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

After using my two stage snow thrower for about an hour to remove some wet snow I let the machine, which had performed very well, idle before shut-down and storage. While the machine was  idling I heard a loud noise (similar to that made when an auto's automatic transmission needs attention).  I removed the belt cover and ran the machine but could not see any obvious alignment problem. Does anyone have any suggestion as to what the problem might be? The machine is new and  has been used for about 12 hours.

Sounds like a belt tension problem. Try engaging one control at a time. When the sound goes away you will know which belt is having a problem. ITs hopefully the auger belt since the traction system isn't supposed to slip at all while the auger does allow a certain amount of adjustment.

If the auger system turns with while the engine is idling and the control is disengaged then the belt tension is too high, the idler wheel is quite loose enough and the belt is partially engaging the pulleys.