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

have a 1986 ariens snowblower and the drive does not release fully when the leaver is released.it seems the disk does not move back and forth freely when the leaver is engaged and more importanly when disengaged. what's the best way to free the disk movement and what lube would you use to keep it sliding ? thanks for you help in advance . mike

I'd recommend a couple drops of Synthetic motor oil.  Draw some up into a long piece of thin tube or hose.   Block the end with your thumb, feed the hose to the desired area and release a few drops, rotate and release some more.  Be careful not to get any oil on the drive components.    

tipped the thrower over onto it's auger housing and took the bottom plate back off. it took me a while to figure out the aluminum disk actually moves towards the rubber friction wheel and how that is accomplished. by standing it on end  it puts the aluminum disk horizontal and i was able to squirt the heck out of the shaft underneath the disk with wd40 and spray nozzle while i took a small pry bar and started working the disk up and down. i put rags on top of the two pulleys that the wd40 would run down on .once a liberal amount of wd 40 washed the shaft so it was working free i put some 5w30 engine oil in a metal squirt can and used that to lubricate the shaft. it would be easier to get at from the top by removing the plastic cover over the belts right behind the discharge chute. the shaft is vertical then but you have some exposed shaft in front of the pulleys to apply some lube. probably wouldn't have to take the bottom cover off that way. can't complain thrower is 21 yrs old and never been lubed there before. i have some carb issues from time to time,seems to be needing adjustments on high mix. setting from year to year and the front auger gearcase leaks out the horizontal auger shafts on both sides.it is the pot metal type housing. does anyone know if it has seals and bushings that can be replaced,how big a job it is,and what type of lube to use.i could not find the ariens lube for it so i put lower gearcase outboard synthetic lube in it. thanks everyone for your help, later mike