Why won’t this snowblower throw snow like it should? Let’s investigate. 

That is a good old classic that deserves to live if possible. I do hope you are able refurbish it and help it to live a longer life.

I have the same machine. I had the same problem 3 years ago. When it cam to removong the big pulley, I used a grinder with a 1/8" cutting wheel and cut a triangle about an inch out from the shaft/hub and remove the outer portion of the pulley off, that way, Iwas able to get a puller on the hub of the pulley and pull it off the shaft and proceeded to replace the bearing and also replace the gear in the gearcase. I reassembled everything and welded the pully back together. It's been working great ever since. If I weren't so lazy I would take the Auger Drum off and take a few pics of the pulley welded back together. Welding the pully didn't throw anything out of balance because the pully doesn't spin that fast. Did the whole job for under $83.

Love the older machines and do hope you rebuild it (maybe even to make another video or two?). It would be interesting to see the condition of the gearbox gears! Perfect summertime project!!

Put some heat on that pulley and it'll come off.

Try heat first, if not drill two holes close to the centre of pulley and Mount two 10mm bolts to extract the pulley

I have a mid to late 70s John Deere 832 that is the same machine. Had the same problems. To get the pulley off heat and Moovit penetrating oil. Drilled and tapped 2 holes through the collar near the pulley centre and put bolts in and off it came. The end play is caused by a worn shoulder bushing in the gear box. Called the JD dealer and all the bushings where available for the augur and drive shaft. Big pulley was also still available. The shouldered bushing that controls the shaft end play was specific but the other bushing were just off the shelf bronze that you cut to length if need be. 25$ in parts 2hrs labour. Its been great since. Do not part out what is a great looking machine, fix it. If your not capable then let someone who can. And put a proper implement belt on it not a automotive fan belt. Big difference.

Build a walk behind plow with the rear half😊

Use an air hammer and a couple pry bars, no damage and new pulley not needed, been there done that with several brands and a lot of beating and swearing!🥵

Even if you have to put a few hundred into it, it's worth the price to fix it. It'll last another 25 years.

about 15 years ago - I bought a set of ratchet wrenches- took them back-- too many places ,they did not fit

I have one similar to that with the same problem. I was able to pull my pulley off and replace the wore out bearing with a new one. When I installed the new bearing I spaced it away from the original mount and the bearing was able to ride on a new spot on the shaft where it wasn't wore out. Been going good now for 4+ years but we don't get a whole bunch of snow around here though. Good video man.

Sure seems lot to do to change the belt. See you on the next one. Cheers

Get a longer bolt that goes into the pulley shaft, drill a dimple in the center of the head, and run it in until it bottoms out. While prying up on the pulley, use and air hammer on the bolt. It'll pop right off. Give it a good shot of PB-Blaster, Kroil, or Rust Buster first.

I think the problem is the chute is too long. 😁 That's pretty new to still use the "snowbird" name. That's also a lot of blower for a single belt. I see it has triangle grift sticker on it. I see that on older blowers sometimes. A nice bit of snowblower history there.

You need a puller to take the pulley off.

The first 2 minutes almost drove me mad, the background noise sucked so bad...

Heat, the right puller and a lot of cursing should get that pulley off. 😊 Maybe even just cut it off if it’s warped anyway. I’d love to watch a video on that, and it might be worth the cost of a pulley and a few bearings to get it going again. It’s a nice machine. All contingent upon the gearbox and the shaft, though.

If you would have taken the pulley (ONE bolt), you could do the set screws more easily.

I need the auger belt👍 I have a snow filte.

I forgot to check the play in the impeller bearing they always go Bad On those old machines

i had one here before christmas and found out the same. it had alot of problems to. i did not fix it

I'm guessing that replacing those shear pins with bolts messed up the pulley, bearings and drive belt since the operator was trying to blow something other than snow like rocks or ice. Use your shear pins folks, they're there for a reason.