The result, ready for snow after lots of work and mods

[shameless 3]

Well I started with this 1988 312-8 tractor. ( not my pic, I got it off the web)

And this old single stage MTD snowthrower.

After a couple weekends in the garage (unheated and hovering just above freezing)

The two parts became one.

My next post will show how this came together,,,,,

STAY TUNED.........................................................

[varosd 1,185]

looks great! We had a dusting of snow last night. anything up North?

[Kelly 1,030]

Looks good from here, does it have a lift set up? kinda looks like I see a lift tube under it.

[shameless 3]

Hey varosd:

I woke up to snow at 6:30 this morning, and it snowed pretty light until 8:30.

The sun came out by noon and melted it all.

Maybe tommorow..............

Its comin like it always does!

[shameless 3]

Hey Kelly:

It has a lift, I got the basic concept from postings here, and ran with it.

I made mine from 1" x 1" square tube, fabbed up the "flag" from info on this forum and added a couple of springs and such and now have a lift, with spring assist.

I am a pretty big guy and didn't think I needed the lift assist..hahahhaha was I wrong.

4 lifts and it was time to find some springs.

My neighbor wanders over and says "hey I got some springs from my old trampoline"

I said well lets put them to use???????????????

A couple of beers and a few misc parts later and here we have, wait for it..............

TADA...........

BLOWER UP

BLOWER DOWN

Adjusted the springs so it can be lifted with 1 hand more than 20 times in a row without farting or my arm falling off !!!!!!!!!!!

What an adventure!!!!

[can whlvr 993]

my neighbor had a trampoline that the center area fell apart and i scooped up the springs,i use them for things like you did all the time,in your othe rpost you say you need lights,is it just bulbs?they can be bought at napa or ant car part store for alot less than toro

[shameless 3]

Hey can whlvr:

The original lights work,or so sayeth the previous owner.

They don't work so sayeth the current owner.

He also said it ran like a top as well and it took a $170.00 fuel pump and repair to the throttle mechanism before that became a reality. ( but I'm not bitter.........LOL)

I am thinkin of adding lights.

I am thinkin some high watt halogen's up front off the drift cutters for night work, like at the outdoor rink at the park across the street that will become a reality this year!

No point in being subtle, check the air horns peeking out from behind the chute adjust bar...hahahahahaha.

LOUD LIKE A TRAIN,,, yeeehawww

[Kelly 1,030]

Now you need weights and chains, the lights in the hood are pretty bright if you get them working.

[shameless 3]

Hey Kelly:

how much weight?

chains bad!!!!!!!!!!

concrete drives all around....

[shameless 3]

I do hope you guys are laughing as hard as I am at my replies.

My wife says all the time " your not funny"

I make myself laugh all the time.

I sincerely hope you guys are laughing with me!

[ol550 830]

Don't know if it will be a problem or not, but the belt idler may need to be on the slack

side of the belt. Would hate to see a driveway full of snow and a burnt up belt.

Have fun!!! Mike

[shameless 3]

Hey ol550:

Please explain........

[ol550 830]

The upper side of the belt pulls the blower pulley and would pull up on the tensioner and cause slack

and possible slippage due to the lower section not being held tight against the blower pulley. With the

tensioner on the lower section the idler takes up the slack. Hope this makes sense. Mike

[shameless 3]

Hey Mike:

I tried mating the idler pulley with both sides of the drive belt in my dozen attemps at making my "Frankenblower" function.

The only way, after several attempts that I could make it work was the way you see in the pics.

The auger spins whether lowered or raised.

The lower idler wheel keeps the belt from making contact with itself in the raised position.

The motor turns counter clock wise and the tensioner does not bounce or strain even at full throttle

Why do you thnk the belt will burn up?

[ol550 830]

It may not burn up, but with the blower full of snow I believe the belt may slip. That is unless there

is a LOT of tension on that idler. Wish you had a test snow to try it before a real one. Looking at it

from the belt side, the engine turns counterclockwise thus pulling the blower pulley. Yours would tend

pull the tensioiner up causing the belt to loosen on the lower side and possibly slip the belt. With the

tensioner on the lower side the tensioner takes up the slack and actually makes the belt tighter.

Man I hope this makes sense, Mike

If it works loaded with snow it's great, but if it doesn't will your wife make you get rid of your tools? :ychain:

[shameless 3]

Hey Mike:

I truly hope your wrong!!!

I get what your saying and I tried the slack side of the belt.

I can't make it work!!!!!!!!!

The tension is a lot less now than previous renditions, let me tell you, "chunk O finger missing from releasing the belt"

I switched to a much lighter spring and it holds.

Without a load (snow) I am virtually blind!!!!!!!!!!

My Wife..........................

She tolerates me, loves me most of the time and dig's the fact that I tinker with the tools in my garage rather than goin out (like most guys my age) and doing sh*t I should not be doin!!!!!!

[shameless 3]

Hey Mike:

I slept on the tensioner orientation.

With a longer belt and swapping the large idler to the rear and the smaller idler to the front, I may be able to route the slack side of the belt over the top of the large idler and have the small idler still run on the underside of the belt.

I thought I had tried this and failed but looking at the picture it is worth trying again....

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,863]

Hey Kelly:

how much weight?

chains bad!!!!!!!!!!

concrete drives all around....

I'm running just over 100#'s on each rear rim and no chains. Works fine with a WH single stage on mt 416-H.

Mike........

[shameless 3]

Where did you find 100 pound wheel weights?

[shameless 3]

I weigh in at about 260 with my snow gear on, I moved the seat all the way back so I can drive the thing without my knees in my face I am 6"2" and my butt is actually behind the rear axle.

I had thought of adding weight off the rear hitch, after I fab up a bucket holder.

I figured I would add a 5 gallon bucket filled with either sand or concrete.

Rough calculation 5 gallons of cement weighs 100 pounds.

The sand would range between 60 and 75 pounds.

the sand would also be helpfull for handfulls of traction if required.

Perhaps a bag of fence post concrete in the bottom of the pail and fill the rest with sand, maximum weight and instant traction.

Your thoughts???

[AMC RULES 37,144]

I do hope you guys are laughing as hard as I am at my replies.

My wife says all the time " your not funny"

I make myself laugh all the time.

I sincerely hope you guys are laughing with me!

Sounds like maybe our wives think alike. :angry-nono:

[shameless 3]

She says "you're not funny" while laughing at me!

Funny haha or funny peculiar, makes no difference to me.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,147]

I slept on the tensioner orientation.

Perhaps now that you're awake, this picture will help :

The OEM thrower uses a longer hitch (the bracket between the thrower & the tractor) and allows more room for the belt tensioner assembly. The downfall is the increased leverage when the blower is in the raised position, which takes more weight off of the rear wheels of the tractor.

This is the best picture I have of the actual tensioner:

That might give you a better idea of how things work on the OEM thrower. :confusion-shrug:

[shameless 3]

Thanks TT, good poke!

The pics will help.

I mounted the thrower as close as possible to keep the weight off the lift bar when raised and not lift the rear tires.

It is so close that at left turn lock the tire is about an inch from the housing.

I also wanted to be able to turn as tight as possible when clearing drives.

The downside of my design is there is not much room for the idler setup.

I had to downsize from a 4" idler to a 3" idler coupled with a 2" idler.

Heading to the garage soon to try the belt reroute.

[can whlvr 993]

for weight you can fill the tires,there is rv anti freeze,beet juice,and you can get these at a tire shop,and you could get weights that bolt to the rim,and it depends if you have hills or not as to needing chains,i have a sloped drive and get stuck even with weights and chains