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

Hi,

I have recently purchased a new Ariens 926002 Snowblower. I have only used it a few times however, today with using it in the some fresh 16 to 24" (or greater) of snow the engine really slows down to the point of almost stalling and it makes a louder noise something like a cracking/rattling noise. I am not forcing the machine at all and have use other snowblowers in the past so I have experience using them. The choke is fully open and the throttle is set to "fast" position and the machine is set to the slowest gear foward.

When the machine is not moving and I reduce the throttle to "slow", there is smoke coming from the front of the engine (not out of the muffler) but in the same area that the oil is showing coming from (just below where the muffler actually connects to the engine). I can see the oil on the snowblower discharge chute also. I don't think this is normal unless it's part of the "break-in period" but the manual doesn't say anything about oil coming out of the machine.

I thought it could be the belt slipping so I will try to see how to check that later today.

Does anyone know if this is a problem? Should any oil be showing coming out of this area? I have checked the oil level and it is within the safe level. I will change the oil now as it's almost at the 5 hour mark.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Krazy-Knuck