Questions about installing JD 37A snowblower on JD 214

Recently purchased a John Deere 214 garden tractor and more recently purchased a 37A snow thrower to go along with it. The snow thrower is in excellent condition and supposedly came with everything needed for installation, but I'm having some issues figuring out where everything goes. Specifically, I'm having trouble figuring out the routing of the front lift rod and I'm wondering if there's a piece missing to connect the lift rod to the thrower. I've taken several pictures of the setup (below) and hope someone can tell me what goes where and if I'm missing anything -- and if I'm missing something, whether it's available from Deere or if I'll have to fabricate something myself.

Also, not sure that the part in the second pic is facing the right direction. I pulled the pin while trying to figure out where everything goes and now I'm not sure if I put it back together correctly. Finally, I'm wondering if the apparent wear on the lift rod in the third pic is something to be overly concerned about or whether that's normal or even as-designed.

Thanks a million,
Brent

Brent, that's quite a bit of wear on the front lift rod. The lift rod scrapes up underneath a reinforced part of the frame beside the engine oil pan, and that's how it gets that wear pattern. It's probably ok for now but you'd really like a new/better lift rod for next winter.

You'll need to put the lift rod on the tractor before you hook up the thrower.

Starting with the clevis end, you push the lift rod straight back through the square port in the left side (left side facing forward, right side facing the front of the tractor) of the front bumper, under the round brace/rub point on the frame, and OVER the rockshaft. The clevis pin goes through the hole in the tab on top of the rock shaft so the lift rod runs straight.

There's a tab up under the front bumper plate that the pivot attaches to with a shoulder bolt. I don't see the shoulder bolt in the pictures. The end of the pivot with the half-moon cutout goes up and the cutout goes toward the back of the tractor.

Then there's a sort of H-shaped lift strap that connects the thrower to the bottom of the lift pivot. I didn't see that in the pictures either. It's about a foot long and made of steel strap.

Thanks, Steve! Appreciate the info.

I also own a 214 JD with the 37A blower. I have a parts manual
here and the strap is part number AM32431. My parts book says
it is 12 and 1/8 Inches long so steve is right on with the length. It
connects the blower with the little pivot arm shown in your picture.
If you have a welder and some strap steel it could be made pretty
easy. If you need I could give you the distance from hole to hole.
They welded a little strap to each end to make a clevis and then
put a pin through each end.

(quoted from post at 16:02:22 11/26/11) I also own a 214 JD with the 37A blower. I have a parts manual
here and the strap is part number AM32431. My parts book says
it is 12 and 1/8 Inches long so steve is right on with the length. It
connects the blower with the little pivot arm shown in your picture.
If you have a welder and some strap steel it could be made pretty
easy. If you need I could give you the distance from hole to hole.
They welded a little strap to each end to make a clevis and then
put a pin through each end.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Just got back from visiting my dad, who helped me fabricate a new strap based on measurements found elsewhere. Ironically, when I got home I had an email waiting for me from the guy who sold me the snowblower -- he found the strap hanging in his garage and is sending it to me. Figures!

Me again. The short pivot arm is held to the front of your tractor
with a shoulder bolt. You can tighten the bolt down on the
shoulder but the little pivot arm is then allowed to swing freely
on the bolt. It is part number M47003. You might find one in a
hardware store. On Feb. 1 of 2011 we had 24 inches of drifting
snow here in North Central Missouri. It took me 3 hours to blow
out my drive but I had a lot of snow that was 2 , 3 and in places
yes 5 foot deep. I have chains and wheel weights and that was
the deepest snow I had ever blown with it. I have it on the
tractor now ready in case I need it this winter. That snow was
the worst we have had since 1979.

Sorry , I didn't look at my book right. The pivot arm which you
have is M47003. The shoulder bolt is M45033.

Thanks for all the great info! Really appreciate it.

Ready to go except for the tire chains, thanks to you guys. Much appreciated!

That's a good picture. Thanks for posting it!