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Need help for a friend


MARK (LI)

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A friend of mine acquired an AC Garden Tractor with 12HP Kohler...312H ....he is upstate and I have not actually seen the tractor...it has electric lift for the  snow blower ....but will not go all the way down...stays up about 4 - 6 inches...any thoughts on why?

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Edited by MARK (LI)
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Does it raise up all the way? Does the lift unit make any unusual noises? Possibly a gear inside the lift has failed. Possible also that linkage could be bound somewhere  or something catching preventing the blower from dropping. 

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 will have to get up there to take a look at it....I was thinking something binding...I don't think it was making noise to indicate a broken gear...but I will look to see if he "choked up" on the rod too far making it too short to drop all the way...thank you guys...Mark

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I noticed (2) springs, one on each side attached between the tractor frame and blower hitch. Is it possible they are preventing the blower from setting down on the ground. Try disconnecting them to see.

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Thanks...I told him to raise it up all the way to loosen them a bit and to see if he can get them off without going flying sm01  will let you know how that goes

Edited by MARK (LI)
mis spelled word
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Those springs should have adjustment chains on top of them with hairpin  clips to set the stop.You know the flat window lift type,but you need the spring to help the lift,that's a horrible leverage  disadvantage on the lift. I've  been using that system for 30 years.Keep the PTO belt as tight as possible and throw away that silly tin cover over the pulleys

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49 minutes ago, oldsarge said:

that's a horrible leverage  disadvantage on the lift.

Thanks for your insight. 

I always wondered how much force it took to lift the snowblower when I saw what an AC 300/400 snowblower setup looked like from these "for sale" pics:

 

SnowBlower3.thumb.jpg.fc77bd8a9c4b39bd574f608801ff6755.jpg

SnowBlower2.thumb.jpg.d34c236d899aa092fedccdced3564821.jpg

Don't see any signs of springs in the pics.  

I'm not impressed with the engineering (lift arm at fulcrum as best I can tell); the Simplicity lift setup is much better.

It appears the design allows use of the same mule drive/belt for both the deck and snowblower, which is a nice feature compared to my Allis built Homelite setup (a different mule drive required).    

 

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@PhanDad Bill in the top picture of this thread, there are two different springs of two different coils and one looks like it is maxed out. I have a parts list and it should be items 21, 22  & 23  I don't have an operators book.

300 snowbloer AC.jpg

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@BLT

Without those springs, I'm doubting an "Armstrong" lift would lift the blower; not sure an electric lift could do it either.  

I believe I see part #21 attached to the tunnel.  Hope whoever bought that blower got the springs and other parts.  

 

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When the blower is as low as it will go check the lift rod and see if it is tight or loose at the blower.

If it is loose then it means it is bound elsewhere.

If it is tight it may be the issue. It may not be connected properly and affecting the height.

 

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17 hours ago, PhanDad said:

@BLT

Without those springs, I'm doubting an "Armstrong" lift would lift the blower; not sure an electric lift could do it either.  

I believe I see part #21 attached to the tunnel.  Hope whoever bought that blower got the springs and other parts.  

 

The electric lift  will pick it up , but you can hear it straining!! What I'd like to know is how in the H&*$ ANYBODY managed to hook it up without the chain. Look carefully at the IPL above. The procedure "I" use  is to assemble and mount flat on the ground,  Adjust the lift rod a little loose so the blower can drop some below level, Power the blower up to the max,which isn't much, Hook the springs to the blower,drop the chains through the bracket on the tractor,and hook to the spring,Put a good stretch on  the spring  and insert the hairpin clip to hold it. I use a lot of spring tension to help the lift just so the weight will still take the blower down.Don't use BIG wide rear tires,8.5" at max,you want the tires to dig down, not float on top of snow,Put cross 2,not 4 chains on and weight in and on the wheels.I think weights on the tractor are hard on the axles.Been using this rig on a 416 shuttle for almost 30 years and haven't lost an axle tube yet!!!!!!   long winded but maybe worth $.02

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This is the way he got the tractor...it was already set up like that...you are the second one I believe to mention chains...but I don't see any chains in the diagram...I can picture where you would put them...is it part#23 in the diagram?....it only looks like it would be 2 or 3 links if it is....from the looks of the diagram...I don't think that either one of those springs is the right one......looks like it should me shorter and tighter......thanks

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On 12/6/2019 at 8:54 AM, MARK (LI) said:

I don't see any chains in the diagram...I can picture where you would put them...is it part#23 in the diagram?.

There are a couple of links hanging down from part #23.

Turns out I have electronic copies of the AC300 & AC400 Snow Thrower Operators manuals.  The scans are somewhat blurry however.  This info is from the AC300 manual:

image.thumb.png.82c7188f319347110d6da8cba51c54ac.png

 

image.thumb.png.7ce54d5066ed1d9d0c61c5e2cc11642f.png

image.png.e82b81239c01c1dccde15f6ed8fa5a92.png

image.png.6ee3efc12f9340577bd44d93107b125d.png

image.png.2a52d9a12dc640c96946b7761afbf9c1.png

 

This lift setup is unique to the AC300 tractor; the AC400 tractor has the long lift rod (to in front of the tractor) as do the Simplicity snowblowers.  

On 12/4/2019 at 3:47 PM, BLT said:

I don't have an operators book.

I'm going to check and see if the manuals are in the "Download Forum"; if they're not, I'll upload them.  I have no idea where I got them from; I would have thought from @BLT, but since he doesn't have a copy, I guess not.  The files are dated 12/22/2008.  I also have some other AC300/400 attachment owners manuals that are also dated 12/22/2008.  I"ll upload them too if copies aren't already there.  

 

Edited by PhanDad
Increased size of blurry manual info
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  • 2 weeks later...

Changed the chain adjustment and the springs too...now it is on the ground, but hits kind of hard when you hit a bump..still need some fine tuning but it is blowing snow...thank you for the help

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Glad you got it working, Try to keep a good amount of lift tension on it to help the lift.Kinda like adjusting the tension on a garage door spring.

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  • 2 years later...

Hey All,

i know this was someone elses thread but i purchased a 312h (1971 i believe?) i am missing the complete mount  that connects the blower to the tractor.

would anyone have an idea where i can find one?

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On 11/30/2022 at 6:40 AM, mvanstrien said:

Hey All,

i know this was someone elses thread but i purchased a 312h (1971 i believe?) i am missing the complete mount  that connects the blower to the tractor.

would anyone have an idea where i can find one?

I would suggest posting a want ad in the classifieds area of this site. It will likely be hard to find what you are looking for as the 300 series we’re not made for very long relative to the Sovereign series which were made for decades. You might also try calling Sandy Lake Implement. 

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