As one of Clams pro staff members I have been asked by Clam to come in here and set the record straight as to what is going on with the gear box recall. the issue at hand is not the Clam auger plate it self but the gear boxes that just came out this year. they have identified about 200 gear boxes that had bad gears in them and there has been a issue with the gears breaking as they are a powdered metal gear and not a cut gear. Clam has issued a recall to all retailers to get the gear boxes back and once they are all back Clam will be releasing a replacement gear box that will have cut gears instead of the powder metal gears.
here is the official statement from Clam :
The facts are as follows:
We’ve identified an issue with a defective gear in some of the gear boxes that attach to the Clam auger conversion plate. There is NO issue with any of the conversion drill plates themselves, and this is NOT a safety concern. The issue is specific only to gear boxes shipped over the past 60 days. To be sure all gear boxes sold are in perfect working condition, Clam has asked retailers to return to Clam the gear boxes as well as the conversion kit that includes an 8” auger and a gear box. Clam will be replacing the gear boxes and getting the units back out to stores over the next two weeks. Anyone who has a gear box in their possession that fails (we believe there are approximately 200 in consumers hands that may be defective) should call Clam. You will be shipped a replacement gear box within the next couple of weeks along with a return slip so you can return your defective unit. Any questions please call 1-800-ice-fish or email us at
