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

Bought this Ariens 11528DLE last year, in January. For some reason, the forward and reverse drive will stop working. The friction wheel is fine, and there is no adjustment for the belt. I brought it to the local Ariens dealer, and of course, they could not reproduce the problem. They were nice enough to look inside, clean the wheel that the friction wheel drives with brake cleaner. Next snow storm, same thing, one pass down the driveway, and it stops. The dealer says, never heard of this one, maybe water is getting inside.

Paid lots of money for a machine that is touted as one of the best, I wish I could figure out why it is happening. Any suggestions???

Thanks

Brian from NH

Have any of the people with the problem put their machine up on a block to get the wheels off of the ground, pull the bottom plate(s)off, and fire it up to see what's happening?  I know it's something I wouldn't want to do at 15 below zero but if the machine isn't working, you have to take a look inside to watch the relative mechanical components and how they interact.  There might be some oil on the surfaces or insufficient contact force.  If the problem is intermittent, i.e. works when cold but not when warm, run the machine until the problem begins then inspect.   This is a long shot but is there a chance that the rubber ring might be slipping on the wheel?      

My experience points to the first gear being too high which puts undo stress
on the contact between the rubber and the plate, either while blowing snow
or moving the machine on an incline.   Any kind of water getting on the plate
would just make things worse.  I wonder if the new texture recently added by
Ariens to the drive plate's surface has anything to do with this as I haven't
had any problems with the completely smooth aluminum drive plate on my
10 year old Ariens (though its first gear is also lower).

This and the fact that because first gear is too high when dealing with deep
heavy snow  you have to engage/disengage the drive constantly.

Nobody with the tracked DLETs seems to have problems, and they have a
40% gear reduction on 1st gear compared to the DLEs.

It may also be due to sloppy parts assembly.  The drive plate on my old
Ariens is mounted on a sliding cylinder with ball bearings at each end
whereas the new plate is mounted on a swing plate that's just attached
to the frame.

Paul

brjl wrote:
I wasn’t sure if you kept your machine in a warm garage or not.  I only mentioned that as a possibility as your description of the problem is what happens to a machine kept in a warm garage under the right conditions.  When I say warm, I don’t necessarily mean heated.  Some people have insulated garages which can hover above freezing.  That’s not your case, but there is a reason for it.  It could be the material the friction wheel is made from as nibbler stated.  I wonder if the rubber from an older model that doesn’t seem to have the problem would work in the 11538DLE.  Maybe Ariens changed suppliers and the rubber part of the friction wheel has more plastic and less rubber in it.  You would think Ariens would be hard at work trying to solve this issue rather than taking the hit on their reputation.

Mac, you hit the nail on the head, you would think that Ariens would be hard at work to fix this problem, but it doesnt seem so. You cant believe how recommended Ariens was when discussing a choice of snowblowers at work and on the internet. Best machine ever made. My dad had a 13 horse Ariens back in the 70's, and of couse, I got the most use out of it as part of my chores. That thing was a monster and nothing could stop it. I thought I made the right decision by choosing Ariens, but maybe not.

Brian NH

I think that we'd have to give Ariens a chance to do something about it if
there is indeed something to be done.  I have not seen the issue mentioned
for last year's models so it could be something new, and winter just started.

Paul

pvrp wrote:

You are right Paul, I am giving them a chance, I guess the frustration of pushing the machine, after spending a lot of money for it, is hard to take. I can tell you, the dealer that is helping me with the problem is not the dealer I bought it from, but they willing to help me in any way they can, really good people and I know it is not their fault.

Brian NH

I'd have more than a bit of a problem waiting for Ariens to find a fix.  It's a fairly new machine,  manufactured by a company, that in the minds of many ,is thought of as being one of the best.    If their product fails to the extent that it will not work, someone had better be loading another machine (of any brand) onto a truck and be delivering it to me to use while my machine is being repaired.    Not sure if the owner is shoveling by hand or has been fortunate enough to have a neighbour helping him.  Either way, I'd be mighty p!ssed if this was happening to my new Simplicity and I'm expected to "wait" for the manufacturer to figure it out .   

What I would do is place the machine in the service position. (follow your manual)

Remove the cover exposing the drive wheel mechanism. With some WD-40 spray on the metal tube in which the disk drive wheel mechanism is guided (rides) on. The drive disc movement when squeezing the drive handle is maybe 1/4 inch but my guess it is binding just enough to prevent the springs from applying adequate pressure to allow enough friction between the rubber disk and metal drive disk.

That would cause problems in both forward and reverse. This is a guess, but I like to do things that are cheap and easy to do first.

I had a problem that was very close to your problem with my 1136DLE. Snowmann gave me the fix and it worked. Never a problem since. My problem was slightly different as binding occured in both engaging AND disengaging in forward and reverse.

http://www.snowblowerguide.com/manuals/ariens_snow_thrower_manual_1.pdf

mech12 wrote:

Ok, I'll bite, looks like my manual.