QA42A to fit on my 1811
 

I am planning to pick up this unit today (unless one of you outbids me) and I wonder if it would fit in a small SUV. I have a Chevy pickup but I don't trust it for long trips. It's a rust bucket.

I assume I can remove the chute to get it to fit in a Honda CRV.

Is there anything else I should look at before I agree to buy it? The ad says that everything works.

As an aside, I'm also looking for a plow. I read that the WF plows have the QA pins facing out while NF QA pins face in. Is that correct?

Rob

To use it on an 1811 you will need to switch the pulley for one that's 5/8, you will also need to change the upper arms to the bent ones so the chute doesn't hit the grille when it's raised. I'm currently doing the same to my QA42A to put it on a 782.

You will need to change three things to make it work.

* New PTO Belt - IH-78056-C1
* New Upper Mounting Links
* New Drive Pulley

I hope you won Rob!

The pulley looks to be 5/8' already. It's nice the chain is lubed up.

You don't have to change the upper arms. I've ran with straight arms for 23 years. It just limits how high you can lift the blower. That only effects backing up in deep snow. With good weight and chains it's not an issue. Most of the time you will back over areas that have already been cleared.

PeterJ

Rob,

Yes, the pins point on the wide frame 42" plow.

PeterJ

I did win the thrower. While I'm in Frederick, MD retrieving it from the seller I plan to stop by the GBH and Sons Cub wrecking yard and see what they have. I'm interested in a snow blade, a 44" deck, weights, chains, and maybe a bagger.

Anyone ever visit GBH before? They've been there many years but have no website, just a facebook page. I think they sell by appointment only.

Congrats on the new thrower!

I just re-read your original post. I think it will fit in the CRV, most likely backwards would be best, but for sure

**** TIE IT DOWN! ****

PeterJ

I picked up my QA42A yesterday and it looks to be ready to run but I'm planning a few maintenance checks.

The auger has a few dings so I'll get out the hammer and dolly.

The chute didn't rotate smoothly so I removed it, cleaned out all the old hard grease and spayed silicone everywhere. The shell opening was a little egg shaped so it got a few love taps where it was binding on the chute. I also re-greased the chute sprocket and now it rotates pretty well.

The auger bearings and drive shaft are nice and tight. I noticed about 1/4"of pulley rotation slop from the gearbox. Is that OK and should I pull the cover, clean it out and re-grease it? Oil or grease, any way to tell?

The zerk is broken off the drive shaft near the splines where it expands so I will need an easy out to replace it.

The drive gear bracket should be removed and inspected. The bolts and pivot will need anti-seize since steel and aluminum don't play nice together.

I would pull the box and clean it out.

The lube in it is a type of grease. You can buy it.... but I'll tell you what I do. I mix wheel bearing grease and synthetic gear lube in a container. Play with the mixture until you get it about the consistency of pudding. Solid enough to not be a liquid. Needs to be able to flow. Start with grease and add oil. I use a container with a lid and save what I don't use for future jobs.

Take the gear box apart, you will not be happy with what you find if you have
a 1/4 turn rotational slop. :angry:
Either missing teeth on big gear and/or very worn keyways.
If you need shafts, OCC member "Jeff in PA" can make them for you.

The pulley turns smoothly and the slop seems uniform The quarter inch of free rotation is measured at the outer edge of the pulley.

I'll take pictures when I open the gearbox but it won't be any time soon.

My Bad, I read it as a 1/4 turn, not 1/4"
if 1/4" that is ok prolly minimal wear inside.
On the zerk, can't remember if it is driven in or threaded, just a heads up. Somebody will be along that remembers.:bigthink:

Yes, the pins point OUT on the wide frame 42" plow. :Shocked:
That's how it goes when I try to do things without readers now days. :Forgot:

PeterJ :beerchug:

I opened up the gearbox and it was full of the runny grease. It was clean but I noticed fine metallic specks floating in the grease so I cleaned it out and picked up the correct corn-head grease from JD. It cost $4.50 for a 14oz tube. I just dumped the whole thing in which filled it to the top. I tapped out the 1/4"20 holes for the lid so I could use longer screws instead of the factory thread-cutting bolts. I don't trust them not to bugger up the threads. I de-burred the holes as well. The cork lid gasket was pretty thin so made a new one using the old as a template.

I removed the driveshaft and cleaned it up a bit before greasing the u-joint fittings which seemed to be tight. The zerk fitting for the internal splines is broken off so I removed the retainer cap and applied some bearing grease directly and reassembled. The shaft that touches the seal is a little cruddy so I may take it back apart to polish the shaft and replace the zerk. I'll wait until I can find a new seal and retainer.

I inspected and greased the sprocket bracket. Bearings, bolts, and pivot pin are fine and the aluminum hasn't corroded or seized to anything. I do have a question about the sprocket contacting the bracket. There is a thrust washer only on the right side of the sprocket and I wonder if another on the left side would prevent the bracket from wearing.

What does the crowd say about another washer?

Any trick to adjusting the two chain tension bolts? I assume the sprocket will ride to one side if the bolts are adjusted unevenly.

If there is room, add another washer. Won't hurt anything, just so long as it doesn't make things tight.

As far as adjusting the screws, just try to keep them even. Yes, it will tend to pull to one side if they aren't, but they are coarse thread.... I PROMISE you, you won't get it perfect. It will pull to one side of the other all the time. Every time you lift it, the shaft telescopes, so it will push and pull the sprocket side to side. There are no seals in those little needle bearings. Honestly, that whole drive bracket was poorly engineered in my opinion. Best advise you can get: Grease the crap out of it all the time. I grease mine every few hours of use. If I run it all day clearing drives for people, I carry a grease gun in the wagon. About every 3 hours or so, I grease it. Also oil the chain about 2 times a day. Lube won't hurt a thing, just makes it dirty. But you can wash it all off before you put it away for the season.

QA42A pulley alignment
 

I received the 5/8" X 36" belt for my QA42A thrower today so decided to align the pulley to the PTO. I removed the housing to just mount the gearbox and here is what I found. The PTO and engine appear to be tilted back causing the belt to hit the gear box collar rather than the shaft. The thrower pulley isn't tilted. Even if I flip the pulley around and move it all the way toward the gearbox I'm not sure the belt will be lined up with both pulleys. The QA pins are locked in and the bracket slots are slipped onto the shoulder bolts correctly.

The thrower came off a 1250 if that helps. What am I missing?

Add some spacers behind the gear box.

Washers.


Use a couple of washers ( all the exactly same thickness ) on the bracket that holds the gearbox. That will space the gearbox closer to the snow thrower to gain you some room.

If you don't want to use the washers permanently, I can make some spacers for you at a good price once you figure out how thick they need to be.

OK, I thought maybe I had the wrong mounting brackets but it looks like lots of people have had to shim the gear box to get the pulleys to align. I will opt to add spacers to the mounting plate so the gearbox stays flat on its mount. I'll try to tilt the plate to match the engine.

Before you go making spacers, you need to check to make sure the engine has all 4 spacers under it. Perhaps the rear ones are missing.

#2 in the pic:
Attachment 89205

The QA42A will go on an 1811 with no issues. No spacer washers needed. Your engine has to not be mounted correctly, or the pulley is wrong. You did change the pulley, correct? The one that it uses for the 1250 will not work with the necessary 5/8" belt the 1811 uses.

I've ran a QA42A on my 1811 one year when the 450 broke and I was waiting for parts. Mounted right up, no issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqK5r10xKBc&t=75s

J-Mech, good catch and thanks for the good advice. I will check for engine spacers tomorrow. The PO had put a 5/8 pulley on the thrower already.

While I'm noticing things.....

When you repaired your front axle, you put the bolt in backwards that prevents the axle from rocking. The bolt head is supposed to face the axle and it should have a thin walled jam nut on front to lock it in place. Wears better when it is installed correctly.

Attachment 89207

I just replaced the worn castle nut and bolt with a longer bolt and used two nuts to lock it. Are you saying the frame or axle are supposed to be threaded? If so the threads are worn away. The bolt slipped right through them both. The frame is a C-channel so I tightened the first nut until the axle didn't wobble but was free to pivot, then jambed it with the second nut.

That's my mistake. The bolt I circled I now see is the center pivot bolt. It is installed correctly.


However, upon closer inspection, on the far end I can see the bolt I was thinking of. It appears pretty loose. (It's under the red circle at the 9 o'clock position.) There are two bolts that go through a "flap" (for lack of a better term) in the frame just in front of the axle. One on each side. Tightening them towards the axle takes the side to side play out of the axle. They are supposed to lightly rub the axle. Make sure they are adjusted correctly, and all is good. I keep a little bit of oil or grease on the head of mine when I grease the tractor. Keeps it from wearing the axle and bolt out. Plus, sometimes they squeak and it gets annoying.


That axle was worn pretty bad. Probably needed a bushing installed.....

Rats! I googled the part number shown of the angled bracket (IH 79011 C1) and I ordered this: https://www.ihccw.com/index.php?rout...earch=top+link

I received straight links because I didn't read all the way to the bottom of the description. I asked them to remedy this for me. I should have bought from Extreme.

"TOP LINKS ARE STRAIGHT (Not As Shown) "

Piss poor advertising. A responsible Vendor would have shown the actual part instead of mis-leading their customers.

:angry:

After emailing ihccw and complaining about the misleading listing for top links they refunded the money for the links and apologized.

Customer service like that will get my business again.

Putting final touches on the QA42A
 

I shimmed the gearbox out from it's mounting plate to align the pulleys. I used two washers on top and 5 on the bottom. Then I added a 1"x3"x1/8" spacer on the top and bottom after I filled them into a wedge shape so that the gearbox had flat mounting surfaces.

I also flipped the pulley around to move it as far forward as possible. It lines up well with the top pulley. Pic on right is before shimming.

I also flipped the scraper blade around and replaced all the carriage bolt with stainless hardware. Don't let it get as bad as this! There wasn't much blade left and the nuts were tricky to remove. That is the nut you see.

So why does the shute adjuster linkage hit my 1811 grill? The thrower is barely off the ground in this pic. I'll have to leave the adjuster off unless I can add an offset bracket to it.

I made an extension for mine to keep it away from the grill shell on my 782.
Basically just took a piece or round stock and drilled it to fit the gear shaft
on one end, and turned it down to fit the cheap universal joint on the other end.
Seems like it was about a 4" extension or so, of course I drilled the appropriate
2 holes for the drive hair pins.
I can take a pix it you need.:bigthink:
Was always gonna drive the gear with a small hydro motor I have, but have not got to it yet, old and lazy I guess. :crap:

QA42A on 1811

I figured some things out (I think). I replaced the straight links with angled links I bought off ebay. I assumed they should be the same length but the bent ones are about 2" longer than the straight. Not sure if that's correct but it does kick the top of the thrower out enough that the shute adjuster misses the grill even when the thrower is at max height. The pic shows the straight link resting below the bent one for comparison and the thrower now tilts forward.

I also welded up a new lift rod. I don't know how my mig welds will hold up but I needed the practice and I don't have the torch I would need to bend the rod ends. My first attempt was 28" long since I thought I needed the standard length but I didn't get enough lift height. Proper length turned out to be 26 7/8" on center to get max lift without binding.

Now, this thing is loud! Sounds like it's out of balance and it's beating itself to death. I have to check some things before I wind up in the hospital.

They normally are not loud, check the auger drive chain, auger bearings, and bearings in the jack shaft.
Also make sure the universal joints are clocked correctly as they can be off causing noise/vibration. :beerchug:

Thanks George. Not being a mechanic I didn't know about the orientation of the u-joints. I had taken the splined sections apart to grease them since the grease fitting was broken off and I assembled it "out of phase". I took it apart again and this time I drilled out the broken grease fitting. Note, I had to start the drilling with a carbide bit since it was hardened steel. Then I was able to open the hole up with a standard bit to size it for tapping. Maybe I could have driven the broken fitting out with a punch. :bigthink:

Anyway, I put the shaft back together, greased the new fitting and now it doesn't go BANG, BANG , BANG. It does still shake a bit and I notice the chain gets loose and tight as it spins. TIme for a new chain?

Can anyone confirm the longer upper links? The straight upper and lower arms are 11" on center but the angled upper links are 13". Is that correct and does it matter to have the thrower tilted forward a bit?

The pic shows the shute adjuster at max thrower height after I installed the angled links. As you can see it clears the grill but I will need to remove the u-joint and extend the shaft as was suggested.

IIRR the upper curved links are only about 3/4" longer center to center.
I curved the straight links and had to add a bit of metal to them, to re drill the holes.
Somewhere on this forum, a while ago I posted a pix of them.
The thrower sides front edge should be somewhat *90 to the ground,
give/take a little.
If you can't search it, I can look to see if I can find the pix and repost it.
When you set the chain tightness as in any chain, turn it to the tightest position, then give it a wee little slack.
You don't want it slapping the auger hole, but you don't want it being so tight
that it tries to bind.
Those #40 chains are inexpensive in a 10" box at tractor supply.
or a farm & fleet.
Remember to position the master link clip with the open end trailing the direction of travel just like a mo'sikkil or bicycle.
iffin yall don't, it will catch on chit and peel it off sooner than later.:beerchug:
Also adjust both bolts that hold the aluminum jackshaft housing in position
(chain adjusters) equally so both support it, and FWIW, they are no longer avail as is most of that stuff.
Those needle bearings in there need grease also, to live.
Also if the shafts are worn, Jeff in pa. makes shafts.
Ya the drive shaft "U" joints need to be like two letter "C's back to back, just like a drive shaft on a pee cup truck.:biggrin2:

Yes you need to use the longer, curved upper links. I run one on a 782. I never had clearance issues with the adjuster with them.

Agreed these throwers aren't very loud. I have two of them, an older, well used unit, and a newer, 4 paddle unit. I used the older one for a couple years, it was smooth and quiet, and last year got the 4 paddle. It's gonna need some help. It's a little loud.

While the weather is so warm I thought I would do a little work on the blower. I'll replace the "droopy" chain. It looks like 26 links and 26" of #40 chain. The 14 tooth sprocket looks worn. Is there an easy replacement with a roll pin hole? I was thinking I could buy a standard sprocket with key and set screw and drill out the set screw for a roll pin. While it's apart I'll add a washer so the sprocket doesn't eat away at the needle bearing housing. There was a washer on only one side of the sprocket.

One of the auger bearings is noisy so I will replace it. The PO tightened the collar in the wrong direction so it was fun trying to remove it. My air hammer came to the rescue.

I found the auger is out of balance because it rotates on its own to the same side from any stopped position. I will add a bolt and washers to the light side until it is balanced.

That sprocket is worn but not that bad. if you go to a new one from aftermarket
suppliers like tractor supply or fleet store, mcmaster-carr etc. you might want to try 1 tooth larger as you have the motor to pull it.
You might like the results.
Yes, washer both sides, and you can use one with a keyway, just drill the roll pin hole straight and through both sides as the roll pin will shear when you swaller sumptin' ewe otta not have.:biggrin2:
Best to drill a new hole as it allows full pin support, unlike through the keyway set screw hole.
Centering the hole is difficult to do unless you have a mill or other device to locate it dead center.

Just before the snow storm I replaced the chain, one auger bearing and the small sprocket that Jeff made for me. His prices are great, cost about half of the NOS part. He machined a 12 dollar keyed sprocket to match the stock part with a roll pin.

The bad..... the blower shakes rattles and rolls because the PO must have run into to something and bent the auger bearing rod on the chain side. I can see the bearing and sprocket wobble about 50 thou. I may have to beat on it with a mini sledge.

Any ideas?