John Deere 44" Snowblower Bearing Noise and Fix

[@ryincasco]

I’ve been racking my brain for two seasons wondering exactly what was making this noise. After lubing everything I could and still no change, I thought it was internal to the unit. Not much online until this great video. Worked like a charm for my situation and makes total sense now, with the snow buildup in that spot. Thank you for this post.

[@johnstephens8449]

THANK YOU for posting Joe. Mine just started making this noise today and your shared video was a direct hit for first steps. Like the other commenter I thought the noise was internal to the auger gear. I will change these idler/tensioners first. been 10 years strong. We shall see.

[@jmcavene22]

Been dealing with this sound for two seasons. Just fixed it today. Thank you for posting!

[@SWeissmann-y4j]

This has been so helpful. Thank you.

[@mariannegillette3011]

My husband is about to install a third pair of pulleys on our five year old JD snowblower.Trying axle grease on both sides of the bearings in hopes it will keep the sand and water out

[@Egghead2004]

Bingo, been listening to this for 4 years.

[@dan102061]

Great replacement part business for deere

[@Thundering_Banshee]

Very Helpful, I'm going to try it.

[@SandyClark-f6f]

Should there be grease in gearbox or does the snow lubricate as was told by dealer

[@stevecurry5785]

Good fix i would also pack grease under the washer to keep the snow or water out Keeping spare pullys and spare belts is good insurance during the winter too I recon all those pullys are made in a factory in China No matter what the brand and JD sticks there huge markup on them to make you feel better and think its a better part ? I feel if you get 2 seasons out of a pully that has no grease fitting on it You are doing good As yearly greasing is a rule of thumb Or it use to be lol I do have a grease needle i can inject grease into bearings with But those pullys are spot welded together with the bearing in the middle So its a throw away part Unless you want to weld a few together for a sculpture and sell it to the government for millions ?

[@coleblitz4590]

Did you ever have issues keeping the belts on either pulley? I have the exact same snowblower as you do. I've gone 45 minutes, through two belts and I can only keep them on for about five minutes at a time. Do you have any idea what the heck I'm doing wrong here?

[@joes610]

I haven't had that issue. Are the belts just falling off or shredding? If they're falling off, I would make sure the tensioner is working properly and that the guards are all in place. If it's shredding belts, I'd guess a pulley is seized or a guard is misaligned and digging into the belt.

[@coleblitz4590]

Shouldn't the pulleys be level with each other?

[@joes610]

@@coleblitz4590Yes, mine are. Very close anyway.

[@coleblitz4590]

Yeah I'm having both

[@coleblitz4590]

OK thanks

[@artfrank649]

Poor design I have the same problem with my JD x310 with 44 inch blower its a common problem must put 4 or 5 drops of machine oil on top of each pulley often during snow season