Snow blowers commonly encounter obstructions while in use, such as rocks or children’s toys. When an auger impacts a solid object, significant stresses are imparted to the auger, the motor, the gearbox, and the blower. To prevent damage to these expensive components, snow blower manufacturers commonly use shear pins or shear bolts that are designed to fail above a certain stress threshold. This will permit the auger to spin freely, thus relieving the stresses on it and the driveline. Honda uses shear bolts in their snow blowers.

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