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Yard Man 8/26 slow and variable in forward speeds

2K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  thool 
#1 ·
I have a Yard Man 8hp 26" blower from 1977, and it has been gradually losing forward speed over the past 3 years.

The symptom is inconsistent forward speed when I change in and out of a specific gear. So if I am in second and shift into reverse to reposition, going back into second usually has a different ground speed. This is most obvious in 5th, which is usually a brisk walk: this past weekend it was a normal pace. There is also "slip" of some sort, meaning going up a slope I lose forward speed. This blower used to be UNSTOPPABLE in first, so grippy it would drag me no matter how much resistance I put on it.

I changed the drive belt this past fall with a factory part. I changed the friction wheel about a year before that, cleaning the friction disk with brake cleaner (none touched the rubber wheel), and the disk was in great shape. This really leaves just couple things remaining: friction disk, play in the friction wheel positioner, friction plate to disk pressure, drive belt sheave on the engine crank shaft, idler belt tensioner.

Other things to check?
 
#4 ·
The chain gear may have sheared its pin and be intermittently turning on its shaft. Not a common problem, but it does happen. If you scribe the gear and the shaft, it' s easy to rule out slippage. MH
 
#9 ·
So I suspect play in the linkage that positions the friction disk, as well as the one that pushes the friction disk and friction wheel. There seemed to be plenty of contact when I looked in there, but maybe the play is more pronounced under load. Thanks for all the tips so far, I'll take this apart this summer and make a project out of it.
 
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