unobserved objects always find a way of causing this type of damage . I still recall back when I plowed commercially and asked quite clearly to a customer who wished their snow pushed into their back lot . Do you have any hidden obstacles or obstructions within the yard to be aware of . Seems that a 1 ft cement pier did not merit their consideration . Rather hard to detect under 2-1/2 feet of fresh snow . Fortunately I always plowed slow with the trip springs set light lol .

Hey Bert, Ever hear the saying about not getting blood out of a turnip? I agree with Rusty, go to them and tell them what happened in a matter-of-fact manner. They'll probably say "that sucks" and walk away, but there's always a chance they'll actually feel bad and offer to help pay for repairs. DON'T accept if they offer to make the repairs or take it to the Brother-in-law who lives a town over and does repairs on the side. Odds are you'll never see your blower again or it'll come back in worse shape than it went out. If they don't end up paying, then document all your parts costs and how long it took you to do the repair, including time to drive to get parts. I'd skip tallying labor at 90 an hour. Keep a copy in your back pocket when you're out blowing snow. If they stop you and ask you to blow out the driveway, hand them the piece of paper. Tell 'em sorry, but you can't afford the risk of another expense like that. Anyhow, don't get nasty about it. Not much worse than starting a war with the fellow next door. You never know when you may need help from even the most worthless of them. I kept peace with everyone around me while I lived in town. Sure am glad I moved back on the farm. 'Course, now I have a 1/4 mile long driveway - BUT I also have a Deere 317 skid steer with 80 inch bucket and a Deere 4430 tractor with 9 foot Degelman front blade.... Good luck!

Chuck104, you might want to try some PB Blaster penetrating oil. I was also reading recently that some people are making a good penetrating oil out of a 50/50 mix of acetone (such as nail polish remover) and automatic transmission fluid. That could also be worth a shot. Let them soak in for a while, and try again? If you have access to something like a 3-jaw gear puller, or something else that will let you try to crank it off by turning a screw, that could also help out. I'm assuming you were able to remove the bearing & shaft from the auger housing. If not, then disregard the gear puller comment. If it came to that, you could also try heating the bearing, while trying to avoid adding heat to the shaft. The bearing might expand away from the shaft by enough to help get it off. But the heat would cook the grease in the bearing, and maybe destroy it. So I'd use that as a last resort, since you may really be committed to replacing the bearing if you try heating it. Again, if it is out of the machine, and the bearing is exposed, you could also cut it with something like an angle grinder (either one slice through it, or cut it in half), and get it off that way. baymee, that's a great writeup! I have a 1993 MTD. And mine, despite being stored indoors, has noticeably more rust than yours, so kudos! When I bought mine in ~'02, the impeller would turn, but the augers wouldn't. Both shear pins were intact. Drove out the shear pins (both of them were bent, but had not broken), and opened the auger gearbox. In my case, the gears were all fine (fortunately), it had just sheared off the woodruff key that prevents the brass gear from spinning on the auger shaft. About $.70 later I was back in business. I always thought that was very lucky, but I never appreciated quite how lucky until reading this. Why mine simply sheared the key, and yours shattered the gears, I have no idea. I'm glad you got it fixed, though, nice job!

I avoided roll pins because the second time around, they aren't always as tight as the original and because they are difficult to remove in the back. I did one snowblower with grade 8 bolts because roll pins are hardened too. This current job, I used two shear bolts and am hoping for the best. If they break, I'll use grade 8 bolts. I'm no engineer, but since they are at the centerline of the shaft, I'm not worried about balance.