Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

OK. I had trouble with my 1 year old Ariens 8526LE throwing snow 3 weeks ago. I did everything in the manual to try and fix it. When I took the casing off to look at the belts I noticed the belt that controls the auger was shredded. So I took it to the dealer I bought it from. It took him 3 weeks and 3 phone calls from me. He told me it is ready and that a rock was caught in the impeller. Well before I brought it to him I made sure the auger was spinning, which it was. I also looked down the shoot to see if the impeller was spinning, and it was. So if there was a rock caught in the impellar it wouldn't spin, right? Also could this cause the belt to shred? I am going there this Saturday to pick it up and let him have a piece of my mind. I also want to make sure it isn't a bigger problem, like pulleys out of line causing the belt to shred. I still have 2 years on the warranty and want to make sure this isn't a lemon.

I know the auguer has sheer pins, so if the rock got by it could be plausable.

Ask him to show you what happened, IE, point to any gouges in the housing from the rock. And since I have looked in my Ariens I can tell you that a jammed impeller could have caused that, though I would think you would have heard the engine struggling a little before frying the belt.

Couple of things come to mind:

1. He might not have meant he found a rock. Just that  in his opinion the observed damage was caused by a jammed auger/impeller that could have been caused by a rock.

2. I have jammed snow blowers with frozen newspapers, wood, rocks and other miscellaneous stuff. Normally there is a squealing sound and you can let go of the lever before a shear bolt goes but not always.

Let me give a little more information on what happened the day the snowblower stopped working. We had about 8 inches here in MA and I went out to clear my driveway. Well I noticed the machine wasn't throwing the snow that far. At times I would have to stand with the snowblower in one spot and keep the auger engaged to clear the shute. Then I would proceed. I just thought it could have been due to the heavy snow. Then I shut off the machine and cleaned off my car. I started it up again and once I got into the snow it would not shoot the snow at all. I would have to clear out the shute and start it up again. Then BAM the same thing. So I read the manual. It said to check the tension on the clutch/brake wire. I did this. Then it said to check the shear pins. They were both fine. So I opened up the casing to check the belt. It looks like someone took a sharp knife and rub it back and forth on the belt to shred it. The belt was not broken. So I started it up to make sure the auger was moving, it was, then I looked at the impeller and it was also moving. I don't remember hearing any noise that would suggest anything was stuck in the machine. I just have a feeling that the service man doesn't know what the problem is and he is blaming it on a rock. Because if you look in the warranty it states that belts are covered for 2 years.

 The thing that would burn me is the 3 week waiting period. It should not take that long to change a belt especially when you bought the machine from him.

Yes MAYBE a rock at one point ripped up your belt and then fell out. I would ask him nicely why it took 3 weeks to fix the machine.

If I were put LAST on the list  for repair, I  would be hunting for another repair shop. Sometimes they put landscapers ahead of you.

I made sure I caught my Dodge repair shop in a lie before I called corporate. My 2004 Dodge Ram truck was sitting in diner parking lot 1/8 mile down the road from the shop as they had no room to park it at the dealer. (I was watching them for hours) and they said they worked on it and could not find the problem (3rd time). The truck never left that diner parking lot. I called corporate immediately and Dodge  fixed my intermittant horn honking and intermittant engine stall in ONE day. No problems since. They made sure NOT to send me a customer satisfaction questionaire. lol

Yup the 3 week waiting period does p*ss me off and it will be mentioned. The other thing that really makes me mad is that the previous 2 times I called him he said he would call when it was ready. But when I called today he said it is ready you can come pick it up. Well where the hell was the phone call !!! I will be changing my service shop. But since I bought it from him you would think I would get better service. Now I will probably be at the back of the line at the new service shop since I did not purchase it there. I plan on having some words with the owner of the current shop this Saturday.

where in mass are you ? what was the name of the shop ?

Is it possible the line from the clutch was a little loose, so that it was never engaging fully causing it to wear out quicker?

just goes to show, no matter what the product, dealer purchase doesnt always mean good service, although in the dealers defense, im sure this time of year he is busy, and if he does like i do in my business, excluding emergencies, (and as reputable dealers, of all kinds do, no matter the locale) service is usually a first come first served basis. so if work is backlogged, its going to take a while. Add to that warranty issues arnt a cash crop so to speak, & warranty work doesnt pay the dealer well, in many cases they're going to lean towards cash sales first.

The exact same thing happened to me and my new Ariens 11528LE  on the first heavy snowfall of this year.  My OPE told me it was because the idler got out of line with the sheaves.  It only took him 1 hour to pick it up , fix it and return it.

Maybe your dealer is feeding you a line of Bull in order to get out of a warranty claim.     

Sounds like you have the same dealer as me. I bought an Ariens 926 this year and noticed that it was leaking gas out the carb. After I cleaned the bowl, made sure the float worked and the carb was still leaking gas I gave him a call. He said he couldn't get to it in a week; and it's been three and a half weeks since then with no snowblower. I should have known he was a scoundrel when he charged me $25 to deliver the thing six miles when I bought it. Oh, your dealer doesn't happen to be on Rt. 62 in Acton does he...........

I live out by Leominster and purchased the snowblower at a dealer on Central St/Rt 12 in Leominster.

1. BBGarage: The line from the clutch was a little loose, but would this cause a belt to wear out after 1 years use? I tightened it like the manual said after the problem started, but it was too late by then as the belt was junk.

2. Spottedpony: I hear what you are saying about it being a busy time of year. But I called him the week of Xmas and he told me it should be ready by Xmas and he would call when it was ready. Then I called the Thursday after Xmas and he said it was in the shop and should be ready the next day and he would call when it was ready. I called yesterday and he gave the line about the stone in the impellar and that it was ready and I could come pick it up. Well where the hell was the phone call !!!!!! I just felt like I was getting the run around from day one.

3. Toolpig: I suspect that something like this is happening with my machine. Is there any way I can easily find out if the idler is out of line with the sheaves? Also did your belt stop working immediatley? I ran my machine all last winter without  a problem, or at least it seemed that way.

Also when I first dropped it off he told me that belts were not covered under the warranty. Well I went back and looked at the warranty and here is what it states:

"Normal maintenance items including, but not limited to, belts, idlers, cables, friction wheels, tires, wheels, and electrical components are warranted for a two year period from the date of purchase unless a shorter period would apply based on how the product is used, then the shorter period will apply. "

So I am going to ask him

1. Did you actually find a stone stuck in the impellar, or is this just your theory? If it is just his theory then I believe the belt should be covered under warranty because he has not proven that this is actually the cause. It is just a theory. I am going to ask how he knows something else is not wrong?

2. If he did find a stone in the impellar I am going to ask "So that means the impellar was not moving at all?". If he says "yes" then I know he is a liar because as I said above, before I took the machine to the shop I made sure the auger and impellar were spinning.

Do you guys have any other questions you can think of I should ask? I really appreciate your responses.

all you needed to do was look at the idler and eyeball it and you can see if it is aligned with the pully. amay 1128dle was off just a tad and i need to move my pully ouy a spec and it is now perfect. these machines are pretty simple to work on if youe are a little handy and take your time. i email ariend directly and told them about my pully being off a spec and that i was worried about premature belt wear now and they sent me new belt at no cost.  i recomend getting to know your machine or you might be in for something like this from time to time.

WOW look at all my type o's  This forum really needs an EDIT button !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I think you will understand my post. if not just ask and i will retype . Just a bit slower next time

As kneebiter said you should be able to eyeball the idler and make sure it's in line with the sheaves. My machine was brand new and ran OK for the first two snowfalls I'd used it.   It started  acting up on a heavy 3 foot snowfall. This was the third time I'd used it, and yes it was a sudden problem.  My OPE dealer had no problem lining up the idler and throwing a new belt on my machine all under warranty.

I can tell you if your impeller was turning when you took it in , it was no rock jam that caused your problem. Besides , you would have heard the belts roaring when the jam occurred.   Make sure before you use your machine again that the idler is aligned, otherwise you may have the same belt fraying trouble after a few uses.

By the way, how many times did you use your machine, and how heavy was the snow  before all these troubles occurred.

Well there is only a very short distance the clutch line needs to be pulled to get it into full engagement. However, if yours had been just loose enough it could have led to faster wear.

I prime until I see gas drip from the carb. It only leaks after you turn it off, so I always shut off the fuel line to solve the problem when not in use.

db 9,

I think I bought my machine from the same dealer.  This is the second one I got there and I've found them to be trustworthy.   They made a mistake when they gave me a quote on a 926 DLE but they stuck by the quote which saved me $70.    I have a freind who has also dealt with them and he has nothing but nice things to say.  If the guy says you picked up a rock he either knows you did or at the very least is telling you what he honestly believes.

db 9,

After reading this thread, my suggestion is to either call or email Ariens. It can not hurt; however, with so many Ariens dealers out there, they may not care.
Still, there is no reason for this dealer, esp. since you bought the snow thrower from him, not to have called you when he promised he would. Even if Ariens does nothing about this, they sould know how one of their dealers treats customers. (Just yesterday with a follow-up today, both UPS and Amazon were very resonsive to a delivery that said "delivered" on Tracking was not delivered to me. That is kind of service all of us should receive when we pay good money for Arien's products.)

Secondly, use the Yellow Pages or Ariens web site to find other dealers in your area, then pay them a visit to see how you are treated. BTW, I would like to see some definite data that dealers do not make $ on warranty work. Seems to me, car dealers will take all the warranty work they can get.

Gary

Go to Ariens.com and E-mail the company!!! This is not right to wait that long for your
snowblower. You bought from the dealer, he should service the problem. Not give you a run around!!
Wouldn't get by with this any other place,would they!!
Good luck let everybody know what happens next!
T.J.

Well I am going to pick up my machine today from the dealer. I will see what happens.

1. Toolpig: There was no roaring that would be caused by a rock jam as you suggested. It seemed to work fine all of last year. I probably used it 15-20 times last year. We get some pretty deep snow up here in the Northeast. Sometimes greater than a foot and it seemed to be working.

2. Plugger: Well when I took the machine in I told him what happened. Before he even looked at it he gave me the line "Well when you shut the machine off to clean your car off some ice probably formed. This could have put stress on the belt causing it to fray". Right there I knew he was full of crap. Then he tells me a rock is stuck in the impeller.

3. Gary31570: I actually called the warranty department at Ariens yesterday. I told them that the dealer theorizes that a rock was stuck in the impellar causing the belt to wear. He said in that instance the belt is not covered under warranty. I said well the dealer is "theorizing" this happened. What if he has no proof? I would have to prove him wrong in order for this to be covered. Also I already know where there is another dealer. I have talked to people about that dealer and they have nothing but good things to say. So I will be bringing it there for service from now on.

Stay tuned.

Well I went to Dupuis Power Equipment in Leominster, MA to pick up my snowblower that he told me was fixed. So when I got in the store he gave me the line about how a rock was stuck in the impeller. I said wouldn't that cause the impeller to stop spinning and the belts to grind? He said not necessarily, it could be a small rock, blah, blah, blah. So I knew right there he wasn't going to cover this on the warranty. So I asked are you sure that all the pulleys are in line, etc? He said this is the first thing we look for. So I bite my tongue and pay the $50 for the new belt. Then I go out back to get my snowblower. Guess what, it won't even start!!!! I ask what the problem is. They say the oil is probably cold. Do you believe this? I say well I store it in an unheated garage and it used to start fine. Also my car seems to start when I leave that out at night. Then he says well it has been sitting outside. Well isn't that nice. It has been sitting through snow storms for 3 weeks outside. So they replace the starter at no cost of course. They drive it out to my truck and I take over. I immediately go to the biggest snow pile I can find and try out their fix. Guess what, same result, it doesn't throw the snow. So now I am pissed off. The kid takes off the cover and looks. Guess what again. The belt is extremely loose and the little pin that is supposed to keep tension on the belt is totally out of place. I am not sure that that little pin is called. So they take it back in the shop to put another belt on it and adjust that pin. So I go back into the store to talk to the owner and tell him that I want my $50 back. Here is how our conversation went.

Me: That belt should be covered under warranty:

Dealer: Belts are only covered for 90 days

Me: 2 years

Dealer: 90 days

Me: 2 years

Dealer: You should read your manual

Me: I DID !!!!!!!!!! I said don't you have a manual here to read?

So we read this years manual and sure enough it states belts are covered for 2 years. Now he says, well this is not last years manual. So I need to call Ariens and check. I wanted to kill this guy. How about a dealer who doesn't even know what is covered under warranty. So Monday morning I am going down with my manual and show him and demand my $50 back. This will be the last time I ever deal with this place and I will let everyone I know not to buy from this dealer.

I am also thinking about calling Ariens and putting in a complaint. What do you guys think?

DB,

Email and call Ariens!!!

The squeaky wheel always gets the grease!!!!!!

                                            Fred

DB,

You might attach this thread when you emai Ariens!

I think it would give them some insight to your problem!!

                                                               Fred

jubol wrote:

db_9 wrote: Was the snow frozen like it is around here? 

I think the best solution for both of you would be for him to refund th $50 and for you to try another dealer.  I know there's one in Gardner and another in Ayer.  I've dealt with both of them and the seem reputable to me but that's the way I feel about Dupuis so I may be wrong.

I should have mentioned I had my machine in for service at Dupuis about a week ago.  The turnaround time was less than a week and as it turns out the problem was caused by something I had been doing with it.  There was no charge for the service.

plugger wrote:
 

Well here is the latest in my service man saga. This past Monday I made sure I got up nice and early. I grabbed my 2005 Ariens manual and headed back to the service shop when they opened. I walked in and there he was on the computer saying he was putting in the warranty claim to Ariens. Then he tells me that the way it works is that if he doesn't hear back from Ariens in 30 days the warranty claim went through. So I am thinking in my head, "I am not leaving this store until I get my refund". Then he says what he will do will refund my money, but if Ariens contacts him in the next 30 days I will have to pay him. Ya right!!!!

So I wrote to Ariens on Monday to ask how I put in a formal compaint on one of their authorized Ariens dealers. They replied to write a detailed description of my encounter. They would then forward it to the district manager of the area and they will confront the dealership. So we will see.

I thought I might have had it bad, but unfortunately you get the gold star. I think what is worse is that your dealer hasn't admited to making a mistake and taken action to retain you as a customer. I hope you have good luck with Ariens.

I can't wait to see how Ariens answers you. PLEASE let us know. Thanks

DB

Has the situation with your snowblower been rectified? I've been interested to hear how your story with the dealer and Ariens ended.

I haven't even heard back from Ariens. I am going to send another email to see if they ever confronted this dealer.

Well I wrote to Ariens one week ago today to see if they ever confronted the dealer. I have not heard back from them yet. So it seems that even the Ariens company does not care about their customers.

DB 9,

That is why I did not buy an Ariens Snow blower.

The older Ariens were great machines, but the new ones  are ???????able

                                                                                         Fred

not sure if this a product problem jubol, sounds more like a dealer problem, have you tried calling Ariens to get a response?  E-mails can get filtered out by spam control, if there are any other dealers in your area take your machine to them.  Any Ariens dealer can do warranty work on your machine, they HAVE TO honor your warranty if they are an Ariens authorized dealer.

I can't remember the name of the company but there's a dealer in Harvard you might like.  I think it's on Route 110.   They seem like a good group.  There's a Husqvarna dealer on the same road.  I've been there a couple times and didn't care for the sales rep's attitude.