The auger control bar is the bail you actually grip against the handlebar, stock number 303081284, fitted to the AM7006A, DB7006B and MB7006B. It is the least expensive part in the auger control system and the one most likely to be quietly bent out of shape. If a auger control bar is what you are after, this is the listing and these are the details worth knowing.
On this page
Living with a auger control bar
Two parts make up the operator side of the auger control. The bracket and lever assembly does the pulling, and the auger control bar is the steel bail that spans the handlebar and gives you something to squeeze.
It looks like a simple bent rod, and mechanically it is, but its shape is doing real work. The distance from the pivot to where your hand sits sets the leverage, and the leverage sets how much cable travel one hand movement produces. Bend the bar and you change that geometry, which is why a machine that suddenly needs the bail squeezed all the way to the handlebar often has a bent auger control bar rather than a stretched cable.
Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Stock number | 303081284 |
| Part type | Auger control bail bar |
| Fits | AM7006A, DB7006B, MB7006B |
| Material | Formed steel |
| Function | Operator grip for the dead man auger control |
| Sold as | Bar only, bracket and cable separate |
How the auger control bar gets bent
Almost never in use. Almost always in storage and transport.
The bar is the highest point on a folded machine and the natural thing to grab when lifting it into a truck or shuffling it around a garage. Lift a 90 pound machine by the auger control bar and you are applying the entire weight through a thin steel bail designed to resist a hand squeeze. It bends slowly, a little at a time, which is why owners rarely connect the cause with the symptom months later.
The other cause is stacking. Machines stored under shelving, or with a bag of salt resting on the handlebar over the summer, come out in November with the geometry quietly changed.
Lift a snow blower by the handlebar uprights or the housing, never by the bail. Our off season storage guide covers the rest of the off season handling, and Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety sets out the general guidance on handling powered equipment safely.
Symptoms of a bent or worn bar
The bail has to be squeezed further than it used to. The geometry has changed, so the same hand travel pulls less cable.
The auger engages on one side of the grip but not the other. The bar has twisted rather than bent, so it is no longer parallel with the handlebar.
The bail rattles or sits crooked at rest. Usually a worn pivot rather than the bar, but check both.
The auger will not fully disengage. Rare from the bar alone, and serious. Stop using the machine and read our snow blower safety guide before you go further.
Before ordering a new auger control bar, try the cable adjustment. A stretched cable produces the first symptom on this list far more often than a bent bar does, and adjusting it is free. The snow blower repair guide covers it.
Checking it properly
Take the machine somewhere flat, with the power disconnected, and look along the handlebar from behind as if sighting down a rifle.
The auger control bar should sit parallel with the handlebar across its whole width, and the gap between bar and handlebar should be the same at both ends. If one end sits closer, the bar is twisted. Then squeeze it fully closed and check that it meets the handlebar evenly rather than touching at one end first.
A gently bent bar can sometimes be straightened, but be careful: formed steel that has been bent once and straightened has a weak point, and a safety control is the wrong place for a part you are not sure about. At this price, replacing it is the better call.
Fitting a new auger control bar
Disconnect the power. Note how the bar sits in its pivots and photograph it, because on some machines it can be installed upside down and will foul the handlebar when squeezed.
Free the bar from the pivots at each end, fit the new auger control bar the same way round, and check the free movement before reconnecting the cable. It should swing freely under its own weight with no binding anywhere in the travel. Then reconnect the cable and set the free play so the auger engages before the bail reaches the handlebar.
Finish with the dead man test: run the machine, engage the auger, release the bail, and confirm the auger stops within about five seconds.
Related parts on the same machine
The bar is one of three parts in the control system, and the other two fail more often than it does.
Auger Control: the bracket and lever half of the same control, and the more likely fault if the geometry feels wrong.
Shift Control Cable: worth checking at the same time, because cable stretch causes the same symptoms as a bent bar.
Common questions
Does the auger control bar fit my machine?
It is listed for the AM7006A, DB7006B and MB7006B. Check your model plate, usually on the rear of the housing or under the handlebar, before ordering.
My auger only engages when I squeeze the bail all the way. Is the bar bent?
Possibly, but check the cable adjustment first. A stretched cable causes that symptom far more often, and adjusting it costs nothing.
Can I straighten a bent auger control bar instead of replacing it?
You can, but formed steel that has been bent and straightened carries a weak point, and this is a safety control. At this price replacement is the sensible choice.
How did it get bent in the first place?
Almost always by lifting the machine by the bail, or by something resting on the handlebar in storage. Lift by the handlebar uprights or the housing instead.
Is the bar the same as the auger control assembly?
No. The bar is the bail you grip. The assembly is the lever and bracket it acts on, and it has its own stock number.
Do I need to adjust anything after fitting a new bar?
Yes. Set the cable free play so the auger engages before the bail reaches the handlebar, then run the five second dead man test before clearing anything.
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