Snow blower-impeller removal

[Mean Jean]

Econo plow 6+6 snow blower.
Need to remove the impeller to remove 4 miles of bailing twine. Already removed the main nut from impeller.
Should the impeller slide off or do I need to remove the gear box?

 

[Winmac]

Normally the impeller comes off the shaft, if it's a new blower it may slide off but sometimes they need to be jacked off with a puller.

Sounds like your off to a good start to the season.

 

[Mean Jean]

Thanks very much for the prompt reply. I'm happy I don't have to remove anything on the gear box side. Will source a puller and give it a yank. Already hit it with liquid wrench. Will soak it one more time.

Yes, winter is here in Manitoba. First blizzard of the season started last night and it's been a real zoo.

 

[Working on Rust]

Does your Mckee Econo plow have a oil bath enclosed gear box or is it one of the ones with the open gears? I do not know much about the open gear models.
If it is a gear box model after the bolt is out of the fan center the fan should come off. There is a 3/8 key in it and sometimes the fans can be quite stuck if there is much rust in between the shaft and the fan hub. On the 6 foot Mckee we use to have you could take the fan out with out removing the auger if you took out the gear box bolts and backed up the gear box a bit to let the fan out over the top of the auger. It is also a must to remove the side shaft auger shear bolt to let the auger turn independently of the fan while you are getting it out from auger. Some other blowers require removing the auger to get the fan out.
I usually have found if the seal on the gear box leaks even a little than that keeps the shaft and hub damp enough with oil that it will not stick on.
If the fan is stuck frozen on the the fan shaft then the fun begins. Assuming it is a rust stick and not a sheared key metal galling stuck, oil down the back and in around the bolt and than some heat and prying and hammering would be where I would start. If that did not do it it would be time to make some sort of puller to put a lot of force on a bolt in the gear box shaft to start pulling the fan off. When reassembling anti seize is a good idea.
One last point would be the check for hidden set screws on the hub of the fan. I have never seen a snowblower fan with set screws but I would still check for them.
Hope this helps, let us know how it ends up.

 

[Mean Jean]

Does your Mckee Econo plow have a oil bath enclosed gear box or is it one of the ones with the open gears? I do not know much about the open gear models.
If it is a gear box model after the bolt is out of the fan center the fan should come off. There is a 3/8 key in it and sometimes the fans can be quite stuck if there is much rust in between the shaft and the fan hub. On the 6 foot Mckee we use to have you could take the fan out with out removing the auger if you took out the gear box bolts and backed up the gear box a bit to let the fan out over the top of the auger. It is also a must to remove the side shaft auger shear bolt to let the auger turn independently of the fan while you are getting it out from auger. Some other blowers require removing the auger to get the fan out.
I usually have found if the seal on the gear box leaks even a little than that keeps the shaft and hub damp enough with oil that it will not stick on.
If the fan is stuck frozen on the the fan shaft then the fun begins. Assuming it is a rust stick and not a sheared key metal galling stuck, oil down the back and in around the bolt and than some heat and prying and hammering would be where I would start. If that did not do it it would be time to make some sort of puller to put a lot of force on a bolt in the gear box shaft to start pulling the fan off. When reassembling anti seize is a good idea.
One last point would be the check for hidden set screws on the hub of the fan. I have never seen a snowblower fan with set screws but I would still check for them.
Hope this helps, let us know how it ends up.

Thanks for the reply.

Blower has an open gear box.
It looks like the fan should just slip out with a tiny bit of room. Will remove the gearbox on the other side if additional wiggle room is required.
Hoping I don't need to remove the auger.
Shows a great deal of rust. Will borrow a puller from the neighbor to help "convince" the impeller.

If it's too much a PITA I may just take a propane torch to the bailing twine.
How much damage can that really do, right?

 

[Working on Rust]

My biggest worry about burning the twine off would be the bearing it must be next to.
I assume the fan is a triple tapered channel steel like most of the other McKee blowers.
A large three arm puller should be able to get it off, the trick would be having the screw of the puller not wreck the threads on the fan shaft.

 

[Mean Jean]

I can't imagine there will be too much heat with the little hand held propane tank. It is worthy of concern though.

I tried 2 different pullers.
The one set was a bit too small.
The second pair would certainly have the jam needed but the auger is in the way. Might try removing one side of the auger this evening.

 

[Dave M7040]

The challenge with the puller idea is what is the puller going to push against.

When I removed the fan on a McKee 720 using a puller, I got a series of different length grade 8 or the so called grade 9 bolts. These went into the bolt hole in the center of the fan hub which secured the fan to the gear box shaft.

I drilled a small hole/depression in the bolt head to keep the puller center pin in place

To start with you want these bolts to just be proud of the fan hub when you start to pull.
Using as short a bolt as possible limits the likely hood the bolt will bend sideways as the puller pressure increases.
Once the fan starts to come off the shaft, use a longer bolt and pull again. Repeat.

On another blower this summer, which was only 4 years old, two rose bud torches and 2 steel tree felling wedges sledge hammered between the fan and the housing, a hydraulic buck bill spreader and a serious chain style come a long could not get it to move. It cost me about $1,000 at a specialty shop to have the fan removed, a few cracks welded and an oil seal changed. They had to build a special frame to apply a hydraulic puller's 10 ton pull to the blower frame. They thought the gear box was going to fracture under the load.

I would consider leaving the twine in place after removing all I could. The worst that could happen is a seal is damaged and then the fan has to come off. Pour some battery acid on the twine if your wanting to be more aggressive.

Trying to remove the fan is the last thing I would get started into at the beginning of winter. If something gets bent or broken you are done.

Dave M7040

 

[Mean Jean]

Wise words my friend.
In all fairness I was able to remove a good deal of twine by hand. Tough to get a razor in there. Might just chip away at it and call it good until spring.
I do like the idea of using battery acid.