I noticed last week that the rubber seals on the auger of my approximately 20 year old Sears two-stroke snow blower were worn. These seals are riveted on and the rivets are NLA. New seal strips are over $31 each from Sears and four are required. In addition, there are two short center seals at around $16 each. Over $150 for six strips of rubber, plus the cost for 30 short SS shoulder bolts to replace the rivets, and the time to drill out all 30 rivets. All on a 20 year old snow blower.
I did a little internet searching and discovered these same strips are about half price from sources other than Sears. A little more searching revealed these are actually Murray parts which are a couple dollars less expensive yet! Apparently Murray built this model of snow blower for themselves, Sears, Snapper, and Simplicity.
I ordered the Murray parts then something caught my eye on the bottom of the web page that had the seals shown on the top of the page. An all new steel auger, WITH NEW SEALS ALREADY INSTALLED, cost a couple dollars less than just the seals alone! No need for 30 short SS shoulder bolts, no need to drill out 30 old rivets, and the auger is stocked by a different parts supplier only 8 miles from my house which means local pick-up and no shipping.
I cancelled the minutes old seal order, then ordered a new auger assembly from the local discount parts supplier to pick-up tomorrow after work. My earlier attempt to buy from this local source was thwarted by a change in part numbers. a simple two letter suffix that naturally wasn't shown in my Sears Owners Manual but was shown by the distant discount parts supplier.
I feel like I just won something.
I did a little internet searching and discovered these same strips are about half price from sources other than Sears. A little more searching revealed these are actually Murray parts which are a couple dollars less expensive yet! Apparently Murray built this model of snow blower for themselves, Sears, Snapper, and Simplicity.
I ordered the Murray parts then something caught my eye on the bottom of the web page that had the seals shown on the top of the page. An all new steel auger, WITH NEW SEALS ALREADY INSTALLED, cost a couple dollars less than just the seals alone! No need for 30 short SS shoulder bolts, no need to drill out 30 old rivets, and the auger is stocked by a different parts supplier only 8 miles from my house which means local pick-up and no shipping.
I cancelled the minutes old seal order, then ordered a new auger assembly from the local discount parts supplier to pick-up tomorrow after work. My earlier attempt to buy from this local source was thwarted by a change in part numbers. a simple two letter suffix that naturally wasn't shown in my Sears Owners Manual but was shown by the distant discount parts supplier.
I feel like I just won something.
