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

Hi All,

I have a year old Ariens 11528LE that I bought from a local Ariens dealer (trying to support the little guy). About a month ago I noticed red fluid seeping out of the aluminum gearcase in the front.

I called my dealer and he said its a fairly common problem. He said Ariens has a new lube out which is called L2 and that should seal the leak.

Now call me stupid, but I don't seem to recall L2 being a new fluid, it's been around for years and is probably what is in there now!

Do I just need a new gasket? My gameplan is to top off the gearcase for winter so that I won't go without a machine in the event of a large snowstorm. I'll bring it to them in the Spring and let them fix it.

Thanks for your advice!

Chris

The red fluid is not gear lube. It's the LocTite 518 anaerobic sealant the halves are sealed with. It sets in the absence of air, so any that squeezes out the case when it is assembled has a greasy feel (and does not set). This is normal. Your dealer should have known that. Your gearcase is fine.

PK

I have seen this red sealer on a few gear cases at the Home Depot and there was no problems with oil leakage. They must use this in lieu of a standard gasket. Even transmissions are sealed without gaskets now days.

Snowmann wrote:

Hi PK, thanks very much for your information. Just to make sure I am OK, I took a picture of my gearcase just to be sure it looks good to you guys....

It started doing this in the Fall, after about a year of use (approx. 12 hours).

As you can see, its been seeping in a few spots and you can actually see the loctite in the front. I'll just wipe it off with a paper towel if it looks OK.

Thanks again.

CFoote wrote:

CF

I have an ARIENS 7524 with the same thing and it's the sealer  your seeing.

CFoote wrote:

CF,

hirschallan wrote:

Hi there, thanks for your replies. I'm glad to hear your gearcase has the same issue -- that makes me feel a lot better!

As far as the rust goes, I just double checked and that is lube from the zerk -- I try to lube the zerks twice a year. I'll get that wiped off. Good eye!

Chris

CF,

The best was to  grease those zerks is to take the sheer bolts out and spin the tube in order to get the grease between the shaft and tube and put them back when when your done.

hirschallan wrote:

Thanks for the tip!

hirschallan wrote:
I do put grease into the zerks but it just occurred to me to ask why.

The parts in question don't  rotate relative to each other on a regular basis. Is it just to make it easy to take the rakes off, or so that they don't bind when a shear bolt does go or some other reason?

nibbler wrote:

Nibbler,

As I've read on this forum in the past if you ever want to get those rakes off the shaft you better have grease between the shaft and the tube otherwise you'll have a hll of a time getting them apart.Hope this answers your question.

Nibbler:
The shear bolts do just that!! They shear off (hopefully) before any damage is done
to the gear case,gears and rake shafts. If you get a news paper,door mat,
childs toy stuck in the bucket. At least you can turn the rakes to get whatever it is out! Make sure, it's out of gear,plug wire off and grounded. Stay safe!!!!
Take out the shear bolts, Use a grease gun on the zerks, that are on the tubes,turn the rakes 1/4 or 1/2 turn and squirt grease again,use plenty of grease!
Make sure both rakes turn easily on the shafts.
Put the shear bolts back in and tighten to manual specs.
Also go over the manual as to all the grease zerk locations and give them a shot of grease. Check over the machine, belts, cables,loose bolts or parts.
Have spares of shear bolts,belts,spark plug and fresh gas on hand
Don't want a break down when blowing 5" or 2' of snow!!
Hope this helps you.
T.J.

did you scrape the red/pink sticky stuff of?  If you did that might cause some leaks because it seals it.  My 926 has the red sealer stuff but not the brown color around it like yours.

The grease zerk's on the auger shaft is there to prevent rust, the main reason is not for easier removal but to keep the auger shaft from rusting to the auger in case you run something through your blower they will turn and break the shear bolts. If any of you have tried to take a rusted bolt or similar thing apart you will understand the welding affect rust has.
Taking the shear bolts out and rotating  the auger while greasing it up a few times is a great idea, I only do this about every 3 or 4 years but I grease it up every year. Once a year is plenty considering the fact that it is just to prevent rust and the grease will not go to far.

If you don't rotate them, the rakes will rust to the auger shaft and you'll have to cut the tube; put it in a 40 ton hydraulic press; heat it with a torch; then replace the seals on the auger gearcase damaged by the heat.

bmwe0692 wrote:
When you're working with the rakes its also a good idea to put something ( I use a 2x4) into the impeller via the discharge chute. Its also a good idea to try and remove whatever the jam is using something that isn't an integral part of your body, a small shovel works well. The tension in the system is suddenly released when the blockage is cleared and the rakes will move forward a bit to release the tension., anything soft and sliceable can get in the way and be seriously damaged.

Remeber to take the 2x4 out before starting up, its kind of (cough) embarassing if you don't