Snowblower advise
 

I recently picked up my first cub, a 127. Now I need a mower deck and snowblower. I found one for sale a couple towns over off of a 147. He’s asking $100. I don’t know any other information at this time. I’m assuming it should fit? What are your guys thoughts?

So you want to know if it will fit or if the price is fair?

The 127 and 147 will share like units. The 100$ price seems very fair. Do you know the model number? QA36 Or QA42 will work

It looks complete, I'd be checking the gear box to see if the teeth are in good condition, as that can be a costly repair.
( gears are NLA):bigthink:

Yes I wanted to make sure it would fit and the price is fair. I emailed asking about the model number or even just the size with no response yet.

As far as the gears go, I could probably just turn the gearbox by hand and feel for any abnormal resistance or backlash? I don’t think I will be taking the gearbox apart in his yard to check it. Not being familiar with these, I assume they are a sealed unit filled with gear oil.

Thanks for the info. :beerchug:

That will work on your 127. Looks to be a QA-42A. Price is fair as long as, like others have said, the gears aren’t missing teeth. The models that will fit your tractor are CW-36, CC-36, CC-42, QA-36, QA-42, QA-36A, and QA-42A. I run a CC42 and it’s great. Xtreme Motor Works makes a lot of replacement parts for the snow throwers.

Looks pretty straight and not all beat to hell. Gearbox is the big thing on those. They do an ok job blowing snow, but nothing like a newer 2 stage. Also they kinda suck to pick up with a manual lift. You’ll also need an implement lift bracket and a different lift rod (I believe) for it

Edit: never mind. I thought it said 149. Lift rod should work. But you’ll still need the lift bracket

There are 3 or 4 bolts ( earlier ones has 3) holding a sheet metal cover on the
gear box, if the thrower is positioned so the cover is up, it can be easily removed to inspect the gears without fluid/grease loss.
But one needs to displace some of the grease to see the gears.
Rotating gears, without visual inspection, will not always reveal gear damage.
Jeff makes shafts,-- and bearings/seals are available from common sources.
The big gear usually is the one to shell teeth but it is not a common fault.
Gears usually break because someone sluggged it with an unseen brick or log.
@ $100 it is not a bad price, I've seen gear box's sell for that.
They made a 2 & 4 paddle auger, that looks like a 2 paddle, I like 4 paddles but never tried a 2 paddle to compare.:bigthink:

Does anyone know the weight of a QA-42? Is it something that two people can lift into the bed of a pickup without blowing backs out? I’m going to look at it Friday. If I can find a truck to borrow, and it’s in good shape, it will be going straight to the shop.

2 guys can handle it.

It will fit in a suv,
and if you pull the bottom pin and 2 top links, the mule & gearbox will separate from the thrower, making it even easier to lift.:beerchug:

:IH Trusted Hand:

Thanks everyone for the help. I ended up getting the snowblower. Came with a new set of chains and a very heavy home made weight attachment. I did end up separating the mule/ gearbox from the blower because I had to cram it all into my Subaru :HeeHee: . I did check the gears out before I left the shop, they look BRAND NEW. I’m not sure what kind of lubricant the gearbox wants ( I’m going to review the manual tonight ) but it looked like solid yellow play-doh. Does anyone know the max tongue weight of the little attachment bracket on the rear end of these tractors? This weight box thing is HEAVY and I couldn’t imagine adding even more weight in the box ( looks like cinder block size ) I don’t want to break anything.

Go to a John Deere tractor dealer and get "corn head grease" for the gearbox. ( other folks will chime in with other good suggestions too )
John Deere Special-Purpose Corn Head Gun Grease - AN102562
Part Number: AN102562v

As long as the bolts in the rear cover are full depth WITHOUT BOTTOMING OUT, it can handle the weight without problem.

Finally, a question I can answer. You want John Deer Corn Head grease. It's runny to coat the gears but thick enough that it won't leak out. Costs about $4 at the JD dealer. This is mine before I replaced the grease. I could see metal flakes in the grease so I'm glad I checked it.

FWIW, it is really a snow thrower.
A snow blower is a 2 stage thingy :>) :beerchug:
----just so you know.

And corn head grease is good stuff, but in a pinch, an equal mix of chassis lube and 80W90 will work.---- light enough to lube, but heavy enough it won't drip.
All this talk of frozen sunshine had me shivering. BBUUURRRR.
Read the manual for the thrower and note to slip the drive shaft back together so the universal joints are in sync if you didn't know.

Ok, so I got the snowThrower, it’s all hooked up, freshly greased. I was so excited when we got our first snowfall to try it out! As soon as it touched the snow, it pooped it out the chute like it was soft serve. It barley cleared the main housing... needless to say I was pretty bummed out. I checked the belt tension, even added some new rubber pads on the auger, which did help only slightly. There is no way this is normal. The snow is fairly wet and heavy, but it could be worse.. the inside is pretty rusted and not very smooth, does it need a fresh coat of slick paint? The tractor is wot, the auger spins very fast, it just will. Not. Throw. I’m at a loss here. Maybe a combination of peeling, rusty paint and heavy snow? Any suggestions would be great. Maybe I am missing something. :BangPC:

Clean and smooth works better but sloppy,wet snow just doesn't throw well.

I'm happy with wet snow if I can get it off the driveway.

How fast do you think the auger is turning? Are you running tractor at full throttle? Is there any possibility someone changes pulleys at some point making it run slower?

Coop is 100% correct.
Possibly you are @ full throttle but it is not 3600 rpm's?? check it.
and like he said, check your pulley diameters.
Wet slop don't throw well,--- so just like a combine, it eats better and is efficient if you keep it's mouth full.
Prolly you approached it gentle and slow.:bigthink:
Nope, keep the auger full and the engine governor wide open.

Soon, you will get the right combo of fast enough for it to throw effectively, yet
not so fast that the engine governor will not keep it to speed.
The light snow will throw well at a slower feed speed, but is still more efficient
when the auger is kept full.
As far as the rust, it will wear off and polish up helping things, but the main thing is a full auger.
Fellows sometimes use "pam" baking stuff or others use slip plate
graphite paint for farm applications.
But it wears off quickly if you use your thrower a lot.
Also fellows sometimes use a smaller drive pulley on the gear box, or a bigger drive sprocket on the auger jackshaft.
but it does require a bigger engine.
When my M-18 is wide open on the governor, and the belt is just short of smoking/slipping it will throw snow! ( I'm 1 tooth larger on the auger drive sprocket)
but if that stuff is sloppy/ slushy, it takes a different technique.
push it a bit then back up and go forward again and it will "gulp" it and throw it.
Other times i just shut it off and use as a push blade if it is more water than snow.
Now I have to go stand by the fire with all this talk of snow, and warm up.:biggrin2:

When I look at the auger spinning, it looks like it’s spinning extremely fast. I have no way of really telling how fast, or what is normal, since this is my first time dealing with one of these. It seems like it should be sufficient anyway... it does a very good job at collecting the snow, pulling it to the center and sending it, but only about <1foot. That is a very good point in checking the pulley size, I never thought of that. I do have the tractor at full throttle, although I never checked to see what RPM full throttle was, I just checked it when adjusting low idle. It seems like the concept is simple enough, there isn’t a WHOLE lot to to go wrong. I will have to zero in on both auger and engine RPM Monday morning. Does anyone know the correct pulley size for the qa42a off the of your head? Save me a trip to the library :coffee: And thank you for the response! I would really like to get this setup home so I can start using it.

Pulley size is correct. I checked engine rpm today and it’s 2600. I think it’s safe to say I found the problem! It appears to be the governor is not allowing higher rpm. I am able to move the linkage manually and it will rev up. Thank you for the help gentlemen. Now I have to figure out this governor issue. :beerchug:

Could just be out of adjustment..

I’m sure of it. I “reset” the governor as per service manual. I have to figure out what other adjustments there are. There is a threaded rod that goes to the throttle plate, I spun that all the way in and it didn’t make a difference.

Do you have a tachometer? There should be hi rpm stop on the side of engine. Procedure for hi rpm is in the k series engine manual. Max 3600 rpm.

There is a spec for the correct length of the governor control rod, it needs to be a certain length for what ever engine you are working on, to start the governor adjustment.

I believe This is spelled out the engine manual. I have that info somewhere but can't put my finger on it at the moment.

Screwing around with the length of that rod probably negated any adjustment you made on the governor arm.

The carb throttle valve needs to be wide open at the same time the governor arm is at the wide open position.

I was adjusting the spring between the governor and the throttle cable linkage. It appears that if I set the spring in the holes that give it the most tension, i was able to get a little over 3200 rpm. That tells me the spring is probably too weak and should be replaced, if I leave it the way it is, I will never be able to adjust governor sensitivity. I will also adjust the rod back to the correct length, I did get a PM with a link to detailed governor adjustment instructions ( thank you ) that did mention the rod length.

Qa36 snow theower
 

Struggled for 3 years with a beat up QA36 on our 105. Never checked max rpm with a tach. Bought a cheap laser tach last year, and it was maxing at 2600. Finally got it to 3700 unloaded, and “holy smoke” ...35-40 feet !! Three years of “assuming” RPM was correct, ignoring advice on this forum, and I could have been having FUN ! GOOD LUCK !

Since you are having such good luck maybe we can get on a roll and figure out how to fix my QA42A. Everything basically works, I have good bearings, a new chain and sprocket, and fresh grease in the gearbox. The problem is the auger has a bent shaft on one side. Just a little bit, but enough that the auger is out of balance and the bearing wobbles on the shaft and shakes the hell out of everything. I guess the PO hit something and decided to sell it to me and forgot to mention the auger is junk. Caveat emptor sucker!

Question, can I bang on the shaft with a sledge and a block of wood until it's straight? Otherwise, I'll keep my eyes opened for a replacement.

I can't remember if that auger has a shaft axle completely through the tube, or shafts just plug welded in each end of the tube.
I'd take the auger out and set it up on "V" blocks and figger out how and where it is bent, then heat the shaft up and gently bend it straight checking as you go.( use Oxy/Ace torch)
You can use jack stands to hold it up as you check and get it real close if you are patient.
Then re assy and it should be good to go.:beerchug:
(I doubt the auger tube is bent)

I think there are 3" rods welded in each end. The bent rod is on the sprocket side. The rod is about 1" thick so I expect the weld or something other than the rod is actually bent.

With the chain off, you should be able to see what is bent when turning it over by hand.
it might be the just the stub axle that is bent,
the auger tubes are pretty stout, but there are always exceptions.:bigthink:
If it is beyond your abilities/want to fix it, those throwers pop up frequently. Some look pretty rough or are not complete and can be had inexpensively for parts.

I suspect you have a bearing problem other than a bent shaft.... but do take a look. I can't imagine a 1" stub of a shaft getting bent. Unless the thick steel hub at the end of auger got cockeyed.

On my QA-36, there were no welds on the shaft when I needed to pull the shaft out for repairs..... but do figure a pissing match freeing it up.