Hello All.
Here are my few complaints about my Ariens 1130DLE snow thrower. Over the last few weeks I have been getting my snowthrower ready for the years to come. After realizing how much it rusted in just one year, I figured it was best to start sooner then later. I am super glad I started this now as some things haven't been easy. Like the removal of one rusted wheel to the axle. Anyway, won't rehash that here as its in the other post about it.
Here are my complaints. I really don't see why they should even be a issue with such a well built machine. My first complaint is lack on anti seeze on integral components that should be easy to remove for maintenance. Today I spent some time taking off the attachment pulleys (two bolted together for dual belts). I did this after reading how hard it could be to remove after a few years of operation. Things like gear pulleys, heat and hammering to remove it, seem to be common. So why not anti seeze it? Maybe they do, but after getting mine off today, certainly no indication it was done on mine. Granted mine wasn't that rusted and came off without much trouble, but it was rusting. Few more years and I am sure I would be in the same boat as the rest when it comes to tough removal. So why not the few extra dollars to anti seeze these components?
My second complaint. All the rakes that hold the bushings are screwed in with self tapping bolts. When you purchase the rake there is no thread in it, so you screw in the bolts which grab into the rake. I cannot understand why the rakes would not have threads? Why not a bolt with a nut on the end? Why is this a issue for me? Well I cannot seem to back out a bolt without snapping off the head. Then, I am stuck either purchasing another rake or trying to removing the broken bolts, which isn't easy. I cannot understand why these rakes are not made so that they can come off easier with better bolt system. If somebody here has a trick on removing these self tapping bolts, please let me know. PB blaster does not seem to help at all. Just as a note, the rake is $9.95 and the bolts are $1.45 at my dealer. So with three bolts in each, it doesn't take much to need $15 in parts for just one rake. With two on the auger, it will run me over $30 to get it out if I want to anit seeze it. At least when I put it back together I can use bolts/nut. But would be nice if there was a thread in the rake.
That is it. These seem to be minor issues that ariens could easily rectify to make these machines easy to maintain.
Cheers
Goofie Newfie
This message was modified Nov 27, 2008 by goofienewfie
Cheers
Goofie Newfie
