I have a Craftsman 11.5 HP, 30", snow thrower, 4 years old. At the begining of last winter it started having problems with the power sterring. It ran fine, but the power sterring never worked.

Had a look at it today and found the following.

- The klick pin (holds the wheel on) was quite deformed on one side.

- With the wheels off, the power sterring parts seem to be moving OK. One side sticks a bit.

- With the blower running, I could stop the wheel axle with my bare hand (with the power sterring off). Is that normal?

- To put the wheels on, I have to depress the power sterring lever on at least one side to line up the axle hole with the wheel. After that, it never releases properly. With the wheels on, the power sterring does not work.

Any idea what the problem is?