Rebuilding the H-42 blower

[Redblower]

I'm finally getting to rebuilding the rest of the drive line on the H-42, I did the first half of the drive shaft, new u-joints, a few years ago and bought the parts for the other half so have that figured out.

That leaves the chain and both sprockets, Messick's site says to call, which I suppose I will but I'm not holding out much hope, the small sprocket is welded to a short shaft that has 2 bearings, replacing those too, then the big sprocket is bolted to the end of the auger and holds a bearing.

I just can't seem to find any good info, I took the parts to Tractor Supply and it seems the chain is a #40, they had the small gear, 18 teeth, but had a 2" dia. hole. Looking on Mcmaster Carr I think I'm looking for Ansi #40 chain sprockets? The hole dia. on the small sprocket is 5/8" need 3/4" suppose I could drill it out and have it welded onto the shaft in place of the old one?

The larger sprocket is 45 teeth and has a 23/32" hole, would my machine shop guy be able to cut that hole to 2", a bearing fits in it, and bore the 6 holes needed to bolt it to the end of the auger?

Chain #30, Large sprocket #29

Large sprocket.jpg IMG_0312.JPG

Small sprocket #33, bearings #31, I think I have a specialty bearing place I can get those, auto parts store couldn't cross them.
small sprocket.jpg IMG_0310.JPG

Any hints or advise is greatly appreciated, Notice I am doing this in the summer, I'm learning...
Thanks,

[J-Mech]

Hey Vic! Nice to see you on another project!

If it were me, I'd build a new input sprocket with the shaft. Instead of cutting off the old sprocket and welding on new, I'd just have the whole thing made. You can source that locally, or with Jeff on this site. I'm confident Jeff can make it with ease. As far as the large sprocket, yes buy one with proper tooth count and have it machined to work. Should be easy.

Auto part stores seldom are good at finding bearings. The ones on that blower should be a common bearing. If you have trouble finding them, get me a number off of them.

[Redblower]

Thanks Jon,
I'm pretty sure I can find the bearings, and I'll contact Jeff about that sprocket and shaft, I know what I'm going to get with him.

So just to be sure the chain is a #40 size?

[J-Mech]

Vic, the parts book doesn't specify, but I'm am very sure it is a #40 chain. That's what it looks like on my end of the screen, and also what my mind recalls it being from past work. The old chain should have the number 40 on the links if that is what it is. Wipe off a link with a rag and see if it has a number. #40 chain is super common and easy to get.

[Redblower]

Jon, it sure matches up to a #40 at tractor supply, thanks for confirming, I have a mail in to Jeff to see about the other parts.
Thanks,

[Redblower]

Finally got some parts back and start re-assembling, got the new bearings in the auger, new sprocket, ain't she purdy, new chain, etc, got to the first yoke from the small sprocket and realized that the one I bought 2 years ago was for 7/8" shaft, that's what the other end (gear box end) was, just assumed...
New one on the way with a 3/4" bore.

Had to make a new spacer for the sprocket end of the auger, the sprocket didn't get machined out for the bearing "exactly" like the old one, doesn't protrude 1/8" like before, old spacer was 1/8" so this one is 1/4", don't think it will hurt anything and it spins nice now!

Just thought I'd share a little of my exciting life.

IMG_0667.JPG IMG_0660.JPG

[J-Mech]

[Redblower]

This is the end of the drive shaft, sprocket runs chain to auger, these 2 bearing seats do not hold the bearings tight at all, they will just slide in and out.

I know once all is assembled they can't go anywhere but should I do some say "scoring" inside the seats so that they do not spin? Not sure how long that would last?

The old ones were not tight coming out, just snug, probably due to rust which I cleaned out with a wire wheel.

Thoughts? and thanks.
IMG_0699.JPG IMG_0698.JPG

[J-Mech]

Glad to see it coming together Vic!

On the bearings:
Take them out and use a center punch to put divots in the area where the bearing rides. I’d do 6-8 divots per bearing. If the bearings are pretty loose as they sit now, you can also apply some bearing retainer loctite (such as Loctite 638 or 680) to hold them in place along with the divots from the punch. It is critical for the outer race to be held in place well. Otherwise, the bearing outer race can spin in the housing, rather than rotate the bearing.

[Redblower]

Thanks Jonathan, the punch is a good idea and I didn't know about that loctite product will get some and do it up.

I didn't think it was a good idea for them to be loose.

[Redblower]

Well got it all back together, can't wait to mount it on the tractor, should be a lot quieter.

I took a pic of all of the yokes, u-joint and bearing boxes if anyone is ever looking to do this, the Moog parts came from local auto parts dealer, the bearings, sprockets and chain came from Applied Industrial Technologies, when I can't find bearings I go there, they happened to also have the sprockets to match exactly, teeth and size, still had to have holes bored, welded to shaft, etc. Of course just ask me if you can't read something.

I bought all of the Moog parts about 2 years ago when I did the end closest to the gear box, they all had 7/8" bore for the shaft coming off the gear box, 2 years later, that same yoke welded onto the rectangular slide shaft just fine but the jack shaft was 3/4" bore, could find a yoke with 3/4" bore, that is the Precision box.

I also had to cut 1" off of each of the rectangular slide shaft parts, the solid one and the hollow sleeve over half, these new yokes and all take up considerably more space than those old tiny non-serviceable ones that it came with.

You can't get a good pic of the chain and sprockets once it is assembled, all enclosed.

Thanks for the help!

H-42 Driveline Parts.jpg IMG_0718.JPG

[Jmacgavon]

My u-joint on my h-42, closest to the gear sprocket, broke a few years back. I parked it in the weeds. This thread has me energized to get it back running. I guess I'm unsure of what I need to do to get it back in running order??? Any suggestions would help?

[Redblower]

I guess I would just start tearing it apart, I only replaced the bad one a couple years ago and then did the rest when the other one went bad.

A good machine shop or welder with those capabilities would be something to start looking for, they have to chock up the shaft and Yoke in a lathe the way I understand it to be able to weld then new onto the old shafts, those shafts aren't even square profile, they are rectangular so it gets pretty goofy trying to replace all parts, I used what I could.

I also had to cut down the lengths of both the solid and hollow shaft to account for the longer yokes, they still work fine, plenty of engagement.

Ask any questions you need to, if I don't answer other folks on here will, good luck!

[J-Mech]

My u-joint on my h-42, closest to the gear sprocket, broke a few years back. I parked it in the weeds. This thread has me energized to get it back running. I guess I'm unsure of what I need to do to get it back in running order??? Any suggestions would help?

Assuming you read through Vic's thread, I'm sure you know that the u-joints can't be changed on the old shaft because there just aren't new joints available. You are better off building a new shaft. I will add that a lot of farm stores (Rural King, TSC and similar) usually carry a lot of shaft components, so you might find what you need there. It is a short shaft and doesn't spin terribly fast. If I was building a new one, I'd have it balanced, but a lot of people don't know where to get that kind of work done at, or have any shops near them that can. I have two within 50 miles of me, so not a big deal. Really though, the shaft will run fine if not balanced. If you are able to weld, you should be able to build up a new shaft fairly easily.

This is one of those parts I have thought I'd make to sell, but never have. Maybe when I retire, lol.

Our awesome member Jeff makes some parts for the blower for repair. I am pretty sure he has made up some new driveshafts for guys in the past. If you need a new shaft for the drive or in the gearbox, I think he keeps a few made up. If you don't feel comfortable making a new driveshaft, contact him. He is very easy to deal with, and his prices are extremely fair. Here is the link to his page on this site. You can also access it up top on the "Parts by Jeff" tab.

[Jmacgavon]

Hi, well I've decided that I'm going to go the route of rebuilding the pto shaft. I'm very thankful that there's people out there who have the knowledge to have done this already. I'm just a little confused on what to look for, such as the part that has the 3/4 bore, was there a part number for that one?? What is the 1964 part to be used where. Just a little confused with those two things. Thanks your help is very much appreciated.