I was definitely bummed that it broke. I understand plastic gets brittle when it’s cold, but it is a snowblower. I’m going to work on reinforcing it this summer.
When I was doing some digging, I did see several other models and manufacturers use a metal shoot, which obviously would be a better choice. I’m going to reinforce mine with sheet metal I think.
I watched your video about the cracked chute, I would cut a piece of galvanized tin and wrap it around 3 sides. Then pop rivet it from the inside , so the snow doesn’t catch on the rivets. I have virtually the same setup, my main blower problem was the belt jumping off or getting shredded. Alignment of the idler and tension pulleys is very critical. Also using a John Deere belt…….RR
When looking at my belt making this repair, I noticed I had some unusual marks on my belt, which is still fairly new. I’m wondering if I could have an alignment issue as well? I was very careful when pulling on that idler pulley not to bend it or change its position. Maybe I will look at the alignment to make sure I don’t have an issue with that as well. Thanks for taking the time to share that info.
Good morning, it’s me again about the belt shredding. The belt is threaded over the axle and power steering piston with very little clearance . When the blower is down it can touch the piston and in the up position, it gets scuffed on the upper lip of the idler and tension pulleys. The best I could do was to have it gently touch the tension pulley lip, therefore it doesn’t scuff any deeper. I came across a video on a newer blower and it appears they have made both these “lip” pulley’s wider. This would allow more belt travel before it touches. When I get to my Deere dealer, I’m going to inquire…….RR
I haven’t decided how I’m going to do it yet. Leaning towards a piece of galvanized steel riveted to the shoot as someone else mentioned. That’s what I was actually thinking before. I guess we’ll see.
While it really won't fix your chute issue, I had developed a crack on my setup a couple years ago. So last year I took my plastic welder and repaired it, we didn't get a lot of snow last year so I can't say how its holding up yet.
I’ve never tried to plastic welder. Hoping it holds up for the rest of the winter and then in the summer I’ll bend up a piece of steel when I have time and attach it and hopefully be done with it.
I agree. My initial thought was to find a used snowblower and just go that route but I think I’m going to reinforce it with some galvanized steel sheet metal. I guess we’ll see how that goes.
Years ago, I bought a cub cadet that I thought was similar to the Deere , but was cheaper. Turned out that cheaper meant exactly that. While I do agree that the John Deere stuff is higher priced and I’m sure there’s an up-charge for the green paint, I still feel it as a good value compared to other options. Just my opinion and your results might vary. 🙂
Here is the link to the video where I ran into a more serious issue, what I found and how I fixed it.
th-cam.com/video/k4lScGJDpx4/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the video, that chute should be a recall and shame on Deer for using plastic. Not selling blowers because of a cheap chute is bad business.
I was definitely bummed that it broke. I understand plastic gets brittle when it’s cold, but it is a snowblower. I’m going to work on reinforcing it this summer.
It's pretty bad that JD makes the chutes out of plastic, they're not exactly light weight blowers.
When I was doing some digging, I did see several other models and manufacturers use a metal shoot, which obviously would be a better choice. I’m going to reinforce mine with sheet metal I think.
I watched your video about the cracked chute, I would cut a piece of galvanized tin and wrap it around 3 sides. Then pop rivet it from the inside , so the snow doesn’t catch on the rivets. I have virtually the same setup, my main blower problem was the belt jumping off or getting shredded.
Alignment of the idler and tension pulleys is very critical. Also using a John Deere belt…….RR
When looking at my belt making this repair, I noticed I had some unusual marks on my belt, which is still fairly new. I’m wondering if I could have an alignment issue as well? I was very careful when pulling on that idler pulley not to bend it or change its position. Maybe I will look at the alignment to make sure I don’t have an issue with that as well. Thanks for taking the time to share that info.
Good morning, it’s me again about the belt shredding. The belt is threaded over the axle and power
steering piston with very little clearance . When the blower is down it can touch the piston and in the
up position, it gets scuffed on the upper lip of the idler and tension pulleys. The best I could do was to have it gently touch the tension pulley lip, therefore it doesn’t scuff any deeper. I came across a
video on a newer blower and it appears they have made both these “lip” pulley’s wider. This would allow more belt travel before it touches. When I get to my Deere dealer, I’m going to inquire…….RR
@ thanks Ralph. 👍
JD is making the newer ones cheaper now. Plastic impellers, plastic discharge chute, cheaper gearboxes and more.
I agree, plastic in more places than I would like to see. Sometimes it makes sense, but not on everything. Especially the chute.
Same problem on a Toro. Reinforced with concreat mesh and epoxy a few years ago and still holding.
I haven’t decided how I’m going to do it yet. Leaning towards a piece of galvanized steel riveted to the shoot as someone else mentioned. That’s what I was actually thinking before. I guess we’ll see.
While it really won't fix your chute issue, I had developed a crack on my setup a couple years ago. So last year I took my plastic welder and repaired it, we didn't get a lot of snow last year so I can't say how its holding up yet.
I’ve never tried to plastic welder. Hoping it holds up for the rest of the winter and then in the summer I’ll bend up a piece of steel when I have time and attach it and hopefully be done with it.
Wow that’s crazy John Deere prices better off, looking on marketplace or something and buy one for parts
I agree. My initial thought was to find a used snowblower and just go that route but I think I’m going to reinforce it with some galvanized steel sheet metal. I guess we’ll see how that goes.
The issue is that Deere wants 10k plus for the x590, and another 3-4k for the blower.... it is criminal
Years ago, I bought a cub cadet that I thought was similar to the Deere , but was cheaper. Turned out that cheaper meant exactly that. While I do agree that the John Deere stuff is higher priced and I’m sure there’s an up-charge for the green paint, I still feel it as a good value compared to other options. Just my opinion and your results might vary. 🙂
Fix it with sheet metal
I’m going to do that this summer with some galvanized sheet. I think that will do the trick.