# Craftsman Snow Thrower Attachment - Height + Level Issue(s)



## Liver13 (Jan 18, 2014)

New member, so give me a little slack if I don't follow proper posting dialogs 

New to me house = new to me lawn tractor
The issue I'm having is the snow thrower attachment doesn't seem to be able to drop all the way to the ground. The auger will go as low as the arm will let it, but the scraper plate can't get all the way down to do a clean pass.

Adjusting the skid shoes doesn't help as the whole unit seems to be leaned to one side (left when driving).

Basically, when I put it down all the way the left edge will get ALMOST all the way to the pavement, but the right doesn't even come close.

NOTE: I noticed there were no leveling shoes installed behind the housing so I've got those on order... just not sure if they'll kick the unit forward / down.

Let me know if you've got any ideas. I've got some snow on the ground I'm avoiding so I can have some fun while it lasts 

Thanks in advance for any help... looking forward to learning how to use this thing.


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

*hello*

You don't say what year/model your Craftsman is,but it sounds as if the mount,or the lowering bar(s),are not adjusted properly.
Can you post a picture of it? It will hep,greatly to see the unit,and the way it mounts/lowers.
In the meantime,try disconnecting the lowering arm,and see if it will drop all the way down. If so,you need to adjust it.


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## Liver13 (Jan 18, 2014)

I don't know the exact year, but it's a Craftsman 22.5 HP Twin Cylinder Electric Start 50” Mower Hydrostatic Garden Tractor
Model No: 917.250560

Snow Thrower Attachment is the 46" 2 stage

Both are "older", but not ancient by any means. I'm not finding a mfg date sticker, only a serial number.

I'll post pics shortly.

Thanks for the reminder on that.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tractor Forum mobile app


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

With Craftsman/Sears products, the snowblower will have its own model #,as well. It should be on a tag/label, either on the side or top of the snowblower housing.
With these numbers,we can determine (1) if it's the correct blower for your tractor,and (2),if there's a way to adjust/correct the problem.


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## Liver13 (Jan 18, 2014)

I'm not being able to show the lean very well when it's in the garage and when I put it in the driveway... the snow hides it as well. I'll look to disengauge the lifter arm completely today and see if that sets it down all the way as well.

Model numbers and pics included this time.

Craftsman 22.5 HP Twin Cylinder Electric Start 50” Mower Hydrostatic Garden Tractor
Model No: 917.250560

Craftsman 46" - 2 Stage Snow Thrower Tractor Attachment
Model No: 486.248460

P.S. I've got the dozer blade attachment as well, but I don't want to go through all of the hassle of removing the thrower if it's a pain in the a$$ and it looks like it probably is.


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

That unit is built by Agri-Fab for AYP (who builds the Craftsman tractors). We have sold a few of the 42" model at work, and I installed them. The linkage is slightly different on your blower, but I do know on the 42" model, there is a stop bolt you have to remove if installing the unit on a garden tractor rather than a lawn tractor. It would prevent the head from lowering far enough on the garden tractor if you left it in. If you can get the model number of the unit, it would help a great deal. 

Removing the blower isn't all that hard. Its usually just two pins up front and the blower drops off. There should be an undercarriage that mounts to the midpoint of the tractor that has the belt tensioner in it. The ones I've seen are chains with clips holding them tight. You pull out on the chain, remove the clip, and then release the chain to release the belt tension. Remove the belt for the blower from the pulley and lower the blower (use blocks if you can't get it to touch the ground). Pull the pins and drop the blower off. To remove the undercarriage, pull the two retaining pins and drop the unit forward and down. Take the belt off the engine pulley, but leave it on the undercarriage pulley. Should take you 10 minutes total once you've done it a time or two.


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## Liver13 (Jan 18, 2014)

jhngardener & Country Boy,
Appreciate the help so far. Below I've included the model numbers to all of the toys I was given (minus the cab awnings).

@Country Boy,
To be clear, are you saying the stop bolt is on the thrower or blade?

If it would help to have additional pics of anything I'm happy to provide. I've got it in the main garage right now so I've got some room to work.

Craftsman 22.5 HP Twin Cylinder Electric Start 50” Mower Hydrostatic Garden Tractor
Model No: 917.250560

Craftsman 46" - 2 Stage Snow Thrower Tractor Attachment
Model No: 486.248460

Craftsman 48" Dozer Blade
Model No: 486.244120​


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

I can't see it clearly, but it looks as if the round bar at the bottom of the mount isn't in the holes.
It looks as if it would drop more if it were in the holes.
(second picture, just to the right of the tire.)


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## Fluid (Nov 28, 2013)

jhngardner367 said:


> I can't see it clearly, but it looks as if the round bar at the bottom of the mount isn't in the holes.
> It looks as if it would drop more if it were in the holes.
> (second picture, just to the right of the tire.)


I see that too, theres an J shaped slot that the mounting bracket is not in, on the right side(if your setting on tractor) You can't see the J slot on the left side picture. It looks like a mounting problem to me. Do you see where the blower frame is supposed to fit in the J shaped slot of the tractor mounting bracket?(left side)


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

I was looking at that myself, and I'm not sure if its supposed to fit in there. That's the bracket for mounting the mower deck. The blowers that I've mounted have a hook and hole in the bracket you bolt to the frame rail that holds the blower on. That rod by the slot you are seeing looks to be the pivot point for the blower linkage, rather than a mounting point. I could be wrong as the angle isn't the greatest, but that's what it looks like to me. 

Yellow is the mounting bracket that gets bolted to the tractor frame rail. Red is the mount points for the blower on those brackets. Blue is where I think the issue lies. That's the lock pin that locks the blower in the up position. It fits into a slot, and I think its maxing out its travel before the blower can reach all the way to the ground. Is that true? When you lower the blower, does that pin reach all the way to the top of the slot?


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## Liver13 (Jan 18, 2014)

@Country Boy
The picture you marked up (that's a HUGE help) it is in the "down" position... blower on the ground. I'll snap a couple of pictures of it in the up and down positions so you guys can keep pushing me in the right direction.

UPDATED: Added pics to show lowering arm movement + blade on pavement



@jhngardner & @fluid
I reviewed the manuals for the blower and tractor and as @CountryBoy stated, that little hook to the bottom is for the mower deck. I spotted that as well and was hoping one of you guys would call it out as right or wrong. A couple of weeks ago there was a whole website dedicated to VIG for Craftsman and now the site seems to be under new owner ship. I think the Video Instruction Guide = VIG actually made reference to using the location @CountryBoy is commenting on


My wife keep looking at me like I'm crazy when I tell her how great the "tractor guys" are online. Really do appreciate the time from all of you. @CountryBoy, I do similar markups quickly for things at work and use a free program called "Skitch" and it makes that stuff easy and super clean. If you're interested here's the link http://evernote.com/skitch/


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

Looks like that pin is touching the end of the slot with the unit in the lowered position. That doesn't seem right. It doesn't allow for the unit to float on uneven terrain as it can't drop if necessary. That also explains why that side of the unit is higher than the other. Its being held up there by the latch pin, but the other side can touch the ground because the metal can flex enough across the head to let it drop a bit more. I'll do a bit of research on this and see what I find. One possibility is that the previous owner replaced the front tires or tire/wheel assemblies with a different size. I've replaced tires on tractors with different brand tires, and the same size on the sidewall doesn't mean the same diameter. A taller tire would cause the unit to sit higher in front. Not likely, but a possibility.


EDIT: The attachment fit up guide here says that the tractor and blower are a correct match. http://www.tractorforum.com/f132/attachment-fit-up-guide-6405/

One thing, how much air pressure do you have in the front tires? That size tire should be about 15lbs or so. Too much air and the tire will increase in size beyond its designed diameter. Would make the front of the tractor sit higher.

EDIT #2: Did you ever get to disconnect the linkage to see if it would drop all the way? You would disconnect the vertical bar that attaches to the part that moves with the lift handle. Could be that someone installed the wrong part at the factory and that bar may be too short for the blower. It happens from time to time.


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## Liver13 (Jan 18, 2014)

I can try to let some air out of the tires and see if it struggles to push through too.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tractor Forum mobile app


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## cityboy2977 (Jan 24, 2014)

that blower is not mounted properly. as mentioned, in pic #2, the mounting bracket is not seated in the J slot. and with this your blower is binding and not dropping all the way down.


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

http://www.manualslib.com/manual/487719/Craftsman-486-248460.html?page=13#manual

This website has the installation manual for download. It mentions having a leveling screw on the left(from seat)rear side of the housing,to adjust the unit for twist.


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## Liver13 (Jan 18, 2014)

OK, I have some fresh stuff down today so I'm going to see how some of the adjustments have worked.
I've adjusted the skid shoes on the side of the auger to "aim" it a little lower so it will resist riding up a little more.

@jhngardner... I'm not finding reference to this tilt screw anywhere in the manual. You've been very helpful... if you a minute would you shoot me a specific page to reference? I'm probably just blowing by it.


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

It should be in the section for "adjustments". It's called the "leveling screw".


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## Liver13 (Jan 18, 2014)

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update.
With last snowfall I had an excuse to get out there twice and tinker while I moved some snow. I wish I could tell you there ended up being a silver bullet fix, but in actuality I think it was a combination of everything that got me to a MUCH better state.

So here is the run down of my efforts
1. Skid Shoes - owner manual iinstallation nstructions differ from Craftsman pics / videos I found. Adjusted to those pics and everything fits properly
2. Leveling Shoes - they were not installed when I got it, so added those just in case. Not entirely sure of their purpose, but they're on there now
3. Installation Bracket - I dropped the auger off the front and double checked all of the directions, it was set properly, so I didn't "do" anything, just looked at it
4. Tire Size - this is the one that was the light bulb moment. I thought for sure that was going to be it... nope they were the original tire BUT
5. Tire Pressure - I was always looking at the front of the tractor for adjustments and things were getting better... it was when I got off the tractor in the middle of doing the driveway in shear frustration that I lifted the auger and started jacking it around like a little kid that couldn't get his toy to turn on... that's when I noticed that the entire tractor floated around like a bad 80's waterbed. Walked around and stood behind it only to finally notice that one tire looked quite a bit smaller than the other in the back... under my big a$$. Brought it back to the garage, fired up the pump and gave it another rip - solved!!!

Now to be clear, all of the adjustments we had made earlier made things better without a doubt, but the air in the rear tires was the tipping point to get that sucker down on the ground.

I've still got packed down snow on the driveway so it won't magically just cut through to the pavement, but I think I'm finally to a resolve.

THANK YOU ALL for the guidance and support. Great intro into this community and I'm looking forward to learning more down the road.

Now I want to try the plow... just don't want to take off all of the auger brackets / clutch to do it 

Happy Camper again

- Dave


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## Fluid (Nov 28, 2013)

I guess that should have been the first thing to check. Well I know I learned something out this thread, start with a good level foundation and go from there. I,m glad you got your rig working the way you want. Good for you.


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

Glad to hear you got it going! Sometimes its that one "little thing" that ends up making a world of difference.


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