We have a local television channel that routinely hypes up any weather event as if the apocalypse is looming large over the city. Springtime? Tornadoes will force their main meteorologist to break into the finale of Survivor and keep reporting for 2 hours straight (saying the same things over and over) after we’ve missed the ending of that classic reality show.

STORM OF THE CENTURY?

Blizzards forecast to drop more than 3 or 4 inches of snow are routinely treated as if they will be the “storm of the century”! Perhaps the news channel gets part of their financing from the grocery stores and gas stations?

All joking aside, when we do get a huge blizzard in our area, there’s nothing worse than layering up clothing until you feel like a little kid stuffed tightly into a snowsuit that’s three sizes too small, trudging through the snowdrifts in windchills that are 20 below zero out to the garage, pushing the fuel bulb a few times on your snowblower to prime the machine, pulling the cord…and nothing happens.

THE EXAMINATION

In my case, I’ve had a few things go wrong with my Toro Snowblower over the years and being that simply taking the machine in for a tune-up annually is usually more than $100, I tend to jump onto the net to see if I can figure out what’s gone wrong and how (and if) I can fix it myself.

The first time I can recall, the paddle that actually drives the snow had been worn down over a number of seasons and the snow would either not be thrown far or it would be thrown out from under the blower towards me instead of through the chute.

Later, it would be the fuel primer bulb that would need replaced, and most recently the tension belt had to be tightened up a few notches in order to properly throw the snow far enough away from the snowblower.

THE DIAGNOSIS

With the paddle, I was pretty certain it was a simple case of wear and tear, but I consulted the “experts” on YouTube to see what normally causes the snow to be ejected behind the snowblower instead of through the chute (truly it’s all in your search string). As I expected, there were a number of legitimate videos (dealers and small engine repair shops) to support my own diagnosis.

The fuel primer bulb was a bit trickier, as I had to remove the Toro’s front panel and a bit of the side without messing up the belts and such.

The most recent fix completed using DIY strategies was figuring out that the belt that was driving the paddle was loose, so the snow would barely go beyond the chute and literally drop on top of the snowblower itself.

THE DIY SOLUTION(S)

The paddle replacement? I just laid my phone down and took it step by step (nearly losing my mind at one point trying to reach an area inside without leaving the whole thing in pieces I was not equipped to put back together), and darn if it didn’t work in the end!

With fuel primer bulb, I watched YouTube again and found the hardest part of the process was fitting the new bulb over the housing/piece that fit onto the fuel line. Once that was done, I put the whole console part of the snowblower back together and I was in business again.

Finally, this winter, when I revved up the snowblower for its first go of the season (we experienced two winter storms back-to-back in Iowa just last month that left nearly 2 feet of snow per storm), it was clear that the belt wasn’t functioning correctly to collect and throw the snow properly. Again, YouTube to the rescue and once I uncovered the proper cable, it took me only a few minutes to tighten it up a few notches in the metal guide to leave the belt more taunt and push forward with clearing the driveway!

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NOT TO BE A BLOWHARD

Not too transformational, but all the same, I found I acquired great confidence in fixing something that would have cost hundreds of dollars if I took it to the repair shop each time. Do it myself…indeed!

Be sure to share your own DIY story with my readers here on Moteventure! Be blessed and have a great weekend my friends.