Ten Steps in Servicing Your Snow Blower

Avoid the annoying breakdown of your snow blower on a very cold winter morning when you have two feet of snow to remove, all before going off to work. At the beginning of winter, before the snow falls, is a good time to get out the snow blower and give it a service. By doing so, you will save money and time.

Find a clutter free area and workbench, bring in the snow blower. Have your tools ready and cleaning cloths to hand.

1. Drain the engine oil and old fuel into containers ready for recycling.

2. Remove the carburetor and clean it. Take off inspection covers and check drive belts for wear. If the belts show any sign of damage or deterioration, now is the time to replace them. Before removing old belts, photograph them, the position of the tension pulleys and where the tension springs are anchored. Their positions look obvious before dismantling, but when replacing the belts, what was their correct position is not so obvious.

3. If you have a snow blower with a speed selector, tip the snow blower on its front end, with the handles in the air. Take off the base and cover gear covers. The drive is a friction disc that moves across a larger aluminum disc. Check the rubber around the outside of the friction disc for damage and wear and replace if necessary.

4. Whilst the snow blower is in this position, check the wheel bearings, is the drive shaft firm or is there a lot of play due to worn bearings. Because of the way in which the wheels are driven from the speed selector, there is an uneven force on the wheel axle. This does cause wear in the bearings, particularly those with plastic bearings. Broken or worn bearings can be replaced, by removing the wheels and bearing housings.

5. Lubricate moving parts, linkages and grease hex shaft that the friction wheel slides along. Keep grease away from the rubber on the friction disc and the surface of the aluminum disc.

6. Check the tire pressures and if you have chains on those tires, make sure that there are no broken links. Replace covers and set the machine back on the level.

7. Obtain a spare set of shear bolts for the auger. DO NOT USE REGULAR bolts. I have had many a snow blower in the workshop where regular bolts had been used on the auger shaft, resulting in a broken auger gearbox. Shear bolts cost just a few dollars but a new gearbox, auger and drive shaft run into hundreds of dollars to fix. Check auger shaft bearings and replace those if necessary.

8. Lubricate worm drive and gear on chute and that it operates freely when turned to deliver the snow to where you direct it. I found waxing the inside of the chute with car wax, helps to reduce the amount of snow build up and blocking the discharge chute. When in use and the discharge chute blocks, STOP ENGINE before clearing out the snow. This may seem obvious, but when you are cold and want to get inside for a hot drink, you are not always thinking about the consequences. Some time ago I did have a customer who lost the tops of his fingers by just doing that, trying to clear snow blockage from the chute.

9. If the snow blower has an electric starter motor check that it is working correctly and engaging with the engine and turning the engine over.

10. After lubricating and cleaning the snow blower, fill the engine with 5W 30 oil, and put fresh gas in the fuel tank. Gas companies change the gas formula for winter driving. The gas is blended so as it will vaporize at a lower temperature. Summer gas can make it very difficult for the snow blower engine to fire up on a very cold day.

Basic maintenance and by being careful, much of the regular service routine can be done, which in turn will save you money. I found that by taking a few digital photographs, of the carburetor linkage, the tension pulley set up, the direction and lay of the drive belts, saved time and frustration when reassembling.

Since there are many different makes and models of snow blowers, this article is representative of many snow blowers on the market that I have serviced, but I cannot be held responsible for any injury or incorrect assembly that causes damage to the machine.

A snow blower that runs and performs well saves time, money and frustration.