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The Great Thread of Thumbs - what did you do with your Toro today?

136K views 819 replies 92 participants last post by  Jklightner 
#1 ·
I'd like to propose that the mods consider making this as a sticky (I'm obviously at your mercy). I'd like to see sticky thread that engages conversation, every day, and is toro community focused.

What have you done with your toro today? The mundane, the ridiculous, the downright stupid or fun. Post away. Remember safety first, and posting lessons learned is huge for new comers to the toro thread.

I'd love to see Toro become a family, not just a repository for knowledge, I'd like to see it fulfill both purposes equally well.

If your in. Just start! Mods, if your willing to give the sticky,a go so it doesn't get buried, I think any team building effort should be front and Center. And will benefit to constant exposure.

I'll start: to be continued.
 
#667 ·
Finished booting up the back panel and replaced the missing bolt between the bucket and traction assembly’s - that was a treat - NOT! Then I took it out for a test run in the couple of inches we got yesterday/last night. Awesome. The Power Max is good to go.
 
#670 ·
I do 3 driveways in total and mine is the worst as snow from house land in drive way when dry no problem but when wet it is like concrete and need shovel to break loos from driveway. usually each one is 45 minutes or so. still snowing should have 12 in by morning again.
 
#671 ·
I got this old tank running again for a friend. A 1980 model 724. Its pretty clean, especially the auger and housing. The fuel system and carb needed full cleaning and rebuild. But it ran pretty good after. Then changed the oil and spark plug, checked over the rest of the unit, and ran it for about 20 more minutes to make sure all was good.

The carb and governor linkage was a bit confusing to remember, but I had enough pics. Ready for another 40 years.

tx
 

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#675 ·
Awesome, glad it's working well.

Cleared 2" of wet heavy glop last night, and another 1" this morning. The Toro 221 did nicely, churning along. At times, with the water running down the street, it was just a watery mess spraying out of the chute. There's plenty a single-stage can't do. But for the storms under maybe a foot, so far, I really like it.

Yesterday I also installed my 3D-printed mount for attaching a Harbor Freight LED "headlight" on the 221. Not perfect, but it's a helpful start, for better visibility.
 

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#677 ·
Fired up the Powershift, took care of the 5 inches or so we received overnight. Nice machine, liking it more each use. Forgot about it having the auger handle interlock to the traction lever. Nice to have the right hand free to redirect the chute!
 
#678 ·
Finally got to use the machines yesterday, we got ~ 5 inches of snow, topped off with some rain It made the snow overall on the heavier side, especially at the EODs. First time with the Predator 212 (non-hemi) engine on the 724. Worked well, though I did clog the chute a few times with slush. Kinda looked like a snow-cone in there. I do not have the impeller kit on this machine, as the impeller gaps are very small already. With the older 7hp Tecumseh, the machine would bog down before clogging. I had done head and valve work on the old flat-head during previous off-seasons, but the overall cylinder leakage just got to be too much. So I finally went with the Predator. I bought the larger jets (32 and 34) but did not try them yet. The OEM jet seemed fine, maybe stumbled a few times. I think I'll try one size larger next time. I also used the CCR2500 on some real slushy stuff and it did well.

I just realized I don't have final pics with the predator engine, these don't show the chute rod connection. Like most, I just spaced out the OEM bracket on the handle for now, and will work on a more elegant solution off-season.

tx
 

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#679 ·
Fired up the CCR2000 and got rid of the 5 or 6 inches of snow we received this morning. She surges a bit. I will have to do a better job of cleaning the carb. Thanks to Vinnycom's video that shouldn't be a problem! Like the machine a lot! It seems to be much more solid than the newer style Toro single stages I have/had. I think she is a keeper!!
 
#680 ·
Gibbs: I agree on these CCR machines. None of the single stage machines are 2-stage robust, but the older Toro units do seem better built than many, especially the home center units. And I am starting to really like to use them on alot of our snows.

Yesterday I pulled the CCR2500 out to the front of the garage, and mixed some fresh gas for it in anticipation of some snow finally. Nope, maybe 2 inches total today, just shoveled. Ughh !!
 
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#684 ·
Found some time after work to toss the new China made carb on my CCR 2000. Replaced the fuel and primer lines also as they came with the carb. To lazy to replace the fuel filter. Fired right up, still surged pretty bad at idle. Backed the mixture screw out about a turn or so and she smoothed right out. So far so good. If I only had some snow....
 

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#685 ·
I started off-season maintenance on the Toros today. I washed down the 724, ran it out of gas for now, changed oil, opened the bottom end and cleaned & lubed. All looked good. Since this machine now has the Predator engine, with metal gas tank, I think I will go with keeping the tank full in the off-season (as directed in the Predator user manual) and running every 3 months or so. I also washed down the CCR2000, but didn't run it out of gas yet. I'm thinking we may still get 1 or 2 more snows this season, and the single stage should be fine.

I didn't even use the 421 this season, I only ran it in the garage one time in early January. Same for the 521, which my neighbor usually uses but did not this year.

tx
 
#686 ·
thinking about doing the same, off season maintenance ready for storage, yesterday it hit 60 over night stayed at the upper 40 range. sadly it seems time to bring the mowers out of swap in the blowers than it's still march and the robins being seen this early normally drag some wet and cold in with them
 
#687 ·
Ugh, it feels early to be putting machines away. But with the way the "winter" is going, yeah, maybe I should drain the gas out of the 2-stage. And I could easily run the carb dry in the single-stage. It's seeming unlikely at the moment that I'll need the 2-stage again this season. Unless it's a pretty decent storm, I can just use the SS to clear everything.
 
#688 ·
yeah, seems early, but no biggie. If we get a monster storm, I will be happy to bring the 2-stage out of its short hibernation. Also, funny timing for me, it was snowing quite hard here earlier this morning, but only for a few minutes, and it will be in the 40's later today. I think maybe the snow gods are messing with me.

tx
 
#690 ·
so I picked up a freebie Toro 524 (old school - 1980) last weekend in the neighborhood. PO said it hasn't run in over a year, and ran poorly then, just wanted it out of his garage. So I pushed it home on a small 4 wheel dolly, and took a look. Some early observations:

  • these things are tanks. But I wish it had a bigger engine.
  • the carb was bone dry, with the usual old gas sand (??) in the bottom of the bowl. But the throttle shaft had very little play, and everything else looked good, so I decided for a clean and rebuild. It holds 5 psi for over 10 minutes, Woohoo.
  • the auger is in very good shape.
  • the drive train seems ok, will look closer if I can get the engine running well.
  • the cylinder sump cover had a Tecumseh short block metal tag on it, so I think it had been replaced at some point.
  • the cylinder walls had some wear, not much cross-hatching, but we'll see what compression it can maintain.
  • there was alot of oil around one side of the head, so I thought it was a blown gasket. Upon closer look, the PO had not replaced the spacers holding up 2 of the head bolts (that also hold the gas tank bracket). So there was no direct pressure on the head in this corner. But the gasket looked brand new. Someone had been in there recently. Cylinder leak-down was not surprisingly very bad.
  • valve lash was high, especially exhaust, so I cleaned them well, and lapped both, a little extra lapping on the exhaust valve to get it into spec. They are now in spec, at the high end. There was plenty of material left on the valves, so hopefully this will work out.
  • the drive wheel axle had some side to side slop, so I took it off and noticed that it had been reassembled without some of the washers/spacers. Fortunately the wheels came off easily.
  • the skids had an interesting mod, but fortunately, again, they had prevented any wear on the auger housing itself.

Next step (waiting on a few parts) is to reassemble the engine and see how it runs. I only have around $20 in it so far. Hopefully the safety / interlock system is working.

tx



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#692 ·
way too easy, I enjoy getting these older engines running. And I really don't have a use for this snowblower. But I agree, if this engine is weak, then a Predator is an easy solution.

tx
 
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