See those 5 bolts in the left side, top edge of the snow blower, lined right next to one another, aboce where the blower sits in the hitch. There are 4 together and one more. If you stand by the left front tire and look at the blower, you will see them, they are spare shear bolts for the auger shaft in the blower.

As far as the wire shaft holder, just bend it upwards some and move it out of the way, around to the side out of the hitch lift area, then swing it back to use it when you disconnect the blower.

Make sure to pull on the front coupling of the PTO shaft where it connects to the tractor so you KNOW it locked on. The collar should snap forward and lock it so it can't be pulled forward without pulling on the collar. Same thing with the long shaft under the tractor. Make sure they are locked as you DO NOT want them coming loose or off while in use.

As far as the gear box, post pictures of the gears and chain so we can see them. Plenty of 47" blowers still using the chain and gears. In fact, I have spare parts for those and I don't even own the blower any longer.......But if the gears are in decent shape and the chain is tight and runs without vibration, you don't have to replace it.

Regarding the 2 extra lines from the angling cylinder on the quik hitch, make sure you put caps on the ends and tuck them up and use a zip tie to keep them out of harms way. Its easy to snip the zip tie and release the lines should you need to. But protect the ends and keep the lines secured safely with the lines which are hooked to the tractor.

Here is the most important point of owning and using the blower. NEVER, and i mean NEVER aim the blower chute towards anyone or anything which can be damaged. The thrower will pick up ice chunks and rocks and throw them amazingly long distances. My neighbors son was blowing the snow at the front of the house and he damaged the stucco finish to the tune of about $3k and he knocked out a 2nd story window, which was also about as costly........Always aim the chute where it can't damage anything. Think of it like gun safety, never point it at anything which you shouldn't as it will be throwing snow 50' and suddenly the rock will come out and fly 100'................just how it goes...........

 

See those 5 bolts in the left side, top edge of the snow blower, lined right next to one another, aboce where the blower sits in the hitch. There are 4 together and one more. If you stand by the left front tire and look at the blower, you will see them, they are spare shear bolts for the auger shaft in the blower.

Interesting. I've never had one of those fail on my little snowblower. I'll keep an eye on it. Luckily the PO kept the spares ready to go. I can see now what bolts would break and need replaced.

Make sure to pull on the front coupling of the PTO shaft where it connects to the tractor so you KNOW it locked on. The collar should snap forward and lock it so it can't be pulled forward without pulling on the collar. Same thing with the long shaft under the tractor. Make sure they are locked as you DO NOT want them coming loose or off while in use.

Yep, did that when installed but I will double check prior to real use.

As far as the gear box, post pictures of the gears and chain so we can see them. Plenty of 47" blowers still using the chain and gears. In fact, I have spare parts for those and I don't even own the blower any longer.......But if the gears are in decent shape and the chain is tight and runs without vibration, you don't have to replace it.

Will do next weekend. The problem with buying used equipment if you don't have any experience with it is that you are never quite sure if it is running how it is supposed to. I bought a turbocharged car many years ago that I thought was quick and had lots of power. Ended up going to a car meet and driving someone else's copy of the same car and it was much faster. Ended up finding out that one of my cylinders was down 50-75psi (burnt valve). It was still firing so it didn't sound like it had a dropped cylinder but I was losing a bunch of power and I had no idea. I thought the car ran great because I had no reference point.

One more small detail. Check your front tire pressure and set the tire pressure up near the limit indicated on the tire sidewall, as the snow blower will squat the front tires quite a bit when lifted. The tires can get soft in the extreme cold, where they typically lose a little pressure in very cold temps, it can wear the tires excessively with the weight on the front end.

I noticed the tire squish right after installing and then it was very apparent in the picture. I remember checking the rear pressures and when I got the fronts told myself that I'll do it next time because it looks like a real pain getting an air chuck in there.

Many tractor owners have both the blower and the blade and your quik tach hitch is already set up for the blade, with the angle cylinder. If you do have the blade and switch from the blower to the blade, make sure to keep an eye on the angle cylinder fittings which are 90 degrees, one on each end. The snow likes to pack into the hitch when in use and angling side to side. This snow turns to ice as its packed and it can damage the cylinder, the line fittings and the cylinder mount pins. If you are not going to use the plow, the snow build up in the hitch shouldn't be a concern as you won't be angling it from side to side as those who use plows often do.

I don't have a blade but I will probably pick one up since I have everything else. I'm going to post another thread asking for blade opinions.

Good luck with your new snow clearing equipment.

Thank you and thanks for your input.

 

One more small detail. Check your front tire pressure and set the tire pressure up near the limit indicated on the tire sidewall, as the snow blower will squat the front tires quite a bit when lifted. The tires can get soft in the extreme cold, where they typically lose a little pressure in very cold temps, it can wear the tires excessively with the weight on the front end.

Many tractor owners have both the blower and the blade and your quik tach hitch is already set up for the blade, with the angle cylinder. If you do have the blade and switch from the blower to the blade, make sure to keep an eye on the angle cylinder fittings which are 90 degrees, one on each end. The snow likes to pack into the hitch when in use and angling side to side. This snow turns to ice as its packed and it can damage the cylinder, the line fittings and the cylinder mount pins. If you are not going to use the plow, the snow build up in the hitch shouldn't be a concern as you won't be angling it from side to side as those who use plows often do.

Good luck with your new snow clearing equipment. I think it was wise to get everything on and try it and work out any kinks, as many wait until the snow is deep and then have the pressure of having to get the equipment mounted and running. You are ahead of the curve and that's a good thing.............

 

Loosen the bolt shown with the red arrow and rotate the hook all the way to the left. Retighten bolt. It will then be completely out of the way of all moving parts.

 

Done. Right after the OP as I was looking at my pictures, this clue slapped me in the face.

 

1. I think the best place to put the wire is out of the way, it is to hold the driveshaft up when not in use.
2. you wanted the lift cylinder to be on the bottom control lever so you can use the float, and the chute direction control is your top handle. Best thing to do is plug the lines in and test the ports.
3. there isn’t unless you remove the seat safety switch. I wouldn’t recommend getting off the tractor with the blower running anyways. I would just lube A section of chain then run the snowblower.
4. On my X495 there is a shut off for the mower deck lift cylinder because it is controlled by the same lever. I make sure that it is raised all the way up and then shut it off for the winter.
5. As far as the enclosed gear case I swapped mine over 2 years ago and havnt had an issue. What is nice is you don’t have to worry about tightening the chain or lubricanting it. As far as rotation speed I haven’t noticed a difference. It is quieter as well.

 

1. I think the best place to put the wire is out of the way, it is to hold the driveshaft up when not in use.
2. you wanted the lift cylinder to be on the bottom control lever so you can use the float, and the chute direction control is your top handle. Best thing to do is plug the lines in and test the ports.
3. there isn’t unless you remove the seat safety switch. I wouldn’t recommend getting off the tractor with the blower running anyways. I would just lube A section of chain then run the snowblower.
4. On my X495 there is a shut off for the mower deck lift cylinder because it is controlled by the same lever. I make sure that it is raised all the way up and then shut it off for the winter.
5. As far as the enclosed gear case I swapped mine over 2 years ago and havnt had an issue. What is nice is you don’t have to worry about tightening the chain or lubricanting it. As far as rotation speed I haven’t noticed a difference. It is quieter as well.

I did end up pulling the wire hook more to the center. I'm thinking that's where it should have been but got pushed out of center. Thanks for the input.

I sell alot of those gear cases at work for people swapping them. Seems to be very common. Also Reminder for you is to get a bag of shear bolts at the start of the season.

Funny that you already set the blower up and pulled the deck, Im in canada and still cutting grass 😂

Which bolts are sheer bolts? I've never had a big snowblower before. Do you know the bolt size? I have had a small blower for a while and never needed a sheer bolt.

It is getting pretty cold (30s at night already) so I doubt we will get much more growing here. If I need to put the deck back on to mow once or twice more, that's fine. I just wanted to do the full setup at least once before I NEED it so I can be sure everything works. Problems and questions aside, I'm pretty stoked to try this thing out.

 

I sell alot of those gear cases at work for people swapping them. Seems to be very common. Also Reminder for you is to get a bag of shear bolts at the start of the season.

Funny that you already set the blower up and pulled the deck, Im in canada and still cutting grass 😂

 

2. I too have the angling cycling on my QH that keep installed should I opt to go to my plow instead of the blower. I have the 4 QH hoses zip tied together. I then run the blower rotation hoses along them up to the hydraulic ports. I zip tie the chute hoses to the other ones to keep them all together. All i need to do is cut two zip ties to free them up. see picture

3. you'll want the front sensor so the snowblower can keep running. It bolts to the front of the tractor adjacent to the PTO shaft. see picture

4. yes you'll want to raise the deck arms fully, rotate the deck gage into the highest position. Lower the arms until they rest fully. Then go to your lockout valve (if you have one) and turn it until it's fully closed. If you don't have one then the guys at Aux Hyd sell a reasonably priced one compared to JD. It's even 1/4 turn which I'm jealous of. There's a small bracket that goes on the right side of the machine that locks the deck arms up as redundancy should you forget and try to lower them. see picture
4X5 and X-Series Quarter Turn Lockout Valve-QTLO

I owe a pic

5. replacing the chain/ sprocket drive is a smart move if the current ones are worn and need replacement. The sealed version is roughly the same price so worth it if you're in need. If the teeth are good and sufficient slack then maybe you can get through a season or two.

BONUS:

You can also do the electric actuator for the spout control rather than using the OEM mechanical method. Install the actuator, pop a whole in the dash, wire it up, and voila! see pic

FOR John Deere FITS AM126215 UPDATED Snow Blower Spout Chute Control HD SYSTEM | eBay

 

3. you'll want the front sensor so the snowblower can keep running. It bolts to the front of the tractor adjacent to the PTO shaft. see picture

Note, don't think there is any place to plug in front driveshaft sensor on that old model. Will have to find another method to not have snowblower shut off PTO when backing up.