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

HI! new to the forum, looks like lots of great reading here, glad to have found it.

wonder if I could get some advice on my Ariens 7hp, ST724, model# is 932027

problem started as wouldn't disengage drive when i pulled in the clutch, continued
to chug forward, wheels were locked when i dragged it backwards.

did some maintenance. Replaced the drive belt, the friction wheel looked pretty good
to me, still plenty of rubber on it.

problem remained, and now for the past 2 uses, it hasn't wanted to drive forward or
reverse at all when cold (stored in unheated garage). VERY hard to shift to any gear,
pretty much had to force it. Pushed it forward, within a minute or 2 it was driving itself,
although i *think* top speed was less that it used to be (could be wrong here..)

do i have a friction wheel problem, or possible some sort of contamination on the
friction plate? any ideas would be much appreciated

thanks!

mtbmike wrote:
See the part of the frame where the hex bushings are pressed in for the drive plate shaft? Kind of folded down in the front? This spring attaches to the traction drive idler arm and hooks into a small divot at the bottom of this frontal folded down section of the frame. The spring isn't symmetrical so make sure it is oriented right. The longer goes downward and hooks at the bottom edge of the frame in the notch.

snowman, thanks but i'm still having problems.
found 2 notches where the spring might hook
but neither seems to be correct. can you view this
pic - i have it hooked to the left slot, there is also a
slot visible way to the right side

That's the right spot. Put the belt on to orient and tension the idler so the spring does not come off.

thanks a million, snowman. Believe everything is running well now. Possible snow on tuesday, that will be the test!