Sheared a pin in the thrower - new pin won't fit - advice?

[NH_Wood]

Hi all,

Just sheared a pin in my snow thrower (was last year's pin). Seemed to have sheared from the weight of very heavy snow - not obstructions in the driveway, and it was the second blow of the day, so things were clean. The thrower is an attachment to a Craftman lawn tractor - does a nice job on our level driveway. Anywho - grabbed a factory replacemnt shear pin and it WILL NOT fit into the hole on the auger axel. Figures some corrosion might be in the hole, so passed a similar diameter drill bit through the hole - still no luck. Was soaked from the rain/snow mix and decided to give up for now and try drilling later. Any other thoughts on why it's not fitting? Took off the shear pin from the opposite auger to make sure I didn't end up with an odd size from Sear's - it doesn't fit either. Thanks! Cheers!

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Are you sure the hole in the drive shaft and the one in the auger are lined up right? (I know- rookie mistake, but it could happen).

The remainder piece was so tight in the shaft last one I changed that I peened over the end of the pin trying to knock it out. Had to grind and redo the threads with a hand file. I blow them all the time because my driveway is through woods.

 

[billb3]

Only time I've busted a shear pin was on the ice from the street plow at the street end of the driveway.
Must have been a big piece.
Seems odd that the right size drill went through.

I filed a bit of a taper to the end of the new and persuaded it in.
I didn't see any burrs so something must not have been quite straight any more.

Mine come in bags of two and one of them was the wrong size.
Kind of obvious, though. About a 1/16 of an inch difference in dia.

 

[Flatbedford]

Hammer?

 

[John_M]

NH_Wood, Perhaps there is a very small burr which is too small to see but large enough to prevent the new pin from going through. Have you tried inserting the pin from both sides of the axle? Perhaps using a "letter" or metric drill bit just a teensy larger than the original will remove any not-so-obvious obstructions. John_M

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Or a chainsaw file

 

[NH_Wood]

Thanks for the advice everyone.
Yep - lined up right.
Um.....yep, tried the hammer and glad I gave up sooner rather than later - almost couldn't tap back out and didn't want to drill it out too!
I'm thinking a burr might be the culprit too - I was in the rain and didn't have a chance to get the thrower high enough to really get a good drill angle - the bit that passed through was a hair too small, so I might have missed it - I'll try again tomorrow or tonight now that the machine is in the garage - I'll get the right bit and see if I can take out whatever is stopping the pin! Thanks again! Cheers!

 

[kenny chaos]

Last July I sent the wife to the tractor store for shear bolts for the baler, I have some extra snowthrower pins if you want them.