When you are pushing a snowblower around, you will want to make sure it moves smoothly.
If there is a hitch with the snowblower, it is going to create major issues. You won’t be able to deal with heavy snow and that is going to render the machine useless.
In some cases, a snowblower won’t move even when it is turned off.
This creates a situation where the snowblower wheels are locked.
If the snowblower wheels are locked, it’s best to remove the pan, access the gears, and then lubricate these gears using WD40. This will allow them to spin freely. Now, reset the pan and then test the snowblower wheels.
At this point, the snowblower should start moving as required.
In rare situations, the wheels will become filled with debris that makes it hard for them to move. You might have a situation where ice froze inside the snowblower wheels.
If this is the case, you will notice the ice right away. If you chip away at the ice, it will come off and the snowblower wheels will move again.
This guide will show you what to do if the snowblower wheels are locked.
Table of Contents
Tips For Fixing Snowblower Wheels That Locked
1. Remove The Pan
You will want to take the time to work on accessing the gears in your snowblower.
This is a major issue.
You will want to remove the pan as that is going to let you dig into the snowblower carefully. If you don’t do this, you are not going to see good results.
You will want to remove the pan and see what happens.
if you remove the pan, you are going to get to see behind it. This will give you immediate access to the gears and it is essential to assess the details of the snowblower to get a better read on what is going on.
2. Access The Gears
Remember that this is a good starting point when the snowblower wheels are stuck.
You will always want to check the gears because they tend to get dry after a while. If you are not taking the time to maintain your snowblower, these are the issues that will arise.
The snowblower will not move freely and it is going to get stuck.
Don’t let this happen by looking at the gears.
What you are going to be looking for is to see if the gears move. Are they jammed? This might be because they are not lubricated.
If there is damage to the gears then you might have to repair the gears.
This comes down to what is in front of you, however, it is likely going to be a lack of lubrication.
3. Lubricate The Gears With WD40
Now it is time to work on getting the snowblower wheels unlocked.
To unlock snowblower wheels, it is time to focus on lubrication. This is how you are going to get the snowblower to work out as you want it to.
The idea here is to look at the snowblower gears and then use WD40. You will spray a little on the gears and look to get into the gears as a way to cover them with the lubricant.
This is how you are going to get them to move.
You will want to wait 15-20 minutes before putting everything back together. This should be long enough for the gears to spin the way you want them to.
4. Re-Test The Wheels
At this stage, you will want to put everything back together and it is time to re-test the snowblower wheels.
The snowblower wheels should now be moving as you want them to.
When you are testing the snowblower, you will want to take it around different parts of the surface around you. Don’t just move it around on dry land.
You will want to see how the snowblower moves in the snow.
This includes heavy snow.
The goal is to re-test the wheels in all conditions to make sure additional changes aren’t required. You should also turn on the snowblower and move it around to see how it does.
Final Thoughts
Look into these tips as you figure out why the snowblower wheels are locked.
If the snowblower wheels are locked, it is best to remove the pan and access the gears. Use WD40 or any other viable lubricant to help improve how the gears move. Next, test how the gears move and then put the pan back.
This should be enough to get the snowblower to move as you want it to.
In some situations, the snowblower will have debris in it or the snowblower auger is going to be clogged. This can happen and you will want to look at those parts too if the lubricant does not work on the snowblower.
