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

Thought everyone should be made aware of this potentially dangerous situation involving the fuel line on the Ariens 926LE with the Tecumseh engine for 2005.  Overall, the fuel line keeps slipping off the nipple from the gas tank resulting in the drainage of fuel from the gas tank. I do not pretend to be an engineer, but upon my inspection of the nipple from the gas tank concludes this was a poorly engineered design as there is no place for the clamp to securely clamp onto.

History:  Purchased 926LE at HD on 11/22/05 in Rockland, MA. (South Shore of Boston)  Filled with Gas and Stablizer in mid December and ran for 15 minutes.  Then stored in my garage till first snowstorm (still waiting).  Morning after Patriots/Jaguars playoff game, went to garage and had gas all over the garage floor.  Upon inspection, noticed that the fuel line that connects over the nipple from the gas tank came off.  I slipped it back over it and then watched to my amazement as it slip down again and came off.  I figured it must be a bad clamp, so after visiting my local hardware store, I reinstalled using a screwdriver clamp.  Again, the fuel line slipped off the end.   Upon further inspection of the nipple, it became apparent that no where on the nipple was there a place for the clamp to tighten to and with the nipple in the shape of a cone, forced the clamp downward.

Ariens / Tecumseh Service

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up the gas and vapors from my garage.  The next morning, I first called Ariens and to my amazement, they were aware of my situation and advised me to call Tecumseh.  The customer service individual advised that they were aware of this problem in late August but it was too late in the production cycle to fix the problem.  I then called Tecumesh and the customer service rep (Jim) cut me off as I was explaining my issue, and advised that they too were aware of this issue, and that I should take the machine to my local authorized dealer for repair.  Jim stated that the dealer would attempt to file or "rough up" the nipple with the goal of affording the clamp something to clamp onto.   He stated that they issued a repair bulletin in Late November to all dealers about this problem.  I then called my local authorized Ariens dealer  who also quickly advised me that they were aware of this issue, and that I could bring it in and they would fix the problem with one day turnaround time.  I dropped if off the following Saturday and picked it up on January 16th.

Home Depot Service

After dropping off the machine to be repaired, having the weekend to think about it, I decided that this so called fix, was in no way a permanent fix, and the potential risk for further gas spills still existed.  SoI decided to go to HD and discuss with them and request a full refund.  They too advised that they were aware of this problem and after discussing with them for about 30 minutes,  instead of returning the machine, HD agreed to have one of the service dealers come to my house and replace the entire gas tank with a new one that did not have the problem.   You would think this would give me "piece of mind".

They came last Friday afternoon and the HD outsourced service technician replaced the "problem" gas tank with a new one.  Yesterday afternoon, in preparation of our potential nor'easter this week, I started filling the gas tank and guess what, gas started coming out onto the floor.  Upon inspection, I noticed that the "fuel line" had once again slipped off the nipple, to the new gas tank!!!!!!!   Remaining calm, I then called the service manager at HD and this time told him that I would be bringing the machine back to HD this week for a full refund as my patience had run out...

He was very understanding and gave me no problems with my decision to return it.  Of course, he advised that they were now selling the snowblowers at 1/3 off.

The question I now have to everyone, is after I return the machine for a full refund, what should I do.

Option 1: Buy the Ariens 11528LE with the Tecumseh OHV valve engine (upon inspection different fuel line set up) at 43% off.

Option 2:  Buy the Ariens 926LE with the new Briggs & Stratton OHV engine (only dealers are offering this, not HD) at full retail price. They will not bargain during the winter.

Option 3:  Wait it out and attempt to find a deal with a local dealer this spring and summer......

I truly appreciate everyone's valued opinions and look forward to checking back with you.   

  

oakville wrote:

Might depend on the production run. I have the 2005-06  926pro and the dealer came to my home to fix the problem last November. Check your engine serial# and call the dealer.

John

First, everyone thanks for your input/comments.

I returned the 926le to HD last night and they were understandable to my situation, even though I was returning it for a full refund after my 30 day original purchase point. 

I could not pass up the opportunity to purchase the 11528le at a list price of $1318 minus 33% off plus another 10% with my original coupon.  This brought the price down to $827.82 including MA 5% sales tax.   Then adding in my mutiple HD Gift Coupons received from the holiday season, the final cost was about $500.  I think we would all agree that was one opportunity I could not pass up.

I inspected the gas tank it is a different design and I would like to believe that I should not have the issue I just went through.

As for those with a 926le,  it appears that all dealers HD and local ones have some sort of bulletin on this issue and the model/serial numbers that are effected.  I would recommend that you provide them with your serial number/model # and have them confirm if your machine is one of the one's effected.   I don't recommend waiting to see if the fuel line comes off the nipple as it was a very unpleasant experience cleaning up my garage floor of gasoline and odors.  By the way, I used Simple Green mix with a little hot water and after some srubbing and drying with towels, no longer any gas smells.

Also, the HD in Rockland, MA (exit 14 off Rt. 3) still has about a dozen of the 11528le's left for those interested.

I look forward to posting a full review of this machine when the first opportunity arises, (maybe next year with the weather we're having) 

Final comment on HD.   I must say that I found the management team that I dealt with at HD to be courteous and reasonable and stood behind what they sold. 

Thanks again.

Capetime.

When you went to pay for the new blower, did you wear a MASK and GUN, cause you stole it!!!

Congrats!

                                                   Fred 

capetime: great decision.  Good luck.  and follow the break in procedure.

What, they didn't have 1332's?

Congratulations on your great buy. Does your machine have the new type of chute control (side to side lever)? Would be interested in knowing how it works in snow conditions. I like the crank type that mine has and noted that many on the models on display at the local HD weren't working properly. Hopefully this was a set-up problem and not an overall design problem.

I have a 7524 and I have noticed that the fuel line has dropped down to the end of the nipple but the piece of gear below the line has prevented it from coming all the way off. You try to push it back up but it slides back down. It's staying on but only because it is being prevented from coming all the way off by the physical obstruction of the piece below it. I think I need to call my dealer tomorrow.

I called my dealer this morning and he came out to service the fuel line on my Ariens 7524. He said this model was not part of the recall but it obviously needed attention as it was pulling off the end of the nipple. Apparently the cause of the problem was that when these nipples came out of the mold at the factory they were totally smooth and that was what was causing the lines to slip off. He said that in most cases it was happening immediately with the first gas fill as it would moisten the hose then the hose would slip off. In the case of my 7524, there is a part of the engine that prevents the gas on/off switch (little red knob) from pulling off to the point of coming off completely and this alone prevented the line from pulling off and causing a spill.

I didn't even notice it until I hadn't run the machine for over 2 weeks due to warm weather. When I went to turn the gas line on I saw that it had slipped down.

Like the original poster mentioned, he pulled the line off, used sandpaper and gave it three turns around the nipple then reattached the fuel line w/same clip. This is the official Ariens fix. Hopefully it will stay on. Anyone owning a 7524 (or any of the other Ariens models) that were bought in the last few months may want to have a quick look to confirm your fuel line is where it should be. I'll give an update if either it slips off or goes for a few weeks w/no problem. I've got to give credit to my dealer for the quick response. I really appreciated that.

You should be fine now that the fix has been down.  The "correct" gas tanks have a rough nipple, rough nipple+rubber house=friction, add the clamp and the contact point is made stronger.

I just bought an Ariens 7524 for $379 at Home Depot.  I think I got a good deal.  It was 50% off and they had two left.  It was brand new in a box that was razor  cut open and then sealed back up by Home Depot.  It had the white stick film on the impeller opening and on the handles ant it was unassembled so I know it wasn't a return.  However, on this gas tank issue, my blower (and the other 7524 they had for sale in an opened and resealed box) has a white paint marking on the fuel line hose at the tank outlet and then on the starter motor was the date 12/29/05 G.W.  Is this somehting Ariens does at the factory as a final inspeciton or could it be that the gas tank was replaced due to this problem and the white markings serve as proof with someones initials???  Thanks.