Snow blower shear bolt question

I've got one of those frontier 7ft snow blowers that JD sells.The shear bolt is a metric with 8.8
on the head.The local JD dealer says he can't get them,but uses grade 5 US bolts that he says are the same.Is that true?

I've been using Chinese grade 5 bolts as shear bolts in my Pronovost blower for years with good results.

Just make sure whatever you use fits the hole fairly snugly, you don't want any slop or the shock loading will shear the bolt prematurely.

If you don't trust your JD dealer then why would you believe us yoyos. I believe I would go with my JD people. Why would they try to deceive you over a few bolts?

My Ih dealer told me years ago there was no such thing as a shear bolt,use a grade 5

jimmy

Last year they gave me new shear bolts for my 15 foot batwing mower.The first time I hit something it broke the universal joint on one of the wings and bent the wing pto shaft.JD had given me grade 8 bolts when they were supposed to be grade 5.After that I don't trust anybody.

Back in the day we had some shear bolts for our mower and post hole digger and they had no markings on the head.When those ran out
I put in grade 5 and got along fine.They last longer.

Ha! One of those times when the legendary Chinese commitment to quality manufacturing pays off.

Metric 8.8 is equivalent to SAE grade 5. Metric 10.6 is equivalent to SAE grade 8. But the metric bolt isn't going to exactly the same diameter as the grade 5 bolt he is substituting. Suspect that difference isn't a major issue unless it is noticeably sloppy.

Uh...for money?

(Ducking...)

Hi
That metric bolt is probably available from a proper nut and bolt supplier, our local bearing supply has metric 8.8 bolts on the shelf in many lengths and sizes. I got loads of different ones here in my shop to.
I"m guessing your local green dealer can"t be bothered to help you!. I know mine is like that unless ya spending $100 or more depending on the guy behind the counter.
Regards Robert

Hi
I would beg to differ with your IH dealers comment There are proper shear bolts available got some here in the shed left over from an old Dowedswell plow, they go in the legs.
They are probably 3/4 dia , with 2 grooves machined in them to create a shear point between the leg and the side brackets.
Have seen smaller bolts in something on my travels round farms, machined with a groove like that to. Maybe in a baler flywheel or something like that.
Regards Robert

Ray:

Your JD parts guy is just being LAZY!!!! Most JD dealerships have metric bolts on hand. I would get a shear bolt just like the ones that came with your snow blower. If they are lose in the hole they will soon oblong it out and the shear bolt will not last as long as it should.

Post the model number of your snow blower. I can look it up and find you the JD part number for the bolt.

It's a frontier SB 1184, 7ft model.

frontier S B 1184

Ray I would need the serial number to get the exact shear bolt number but here are the ones I found. (PS your parts guy is LAZY. All the parts are on the web site)

PTO shaft shear bolt: These are the bolt and nut together

Serial #0-90000
5RD657199 10MM X 60MM 1.5 thread Grade 5.8 List $2.21

Serial # 90000-
5RD4700060 8MM X 50MM 1.25 thread Grade 5.8 List $2.81

Auger Shear Bolt:

Serial # 0-111287
Bolt 5RP666257 (size not listed) List $.50
Nut 5RP0900002 (size not listed) List $.07

Serial# 111288-
Bolt 5RD669596 .250 x 1.250 NC Grade 5 bolt

So that should cover the ones you need. If not email me and I will look some more. The Frontier parts list are now in jdparts.com. They have added them. They used to be on a seperate web site.

I took those numbers to the JD dealer,but that didn't help any.There parts breakdown didn't show those numbers.I ended up with grade 5 bolts marked 8.8 on the head.The auger shear bolt is a 5/16.I took what looked like the original bolt out of auger shaft to compare.It looked original with green paint that matched the blow.It was a
grade 5 bolt.Jd tells me it's supposed to be a two grade.Guess i'll just use the grade 5.

Well Ray, All I can say is that the model number of the snow blower came right up on JD parts web site and the part numbers priced right out.

I will tell you these things.

1) Frontier is an orphan waiting to happen with JD. They hire other companies to make equipment for JD to sell. It is usually that company's standard equipment just painted green. It usually is over priced for what it is too. JD gives the manufacture a little less than retail and then adds margin to it to the JD dealers. So the JD dealer is usually higher than the original manufacturer's dealers would be.

An example: The rear blades used to be made by Woods. Even had Woods sticker on them. I could buy the blade from the Woods dealer cheaper than we could get it from JD.

2) The parts availability is a joke compared to the regular JD equipment. The Frontier stuff used to be through a completely separate account and distribution system. They are at least putting the newer stuff on the JD parts with the parts diagrams.

Your dealer is pulling something on you. The numbers I gave you are good numbers. I checked with my local dealer. They could get me any of the numbers I listed. Some of them they would have had to order 10 of them but they where/are good numbers.

The whole parts thing on the Frontier equipment is a nightmare.

I hope that you get along fine with what shear bolts you have. IF the originals are that same as what you got then you should be fine. The parts diagrams DO not show 8.8 bolts but 5.8 bolts. These would be grade three. I do not know which is correct as they are telling you two different things.

Truthfully I would match what it came with or find out who builds the blower for JD and try through them to get the correct bolts. I do not trust JD Frontier setup.

bought some 8.8 metric bolts from napa just this week. don't know about your specific piece of equipment, but i always use the grade 2 butter bolts for shear pins.