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

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.

brjl wrote:
Brjl, this is not your manual. 924,XXX platform went out of production in 2004. Your's and Bob1031's are completely different machines.

Also, NewJerseyBT's problem is not the same as your's, so don't try to replicate his fix. He has the 924,XXX platform machine. Transmission is very different.


PK

Snowmann wrote:

Thanks Snowman.

Brian NH

My machine is back in the shop after speaking with Ariens.  It's in for diagnosis....again?  Geeeze I wonder what the problem is..Spoke with Ariens tech service and not much help there but I have to at least go through the motions - again in order to keep their eye on the problem.   It sent and email to the technical service person to try and get a loaner since I'm out a machine in the middle of winter but no call back.... In speaking with tech service, I asked the question of "What if they don't find a problem,,, then what and the answer was that they will send parts to rebuild the drive... I did find out that they initially tested the drive system with a rough surface drive pulley and then switched to a plated pulley which slips...Hmmmmmm...I pulled off the belt and bottom cover and cleaned the thing all up before the last storm.. put a rubber gasket inside around the belt cover and baffle and then duct taped all around the belt cover and any open hole in the unit where water could get in..  It looked beautiful.  Nice and silver and orange ... I'm giving them one last chance and then my next service call will be to someone in the legal profession.