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

Hello

I have a very old "Eaton" house brand 2 stage snow blower, purchased in 1972+/-, with a tecumseh engine. The engine works very well. It starts up easily. The problem... to engage the auger and impeller, I must flip 2 levers, lever A which is between the auger and the impeller and lever B which is on the back of the blower, below the engine. For an unknown reason, when I flip the levers the auger and impeller don't engage. It happened to me twice last year but by flipping the A lever back and forth it engaged. Today it just doesn't want to engage at all. Can it be a V-belt problem? Or are the auger and impeller not propelled by a V-belt?

I thank you for your time and help.

Robert

Sounds kind of like my '74ish Ariens.  The "front" lever engages the impeller/ auger drive.  I have found that the coupling under the plastic shield sometimes gets either frozen or basically tries to engage, but gets to a "male" to "male" coupling situation -you should remove the shield to see what's happening - ENGINE OFF at first. 

My Ariens also has two different belts, one for the auger/ impeller and one for the wheels.  If you can engage the wheels (independent of the auger/ impeller) then perhaps only the auger belt is gone (or loose?).  However, The fact that you stated that this occurred a few times last year but rectified itself leads me to think that it is a coupling engagement problem.  Perhaps the engagement thing needs lube. 

See if the engagement thing is moving/ engaging.  You should also be able to figure out at this point if the belt is toast  or not. 

If nothing is obvious, start the engine (without the cover) and CAREFULLY observe what is or is not happening. 

Good Luck.

Ralph

Hello

Thank you Ralph S. It was a belt. On Monday I moved the blower and noticed the belt on the ground. I changed it and it works fine.

Thank you for your help.

Robert