramount to the functioning of your machine: Shear pins.
A shear pin (also known as a shear bolt) is a weak bolt that connects the auger to the auger shaft. That connection allows the augers to rotate, collect snow and send snow into the impeller fan, where the snow is thrown from the chute.
If a large object gets wedged between your augers and the housing, the pins break as designed to protect your auger gearcase from incurring damage. All two-stage snow blowers have at least one shear pin on each side of the auger gearcase.
The auger will spin freely once the shear pin is broken, forcing the other auger to do all the work. The augers are pretty expensive to replace, and so is the gear case; on the flip side, shear bolts are just a couple of bucks.
Here's how to replace the bolt so that your snowblower works properly.
What You’ll Need for This Project
Step #1: Remove the broken shear bolt
You're going to use a half-inch wrench and a half-inch socket with a ratchet to take the old shear bolt out and put a new shear bolt in.
Step #2: Get your new shear bolts
You probably have a couple of shear bolts at the top of your snowblower; they often break, so you need to keep spare pins to replace them when needed. Take one of them (or both, if all of them broke) and replace it as soon as you can; you'll always need them. Here at HomCo you can find thousands of bolts, so get stock up anytime!
Step #3: Replace the shear bolt
Get the holes lined back up, put the new shear bolt through the auger and the axle that the auger rides on, so it’s back in its original place. Proceed to tighten the bolt, both augers should spin at the same speed again.
[Rise and repeat the section as necessary]
Conclusion
Simple solutions can help you avoid steep bills caused by a simple lack of knowledge. Getting to know your gear and how to fix it should be top of your list of best practices. After all, it’s not just about getting machines to help you with your projects, but about learning how to take care of the upkeep that will help you get the job done.