How to Clear the Auger on a Toro 824 Snow Blower

During severe operating conditions, it occasionally becomes necessary to clear the auger assembly manually on the Toro model 824 snow thrower. This is usually due to the accumulation of large frozen snow clumps, or pockets of impacted ice chunks that are not automatically discharged from the auger housing during normal operations. Other materials that are not easily dislodged from the auger housing may also be cleared in the same manual manner. Several important safety steps should always be followed when manually clearing the auger to prevent personal injury or shear pin breakage.

Heavy gloves

Instructions

- 1
  Stop the snow thrower immediately if you think the auger's reciprocating motion is being impeded by a foreign object or impacted ice or snow buildup. Slide the auger drive control to the "disengage" position. This control lever is located on the far right side of the instrument control panel which sits between the two operator handlebar grips. This will stop the auger's motion.
- 2
  Slide the wheel drive control lever to the "Neutral" position. This lever is located on the far left right side of the instrument control panel. This will cease all forward motion of the snow thrower.
- 3
  Pull the throttle control lever (located in the center of the instrument control panel) to the "Slow" position, then shut off the engine by turning the ignition key counterclockwise to the "Off" position.
- 4
  Park the machine on a suitable level surface and verify that the engine has stopped running. Wait another 10 seconds for added safety before proceeding with the auger clearing process.
- 5
  Attempt to spin the auger manually using your hands. If it is not bound or jammed, it will slowly rotate as you apply pressure to the auger blades. If it does not rotate, it may be frozen in place, bound by a foreign object against the auger housing, or bound behind the auger housing where the snow chute intake area is located.
- 6
  Remove the snow-clearing hand tool located on the top of the auger housing. Carefully pry out all the snow and ice that resides inside the auger housing. Snow and ice may be packed hard between the auger blades and the auger housing, causing the auger drive belt to slip. Keep an eye out for foreign objects, and remove any found such as toys or cans.
- 7
  Attempt to spin the auger manually again using your hands. If it still does not spin, carefully pry out all the snow and ice that is jammed between the auger shaft and blades and the snow chute intake area. When the snow chute becomes clogged, augured snow has no place to travel from the auger housing area and becomes hard packed in place causing the auger drive belt to slip. Look for more foreign objects.
- 8
  Make sure that the entire snow chute is cleared of snow before attempting to manually rotate the auger blades again. If the blades still will not rotate, relocate the machine into an above-freezing environment for several hours so that the entire auger-drive system can thaw out.

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