Woodmaxx Snowblower Shear Bolts?

[Reb954]

A quick hitch won't solve the problems he has been dealing with. Moving the top link and lift arms so the angles match will cure the problem of breaking the shear bolts.

His later pictures clearly show that when the blower is lifted, it tips enough that the tractor pto shaft and blower input shaft are not even close to being aligned with each other. That will cause an extreme bind on the drive line. The shear bolts are the weak point so they are breaking.

 

[atsah]

A quick hitch won't solve the problems he has been dealing with. Moving the top link and lift arms so the angles match will cure the problem of breaking the shear bolts.

His later pictures clearly show that when the blower is lifted, it tips enough that the tractor pto shaft and blower input shaft are not even close to being aligned with each other. That will cause an extreme bind on the drive line. The shear bolts are the weak point so they are breaking.

The last three pictures he posted after he moved the top link to the bottom set of holes looks pretty close to being right, without any more adjustment he shouldn't be breaking sheer pins, my blower looks close to that angle when lifted, he is close, a little adjustment of the top link and he will be there.

The QH will bring it out and make it easier on the drive line but it's not required to make it work right and adjust it correctly. Lots of people using big tractors and blowers around here don't use a QH.

And now that I think about it again, I think you are right about the bottom holes on the blower. I was thinking the same a few posts back when the OP said after I suggested moving them, the blower will lift higher.

Geometry is not something I'm good at so I tend to move things around until I get it, besides it was around midnight on the east coast when he was running in and out of the house trying things..:laughing:

 

[KanakaRick]

Success!!!!! You guys are awesome... Lesson learned- the top link and the bottom links need to be a parallelagram or at least close. I went against my better judgement and lowered the attachment point on the blower- knowing it wouldn't make a difference, and when I hooked it up- I realized I was just plain wrong in my assessment and you guys were RIGHT!!!! This is why I keep coming back..... Thanks for the help!!! I went to Reno today and didn't find a quick hitch anywhere, so I punted. Went to the hydraulic store and had them add the flow restrictor; went to Harbor Freight to get some new front LED Floods, and I am GOLDEN! Just in time for another week's worth of snow and I think the tractor is dialed in.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Hey, that looks pretty good. Now hopefully your shear pins will last.

 

[leonz]

Hello Rick,

I would order a quick hitch despite what has been said as the angle is still too steep for your mule. If you can manage to keep the angle to 15 degrees or less the amount of stress you will be placing on the universal joints and the shear pins will be much less than what is occurring now.

and if the restrictor is working the way it should for you all the better but you still need the quick hitch to reduce any change of damaging the gearbox on the snow caster and the stub shaft on the mule.


The other thing is you could have a set of skis made for the snow caster and bolt them to the snow caster where the foot pads are connected and this will let you stay on the ground and still avoid digging into the driveway.


I am not trying to spend your money I only want you to succeed.

I hope you do not have anymore trouble with this thing.

 

[Amvcane]

Glad you are all adjusted and up and running. I bet you slept well last night knowing that you didn’t have to spend any money or pull any more hair out today.
Good luck with your new blower.

 

[atsah]

Glad you got it figured out, that would have drove me nuts. Good luck..

 

[Bear Tree Farm]

OK everyone, I have been reading this thread with interest, cause I have been having the same problems for two years. I bought a Woodmaxx SB84 a year ago and I am use a Kioti DK55 tractor. I have been shearing bolts like crazy and at the end of last year and the start of this year was using Grade 8 bolts. I end up tearing apart my implement yoke this year and bought a series 5 rated drive line but I am still shearing bolts. I am going to try the adjustment to my top link and see if that helps.

 

[Bear Tree Farm]

I will suggest you cut a U shape hole out of your shield large enough to make replacing shear bolts a little easier. I did that last year and it helped a little.

 

[atsah]

Yes sir you have the same issue, to bad you have had this issue so long, hope you adjust the top link location and be good to go..

 

[Bear Tree Farm]

I just adjusted the top link by lower it to the bottom holes and it now looks a little more level in the raised position. I should be able to try it Saturday cause our next round of snow is suppose to be Friday evening.

 

[atsah]

Install you're draft arms in the bottom holes of the blower as well and then put the blower on the ground and adjust the top link to level it. It's all in the pivot point locations.. The blower in the raised position should look a bit tipped towards the ground, and level out by the time it hits the ground.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Install you're draft arms in the bottom holes of the blower as well and then put the blower on the ground and adjust the top link to level it. It's all in the pivot point locations.. The blower in the raised position should look a bit tipped towards the ground, and level out by the time it hits the ground.

THIS!

You MUST drop your lower link arms down into the BOTTOM holes in the blower brackets. Since you've already moved your top link down, moving the link arms to the bottom holes should put you right.

 

[Reb954]

As best I can tell from your pictures I agree with the others, move the lift arms to the lower holes in the blower so the upper link and lift arms are as close to parallel as the combination of holes will allow.

Ideally the blower should remain level through it's full range of motion, from on the ground to fully raised.

 

[atsah]

Ideally the blower should remain level through it's full range of motion, from on the ground to fully raised.

If I lift mine all the way up and it doesn't lilt towards the ground just a bit, when I'm blowing on a little uneven ground it will skip a bit that's why I set the top link to angle downward a bit when the blower is lifted all the way up..

 

[Reb954]

If I lift mine all the way up and it doesn't lilt towards the ground just a bit, when I'm blowing on a little uneven ground it will skip a bit that's why I set the top link to angle downward a bit when the blower is lifted all the way up..

Do whatever works for you but do it with the understanding that the blower input shaft and tractor output shaft aren't aligned with each other when you have the blower raised. In the raised position you usually aren't blowing snow so a small amount of misalignment probably won't hurt anything.

 

[atsah]

Do whatever works for you but do it with the understanding that the blower input shaft and tractor output shaft aren't aligned with each other when you have the blower raised. In the raised position you usually aren't blowing snow so a small amount of misalignment probably won't hurt anything.

They actually are aligned, it differs on different tractors depending on the size of the tractor. It's not a one size fits all, most blowers are close to the same overall height, add a tractor with a lot of height and you have more angle to deal with..

 

[Reb954]

They actually are aligned, it differs on different tractors depending on the size of the tractor. It's not a one size fits all, most blowers are close to the same overall height, add a tractor with a lot of height and you have more angle to deal with..

Maybe I misunderstood what you were saying. I made the assumption, my mistake, that you were saying the blower is level when in the lowered position but tipped back when in the raised position. If that were the case the PTO shafts would be at the same angle to each other (aligned) when in the lowered position but not at the same angle to each other (aligned) in the raised position.

The height of the tractor PTO and the blower input shaft make no difference in the angle of the PTO shafts but does make a difference in the angle of the driveline. Any of my discussion has been in reference to the angle of the PTO shafts to each other, not the angle of the driveline.

I'v never had a gift for words so I am probably creating some confusion.

 

[Fallon]

Maybe I misunderstood what you were saying. I made the assumption, my mistake, that you were saying the blower is level when in the lowered position but tipped back when in the raised position. If that were the case the PTO shafts would be at the same angle to each other (aligned) when in the lowered position but not at the same angle to each other (aligned) in the raised position.

The height of the tractor PTO and the blower input shaft make no difference in the angle of the PTO shafts but does make a difference in the angle of the driveline. Any of my discussion has been in reference to the angle of the PTO shafts to each other, not the angle of the driveline.

I'v never had a gift for words so I am probably creating some confusion.

The steeper the angle on the driveshaft, the faster it will wear out U-joints, but it should work within reason.

If the PTO output shaft on the tractor & input shaft on the impliment aren't square to each other (output shaft is level, but input shaft is pointing up 15 degrees) things end poorly.

Drive shaft velocity - YouTube shows these issues really well.

 

[Reb954]

If a picture is worth a thousand words a video must be worth a million words, excellent video. It shows what I have been trying to say but doing a poor job of it.

Thanks.