New 49 blower

5090 Views 42 Replies 10 Participants Last post by mjydrafter, Jan 16, 2022

mjydrafter

Discussion Starter · Aug 16, 2021

So, I bit the bullet and got a 49 blower. It was in decent shape and complete, so I got it.

I replaced the drive chain, first thing. The old one was there and worked, but that was about it. It was at the end of adjustment, and a number of the links were rust tight. And it was surface rusted pretty badly.

Then I upgraded the impeller flaps, with some plastic scrapers (We'll have to see how they do compared to rubber). I used some 1/8" coated cable and some simple u-clamps to keep them on the chute. I added a plastic cutting board washer between the chute and where it turns on the blower housing.

I looked around for a reasonable tall chute, but no luck. So, I found a decent facsimile on Ebay in an Ariens tall chute. (I'm not 100% shure, but Ariens and Deere walk behinds look very similar...) Anyway, I adapted the new taller chute to the 49. It looks pretty killer we'll have to see how it works. As you can see it has a cool deflector set up, and I even had a proper cable for it. I need some sort of handle/cable puller for it.

Here are a few pics of the blower. Sorry about leaving the spout orange, but the paint was just too nice to cover. (even the inside of it was in really good shape).

I have found a deflector handle/cable on Ebay, but thought I would see if anyone has any good suggestions for one. I think the one on Ebay is the correct one, but it's also $65... I though about making something, but I couldn't do it better, with a bunch of detents for the lever to hold the deflector in different positions. I also need to get that bracket for the chute handle.

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rwmeyer

· #2 · Aug 16, 2021

mjy, Will a universal throttle handle work for your chute cable? This could be mounted on the arm for rotation control and everything will come off as a unit! These typically havea friction adjustment so a ratchet type wouldn't be needed.

Above all, check gearbox lube! If gearbox goes bad, the 49 is worth scrap value only! No matter what configuration your cover is, I'd recommend 80w-90 gear oil, unless seals are totally shot, then Cornhead lube. Bob

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sublime68charger

· #3 · Aug 16, 2021

Nice,

I got to use my 49 blower for the first time last winter and I really liked it. Cept for when the wind blew the snow back towards me.

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mjydrafter

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 16, 2021

rwmeyer said:
mjy, Will a universal throttle handle work for your chute cable? This could be mounted on the arm for rotation control and everything will come off as a unit! These typically havea friction adjustment so a ratchet type wouldn't be needed.

Above all, check gearbox lube! If gearbox goes bad, the 49 is worth scrap value only! No matter what configuration your cover is, I'd recommend 80w-90 gear oil, unless seals are totally shot, then Cornhead lube. Bob

Whoops forgot to mention I changed the gearbox grease.

Funny story, when I took it up to the counter the guy was like "you know this is cornhead grease, right?"...

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rwmeyer

· #5 · Aug 16, 2021

Take this as you will !!! I've always been very pro for Cornhead based on what I've read in many threads in tractor forums. Cornhead is an NLGI Gr 0 grease. I also read that when the grease temperature gets above 100ºF it becomes more of a liquid and flows better, so it will flow between the gear teeth as well as into the bearings and provide proper lubrication. Sounds great, what could be better?

I've got a 49 that I brought to TN from CT. In the 6 years I've been here, I've had a TOTAL of 5" of snow, most of which was melted off by noon, and have no need for my 49. Wanting a project, I tore into it and powder coated most of it and replaced most moving parts...bearings, chain, chute cable, and whatever else needed replacing!... and added the paddle mod. And then I got to the gearbox. NO vertical or side movement in the bearings, about .002" backlash in the gears...all measured with a dial indicator... so I figured the gear box is good as is. I had drained the gear lube that was originally in it, so I had to replace it with "something".

As I read thru many threads, I take it as "truth" for what people say unless I know for fact that they're incorrect. Not knowing what magical properties Cornhead had that turned it to a liquid at a certain temperature, I did some investigating on the Deere site, and others, and found that the "drop point" of Cornhead grease was around 350ºF... this was last year and 350 may not be exact! Drop point is the temperature at which a material becomes fluid enough to drip/drop/flow. So at 10ºF or 210ºF, Cornhead doesn't flow! As the gears turn they push the grease away from the gear mesh and run unlubricated and the bearings literally pump the lube out from around the balls/needles. In a "perfect world", the involute gear tooth doesn't have sliding contact, it's a constant changing point of contact based on the radius of the tooth...but this is NOT a "perfect world" and there is sliding contact and lube is needed. Bearings DO require lube as the inner race and the outer race are different diameters and traveling at different surface speeds.

So, will your gearbox fail? Probably not, for the next 30-50 years anyhow! My personal preference would be gear lube as this would flow better into the bearings and gear mesh. After refilling with 80w-90 gear lube. I had no leakage. If I did, I'd swap over to Cornhead! Bob

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mjydrafter

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 16, 2021

rwmeyer said:
Take this as you will !!! I've always been very pro for Cornhead based on what I've read in many threads in tractor forums. Cornhead is an NLGI Gr 0 grease. I also read that when the grease temperature gets above 100ºF it becomes more of a liquid and flows better, so it will flow between the gear teeth as well as into the bearings and provide proper lubrication. Sounds great, what could be better?

I've got a 49 that I brought to TN from CT. In the 6 years I've been here, I've had a TOTAL of 5" of snow, most of which was melted off by noon, and have no need for my 49. Wanting a project, I tore into it and powder coated most of it and replaced most moving parts...bearings, chain, chute cable, and whatever else needed replacing!... and added the paddle mod. And then I got to the gearbox. NO vertical or side movement in the bearings, about .002" backlash in the gears...all measured with a dial indicator... so I figured the gear box is good as is. I had drained the gear lube that was originally in it, so I had to replace it with "something".

As I read thru many threads, I take it as "truth" for what people say unless I know for fact that they're incorrect. Not knowing what magical properties Cornhead had that turned it to a liquid at a certain temperature, I did some investigating on the Deere site, and others, and found that the "drop point" of Cornhead grease was around 350ºF... this was last year and 350 may not be exact! Drop point is the temperature at which a material becomes fluid enough to drip/drop/flow. So at 10ºF or 210ºF, Cornhead doesn't flow! As the gears turn they push the grease away from the gear mesh and run unlubricated and the bearings literally pump the lube out from around the balls/needles. In a "perfect world", the involute gear tooth doesn't have sliding contact, it's a constant changing point of contact based on the radius of the tooth...but this is NOT a "perfect world" and there is sliding contact and lube is needed. Bearings DO require lube as the inner race and the outer race are different diameters and traveling at different surface speeds.

So, will your gearbox fail? Probably not, for the next 30-50 years anyhow! My personal preference would be gear lube as this would flow better into the bearings and gear mesh. After refilling with 80w-90 gear lube. I had no leakage. If I did, I'd swap over to Cornhead! Bob

I have some left over Redline Hi-shock 75w-250 dragster gear oil that I used to use in my BMW final drive. Maybe I'll use that next and see how it does. It looks like Pepto-bismol.

When I put the green goop into the gear box I had to stand the thing up just so to keep it in there. I turned it a few times just to see what it would do and it just kind of flowed around the gears. Granted that was at super low speed. I filled it about 3/4 full. The cornhead grease seems way more liquidy than about any other grease I've been around.

I was expecting a semi solid goo to come out when I changed it, but what came out was ancient and mostly liquid. So, maybe it had gear oil, or the cornhead goop was liquified after x years.

Oh, and from your first post, I thought about the throttle cable, but the pull length is pretty short. This thing has about 6" from full open to full closed.

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mjydrafter

Discussion Starter · #7 · Aug 16, 2021

Here is what the lever looks like, as you can see the detent is pretty stout. Which seems like a good idea, so the snow won't push it open.

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tuke

· #8 · Aug 18, 2021

I used an Ariens chute in my resto back in 2017/18 also. Works very well. I had the whole Ariens snowblower for parts so had the cable and dash detent piece. I have not added the rubber paddle mod. I’m 4 years in using this on my 78 316k. I have double hydraulics on the machine so it’s fast and easy to run. Any questions give a shout and/or look at my resto posted here.

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gabby_in_wis

· #9 · Aug 18, 2021

I have another model 49 restore to get done before snowfall. Will have a model 50 hydraulic chute rotator.

I think Ariens used to manufacture walk behind snow blower for Deere. Not surprised the chute could be retrofitted to Deere snow thrower.

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mjydrafter

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 19, 2021

gabby_in_wis said:
I have another model 49 restore to get done before snowfall. Will have a model 50 hydraulic chute rotator.

I think Ariens used to manufacture walk behind snow blower for Deere. Not surprised the chute could be retrofitted to Deere snow thrower.

Yeah, if they weren't made in the same factory I would be very surprised. (funny when I was searching, the early Deere walk behinds had one like the original 49, the later ones look more like Ariens took over.)

And thanks for the heads up on the cutting board chute rotation upgrade. That thing spins effortlessly.

mjydrafter

Discussion Starter · #11 · Sep 3, 2021

I pulled and painted the wear plate. Figured it would work better than rusty and pitted.

Then I went to work on the adapter plate. I'm sure the factory one is nice and the Aux Hyd looks good too, but $65-75 seems a little high... 210 parts tractor to the rescue (And technically it's a Deere part 🤪 )

I also added some skis to the original skids:

I got the chute deflector handle in post #7 above, and came up with a pretty simple/sweet set up for it. Paint is drying, but I will add a pic later today.

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rwmeyer

· #12 · Sep 3, 2021

Good job on the skis, but look kinda thin, 3/16'-1/4"? If you weld, add a pass or 2 of hard surfacing to the skis. That'll triple their life and then just reweld! Bob

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gabby_in_wis

· #13 · Sep 3, 2021

I have a concrete driveway. Those skids are always the first items to show wear. When I rebuild them I have a strip of high carbon steel added. You just have to be careful the added material is not too thick and you cannot lower cutting edge to just off the concrete surface. Keep up the good work ... Gabby

mjydrafter

Discussion Starter · #14 · Sep 3, 2021

rwmeyer said:
Good job on the skis, but look kinda thin, 3/16'-1/4"? If you weld, add a pass or 2 of hard surfacing to the skis. That'll triple their life and then just reweld! Bob

I got 1/4", I didn't want to go too thick, but I did want to add a little height. It should be easy to add some more or replace it. I will have to look around for some hard wire,

gabby_in_wis said:
I have a concrete driveway. Those skids are always the first items to show wear. When I rebuild them I have a strip of high carbon steel added. You just have to be careful the added material is not too thick and you cannot lower cutting edge to just off the concrete surface. Keep up the good work ... Gabby

I have gravel, so I want to keep it up just a little and keep the gravel out of it. I saw a lot of the 49s that were really tore up from gravel, in my search. I'm sure they still work fine, but they look a fright.

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Mike_U

· #15 · Sep 3, 2021 (Edited)

That's a nice looking set up. I like your modifications. You will really enjoy using it this winter. You probably already know this but for others who do not, if you have never put one on your tractor before, familiarize yourself with the way the idler pulley slides in and out and will actually drop down below the top of the snow blower pulley. It lowers the clearance about an inch or two and allows the snowblower to slide under the front of the tractor much easier depending on what size front tires you have. Even though someone told me about it, I did not figure it out the first couple winters. Once I figured out how far that idler pulley will drop down, it made putting it on and taking it off the tractor 10 times easier and faster.
Adding rubber flaps to the 2 flat surfaces of the metal auger will close any gap between the auger and the wear plate and help keep slushy snow moving better and hopefully not clog the chute as much. It makes an old snowblower operate like new.

What is the cutting board modification you mentioned?

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mjydrafter

Discussion Starter · #16 · Sep 3, 2021

Mike_U said:
What is the cutting board modification you mentioned?

You get a thin plastic (cheap) cutting board from walmart, and cut a washer to fit between the chute and where it rides on the housing. It makes turning the chute with the caveman handle set up much more smooth. I also put some fancy Phil Wood waterproof grease on the round area where it rotates.

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mjydrafter

Discussion Starter · #17 · Sep 3, 2021

In regard to the skis, I have read about (maybe it was just talk or vaporware) a set up like a snowmobile that has sacrificial wear rods, or I wonder about adding some thicker (3/8") cutting board (plastic-probably UHMW) to the bottoms. I have some, so I will see how it goes, but it would be easy to bevel the ends, and counter sink some carriage bolts...

And then there's always wheels like @army 's set up.

Mike_U

· #18 · Sep 3, 2021

Thanks for the tip on the cutting board. I'll try that. The steel skids you modified will probably last you longer than you expect and now that you have the first ones modified, adding additional metal in future years will be easy as long as you don't add too much thickness like Gabby says.
I ran snowblowers at two different properties. A 420 with snowblower and steel shoes (that I added material to the bottom) on a long concrete drive and a 317 with Robalon skid shoes on the asphalt drive at my home. Both types of skid shoes wore very well. In the spring, I can sometimes see rust marks where the metal skid shoes wore on the concrete but the Robalon has never left any marks or gouges on my asphalt. The Robalon shoes were not that expensive and this will be the 4th winter using them and they are still showing plenty of life. I'm very pleased with their performance.

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mjydrafter

Discussion Starter · #19 · Sep 3, 2021 (Edited)

Here is what I came up with for the chute control. Very simple, just a piece of angle iron welded to the original bracket.

I tweaked it in at a little angle, so when you push down on the handle to adjust, you aren't pushing straight down on the bracket, but more toward the bolts. I don't think it will have to be adjusted over and over, but more for the snow type each time. I even had the correct knob in my collection. Turned out pretty good, and it stays with the handle when you fold it away for storage.

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Mike_U

· #20 · Nov 29, 2021

I'm getting my snowblower ready on the 317. I painted the chute a couple months ago but before I reinstall it, I want to add the cutting board modification you mentioned. I've seen cutting boards that are a rollup plastic or maybe silicone, about 1/16" thick. Is that what you use or do you go with a thicker 1/8" - 3/16" plastic cutting board to make the washer for the housing that the chute sits on top of?

Also, you mentioned grease on the round area where it rotates, I'm wondering if the 1/16" rollup cutting board cut in a long strip would work in between the two rotating surfaces. Thanks in advance for the advice.

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