How to adjust the snowblower drive control cable video

Testing the snowblower drive system

When you engage the ground drive lever, the ground drive cable pulls the drive wheel up to rub against the friction disc. The friction disc rotates the hex drive shaft which spins the gear and shaft that moves the tires (see the image to the right).

Ground drive cable tension must be set correctly to properly move the friction wheel up and down to start and stop snowblower motion.

To test ground drive cable tension with the snowblower shut down, lift the auger housing up slightly and push the snowblower forward. The snowblower should roll freely because the spinning drive wheel isn’t touching the friction disc.

If the snowblower doesn’t roll freely with the drive lever disengaged, you’ll need to loosen the ground drive cable tension. That will release the drive wheel from the friction wheel so the snowblower doesn’t creep forward with the drive lever disengaged when the engine is running.

Next, engage the ground drive lever and see if the snowblower moves freely. The wheels should be locked up when the ground drive lever is engaged because the drive wheel should be up against the friction disc—preventing the wheels from turning.

If the wheels turn freely with the ground drive lever engaged, then you’ll need to tighten the ground drive cable tension because the cable isn’t pulling the drive wheel up far enough to engage the friction wheel.

How to adjust the ground drive cable

Follow these steps to adjust the ground drive cable:

1. Loosen, but don’t remove, the lower hex bolt on the ground drive cable bracket.

2. Loosen the top hex nut on the ground drive cable bracket if necessary. (The upper hex nut typically isn’t tightened on most snowblowers so the bracket will move up and down once you loosen the lower hex nut.)

3. Move the ground drive cable bracket up to loosen cable tension or downward in increase cable tension.

4. Tighten the lower hex nut while holding the bracket in the adjusted position.

Test the ground drive control system and continue to adjust the ground drive cable bracket if necessary to tension the ground drive cable properly.

If you prefer to have a Sears Technician adjust the drive cable, schedule service online at Sears Home Services.com.