Snowblower Impeller Jammed/Advice?

[Glacialtill]

Got about two feet of snow here last night in western MA. Finally got to really test out the new snowblower. Worked great. Until I somehow ran over a tin can and totally jammed up the impeller on our two stage. Tried to free it up and then thought I should do some research before I lose any digits.

Any advice on the next step? Any safety tips?

Thanks--Paul

[Harry Chickpea]

Remove sparkplug. Crowbar or prybar GENTLY.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Sell. Move to Texas.

Sorry. Couldn't resist. I just mowed the back yard.

[rambler]

Do not stick fingers in the impeller anywhere.

Broom stick, stick, crowbar - pry with those.

Removing the spark plug is a good start, but still can be some pent up energy on the driveline trying to spring the impeller forward.

Clear out the snow, look where the can is jammed up - up on top by the spout exit, or somewhere around? Try to spin the impeller backwards with a pry bar, gently. Pull on the can with pliers while wiggling the impeller with the bar. And so on.

Keep your fingers out of the way of the impeller, esp where the spout exit is. That's a guillotine waiting to chop fingers off. Maybe not every time, maybe even rarely, but often enough to keep your fingers away from that area....

Paul

[arabian knight]

Originally Posted by rambler

Do not stick fingers in the impeller anywhere.

Broom stick, stick, crowbar - pry with those.

Removing the spark plug is a good start, but still can be some pent up energy on the driveline trying to spring the impeller forward.

Clear out the snow, look where the can is jammed up - up on top by the spout exit, or somewhere around? Try to spin the impeller backwards with a pry bar, gently. Pull on the can with pliers while wiggling the impeller with the bar. And so on.

Keep your fingers out of the way of the impeller, esp where the spout exit is. That's a guillotine waiting to chop fingers off. Maybe not every time, maybe even rarely, but often enough to keep your fingers away from that area....

Paul

-- This ^^^^^^

[Steve in PA]

I had almost the exact same thing happen to me last year. I had to take my snowblower apart to get it completely removed. It's easy, by memory it wasn't more than 6 or 8 bolts. You should be able to figure it out from the diagram in your owner's manual.

As was said earlier...PULL THE SPARKPLUG FIRST

[Glacialtill]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm pleased to report that the can has been removed from the auger, the snowblower is back up and running, and I still have all my fingers. Win, win, win.

I ended up taking snowblower apart. It was pretty easy and now that I've seen how the belts and other internal parts go together I'm a lot more confident in keeping this machine in good working order. Plus it was a perfect excuse to buy a new socket set.

I found this video exceptionally helpful and straightforward. He's replacing his stripped gears but all the instructions I needed were in the first half of the video:

YouTube