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

Really let down on this machine. I suppose any machine could have a hiccup though.
The first thing I notice is that it always seemed slightly in gear, always wanted to tug a little. It was like this for a couple hours.
Today, I was using it, and BANG! Then of course no more forward locomotion.

The drive plate sheared right off its axle inside! It looks like it is a press fit, and it walked itself right off.

Crap. The banks of the edge of the driveway are already 4 foot tall.
I hope they don't charge to pick it up.

The 8 year old ariens I sold to get this thing never left me high and dry!

Tubby wrote:

Looking at the parts manual for the Simplicity Pro and their large frame models (which you can find on-line) it’s interesting to see that on the Pro series the dive pulley is connected to the friction disk by a shaft that’s press fit into the friction disk. However, on the large frame series the drive pulley and the friction disk are the same part, which avoids torque being transmitted through a shaft to the friction disk. This is a case where the cheaper model seems to have a more robust design.

I haven't looked at the mechanics of the Pro machines so I'm not familiar with them.  However, I'm wondering if the "power boost" feature is a part of the difference in design between the large frame and Pro series?  Another thing I've noticed is that both machines reported with problems are the 24" Pro series.   If I owned one (working well or otherwise), I'd contact Simplicity to see if there is a known issue with the malfunctioning drive system components.   

When I was researching machines a couple years ago, I noticed a difference in the directions for the large frame vs the pro model. The manual for the Pro indicates that you should disengage the drive before shifting. I was under the impression that was because the location and design of the shift lever makes it possible to drop into 5th gear pretty easily -- that is, a safety issue. Is there anything about this design difference that explains the instructions?

Curious though, why maintain and build two different drive systems if the newer is more robust?

Well, the place I bought it is really tying to help as best they can, they even offered me a loaner. So far, only  5 or 6 inches of light powder. so i did not need it.
We both agreed it was/is a very bad design. The drive wheel is pressed on, and has a lot of stress. This works it loose, and as it does so, it works towards the rubber drive disc,  That is why it always wants to pull, engaged or not.
I hope if anyone else here has problems they post about it. It is a major fix, you have to dis-assemble the entire guts to get to it. It is a major safety hazard as I see it. In reverse it keeps coming at you.

If this keeps happening, I see problems for Simplicity.

As I understand it, the old design had the wheel threaded on. It must have been much cheaper to build it this way. Smooth move simplicity.

Come on now Tubby.  It's not cheapening of parts "it's advanced production methods"  similar to the brand name box store machines.   

Let's hope that this is a one off situation/mistake for Simplicity.  If they go box store, we'll have no premium quality machines built in the USA left to choose from.   I'm particularly surprised/dismayed that they would choose their flagship line to put a piece of junk on.   Have you looked for an e-mail address to give Simplicity a blast?   If not, here's a link.  http://www.simplicitymfg.com/contact/  

Thanks for the link.

I let them have it. I now have a foot of snow in the driveway. Still no part to fix it, and quite frankly, if they replace it with the *exact* same part, I am half tempted to sell it. Unsafe and failure prone. It really is bad design.

Hey Tubby:

You're right on track with the safety aspect.  I'd be waving that flag high and often.  Keep it in their face and demand that a better quality component to replace the defective one.  If they can't do it, tell them you want a machine that doesn't have that type of failure prone mechanism.  Good luck to you.

Anyone else out there with a similar problem should be getting on the band wagon too.  Even if you haven't had the problem but own a similarly appointed machine, I'd be getting in touch with Simplicity for a fix before you have a mishap caused by a similar failure.  There's strength in unity.