Old Mopars...So simple compared to this!

[keithb7]

Snowblowers. What crazy contraptions they are. I think Mopar cars are easier than this! Lol. 
 

Getting ready for winter here. Could be some time before I get this done. 
 

 

 

 

[RobertKB]

Hey Keith, no swearing on the forums. W****r and s**w are both swear words in my book. If I never saw s**w again it would be too soon. ?

[DJ194950]

Move to Calif..

Maybe  see 80 degrees + in December this year. Only been in the upper 90's for a week. Some higher this weekend however, desert temps are on the way back.

Rain? Used to have some of that stuff. Fog, used to unable to travel safely at times in winter, barely shows up these days.

No climate change however. Just watch the news!

 

DJ

[keithb7]

I have been to Cali many times. Thanks for the invite to live there! I suspect I'd have trouble trying to take up residence. In particular enjoyed the North part of your state. A little more quiet, laid back old time feel and surroundings in many areas. Snow is ok when you have the tools to deal with it. No, I don't mean a shovel. LOL. I use a 4x4 ATV with an angle blade, a single stage snow blower and a large two stage snowblower. I have a pretty good sized driveway and we get things done pretty efficiently. 

 

I do enjoy my visits to California. Among my favourites  drives and tours include:

 

Joshua Tree Park

Smaller side roads headed North from Reno to Weed CA.

Back roads from Eugene OR to Reno NV. Via NE CA.

Santa Barbera to Pismo Beach cruise

Yucca Valley to Las Vegas via Vidal Junction and Needles

Escondido to Indio via Ocotillo Wells

 

I've seen a lot of your state. Nothing but fond memories.

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by keithb7

[DJ194950]

Way in the northern Calif. areas  do still get some rain fairly often. How much compared to normal, can't say. I live 4-8 hours south of that area.

 

Understand it is still fairly dry and storms have caused lightening strike fires.

Lately however that has be closer to the north and south of the S.F. bay area. Napa and Santa Cruz areas.

 

Smoke has been blown over to the central valley (where I live) from both areas. Has been smokey for getting close to 2 weeks now.

 

Oh well, we all have something in the weather we would change but as many others it's where I was born as was my father and grandfather.?

 

Well you are welcome to come and spend some tourist monies here, it's needed! ?

 

Vegas would welcome you with open arms also,  Both my nephew and wife are out of work at the resorts there.?

 

DJ

[plymouthcranbrook]

Small engines were always my nemesis. 

[Dan Hiebert]

Yeah, thanks for the reminder.  I gotta do the annual service stuff on our s***blower pretty soon.  I clean it and run the gas dry in the spring, but put all the fixing/belt replacement/painting/adjusting off until the fall.  And I, too, much prefer tinkering with old cars...which is why it usually doesn't get done until the first s*** is forecast...

[Los_Control]

No s*** for me, waiting for mowing season to end. Need to rebuild the deck on my mower. It has some loud bearings, hoping it holds together long enough.

I bought a older john deere rider from a estate sale for $35 ... non running  .... wife is like ... why did you buy that piece of crap?  

Had to put on a starter, new battery clean the fuel system & carb, new blades. It actually runs pretty good. 14 horse kawasaki engine. small 38" cut is perfect size for my yard.

Like anything, take care of them and they will take care of you. I expect to get several years out of the john deere. They are well built and repairable.

 

These small outdoor machines really make our lives easier. It worth putting the extra time into maintenance on them. This is the group of people that will do the extra steps.

I always used my push mower for forced exercise. It took 2 days for back to recover from it, so I lost 3 days a week just taking care of yard work. Now I have more time to work on my truck.

 

Shoveling S*** is a tough business, and will destroy many backs every year. When I moved to Spokane, first year lived in a duplex and had to park on the street.

Plow truck would come by and clear the street, while burying your car. I opened the shop at 5:00am so 4:30 am out there digging my car out

Come home from work and plow truck came by again, now have to stop in the street while I dig out my parking spot to park.

We got first snow in October, never saw the ground until late spring.

I do not miss the s*** one bit, Get those machines in shape!

[keithb7]

The word S N O W cannot be typed in this forum by several members . It's actually considered a swear word and blocked? LOL.

 

 

This is a test: When its' cold enough and precipitation happens, it often falls as snow. We get more than our share of snow up here in Canada where i live.  So I have tools to deal with the snow. My snow shovel is not one of my favourite tools. So I go above and beyond to find other tools to more easily deal with snow. If it never snowed here again, I'd be totally ok with that.  Come early March I am very much done with snow. Hate it by that point. However, aside from about 2 areas of Canada, the Vancouver BC and Victoria BC areas, every other square inch of this country gets a fair share of snow.

 

Hmm..I have no trouble typing the in the word snow. Why are others? LOL.

 

Enough swearing...Back to vintage Mopar business.

 

Edited September 4, 2020 by keithb7

[40plyrod]

As a resident of Vancouver Island about an hour's drive from Victoria and coming from a long line of snow haters, I can say we may not get much snow most years (although I'd say more than our fair share)but we hate any snow that we get well before early March. ?

[keithb7]

I am happy to say my blower is back together and propelling under its own power again!

 

I ended up stripping it down pretty far. Transmission completely disassembled. Engine and hand controls all removed. Frame split.  The main frame housing welds were cracking up. The mainframe box was skewed. Main shafts mis-aligned.  We put it in a Hydraulic press to hold things back in proper position, and welded it up.  I have to say, friends with a press and a mig welder are very nice to know. 
 

I had no shop manual. By trial and error I reassembled it all. Taking things apart again upto 3 times to get it right.  These blowers truly are contraptions by design. Hidden hardware that is blocked-in by other parts. Assembly in the wrong sequence, and its all coming apart again. Lol. I got it now. I’m now ready to take on snowblower repairs for cash!
 

420 chain is used. Double reduction final drives with pressed together chain loops. Non-servicable, no master link drive chains . I visited the local small engine repair shop guys to purchase a couple of the 420 sized master links.  I was surprised to learn they did not sell or use them. I sourced them elsewhere. I ground a few pins off to split the chain loop. Then installed new master links. Otherwise, future chain service means a complete tranny teardown again.  Seems weird to me. 

Anyway, Its ready for winter!

 

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by keithb7

[Tooljunkie]

800 foot driveway, i can do it all with my plow on the pickup. Just a few swipes with a shovel at each doorway to finish it off. I really hate winter, and all things associated with it. 
usually we get to escape for a week on a southern vacation, but thats on hold, due to the present situation.