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totustuus

Name Gerald Kahn
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Is my old John Deere 826 worth rebuilding?
#1   Dec 20, 2005 2:02 pm
I've been reading the various discussions for a few days trying to see how many of you have totally stripped and rebuilt an old snow blower.

I have an old JD 826 that I bought back in 1987.  It gets lots of use up here in the northern suburbs of Syracuse NY! (about 200" of snow per winter)

This machine has a Tecumseh 8 HP that still runs well.  I change the oil once or twice per season.

I just put new belts and a drive disk on it but was noticing that the bushings on the wheel shafts seem sloppy.  The auger housing has some rust and probably needs bushings as well.  Additionally, I have two busted welds where the discharge chute is welded to the horizontal plate that rotates the assembly.  I put a couple of angle brackets on to hold the discharge chute on until I can get this rewelded.  It wobbles a bit but the snow shoots out just fine.

Overall, it has aged gracefully but it's looking a bit tired.  This machine was built in Moline Illinois before Ariens started building them for JD.

Parts are apparently still available, but are a bit pricey. 

I'm a pretty good mechanic but I'm wondering whether the economics at this point are justified or whether I should bite the bullet and get a new machine next winter.

What do you wrench heads think?  Does the old girl deserve another 20 years or should she be put out to pasture?

thanks in advance!

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