Pellet heads!! What's up today?

Well, this morning cleanup wasnt as plug n play as expected. After 1 swipe down the driveway did a little around the mailbox and picked up a rock. Not big and after that noticed was pushing sn*ow on one side-yep auger is spinning sp brought it back to garage to put in a new shear bolt (not pins on Honda) but found the collar that the shear bolt goes thru and attaches the auger to the drive shaft broke

Have had Hondas with this same setup for 30 years and always concerned this might happen.

Did the cleanup with only 1 of the 2 augers turning-that was fun.

Came in, looked up the part, checked the interwebby and willing to pay for overnight. Nope best I could find was 2-3 days before shipping.

Called around and found a shop in Manchester that had 2 available-hour drive each way but at least I have it.

Blower is in the basement by the stove to melt and thaw so I can do the job tomorrow down there instead of out in the cold garage. Tools are down there getting all warmed up too as they live in my tool box in the garage. Hate using cold tools.

Pulling the auger assembly out of the bucket shouldnt be too bad.

Below is the bugger that broke. I was always concerned about the thinnest part which is where the shear bolt attatched to the auger. It broke at the drive shaft hole and where the thru pin goes thru the drive shaft

Looking at the pic, it does look like less material where it broke than where the shear bolt attaches.

 

Looking at the new part vs the original, the new one is beefier-now wish I had bought one for the other side as well.

The one I bought looks just like the ones on my old Honda blowers........I dont know if they had old stock or if Honda went back to that design for a reason.

This blower is only a year old but I plan on getting another collar like this to have on hand just in case. In all reality it would have been a warranty repair but for 21 bucks, I will fix it myself to save from bringing it to the shop, waiting god knows how long before they get to it and then have to go get the blower it again.

 

Well now....My son in law named the blue burb...PAPA SMURF.

We went to town earlier and the roads were a mess....Thawed yesterday a bit then 15F last night.....
Slicker than greased owl chit.....

Papa smurf handled it well.....

Came back a different way and ran into a section of road about 1/4 mile long that snow had filled in the road 2-3 feet deep with fluff .....Papa Smurf took it in stride.....

Got groceries and stuff for a few days....Good to go....

 

I bought a new Chev pickup in 1988. 18 years later, only 150 k miles, but the body rotted out. Bought a new silverado in 2003, drove it for 15 years, 100k miles, body rotted out. Bought a used 2013, still driving it, 66k miles, frame and body rotting out. In Chevys defense, I am not a big fan of washing the truck, but I keep them clean and maintained. New England winters just eat them up. Oh well, I probable only have 1, maybe 2 new trucks in my future, then I'll rust out and go to the boneyard!

 

Not too bad this morning, +1, feel like temp -11.

My dad got a Chevy Vega in 1970. The original with the aluminum block. Put 177k miles on it, gave it to my brother who drove it for another 25k before it rotted out. My dad was religious about maintenance and as it got older the Chevy dealer techs would gather around it when it came in for service cause they had never seen an original Vega engine last that long . Usual life of those engines was 30-40k.

I had a '75 Vega GT that swallowed a valve at 50k in '78. It was sitting in my yard while I was deciding whether to fix it or not. Went into Tech HiFi (a regional audio chain store, now long gone) to buy a new stereo setup. Got talking with the manager about cars and he had a '74 Vega that had lots of rot but a good engine. So he took my Vega as a trade in on the stereo system! - Nikko 5055 receiver (manual touted they were made to "Japanese military standards"), a pair of massive Micro Acoustic FRM-2A speakers, speaker stands and headphones. Ended up paying about half price with the car as trade in. No idea how long he drove my old car with his engine in it.

Lori had a '96 Mazda Protege that had 202k and still got 40mpg when it rotted out in '08.

Currently have two 2015 vehicles, Corolla LE with 55k and a Rav4 XLE with 45k. As we don't drive them much and don't drive in winter storms when there is a ton of salt on the roads, I'm hoping the bodies last.

sam

 

Can you post a pic of the broken end?

 

Not just a Chevy problem......NE winters (aka tons of salt drive through) kill all brands, unless you constantly are doing under vehicle frame washes. My '02 Trailblazer made it through 17 winters in NY with minimal rust, and was sold & new owners registered it again no problem after inspection. Only exception to this seemed to be the 'Yota Tacoma pickups......those frames rusted/rotted just by looking at them. Toyota replaced frames as fast as they could make new ones.

 

I had a '72. Aluminum high silica block had no cast iron cylinder liners, so if you lagged on oil changes, you were doomed. Mine had 70K+ and ran just fine before I sold it after college. Again, it's all about maintenance.

 

dont have it but the new one is heftier than what's on the blower.

In 30 years this is the first one to break-many shear bolts but this collar didnt beak till this new design.

 

Watch Mustie1 on YouTube (he lives in NH)....he sprays the underside of his vehicles with thinned-down bar & chain oil, and it seems to work well. He's tried Fluid Film & other stuff, but most of them just eventually wash off.

 

Gee, It was 75* here yesterday. T-Shirt & shorts.

 

Cry me a river...