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!

Try adjusting your traction drive cable.  Sounds like it might be too tight.  You might also want to look at the traction drive linkage to ensure it's in proper working order.

thanks, i will try that before next snow and let you know how it worked out.

AREINS SCREWED UP WHEN MAKING SOME OF THESE 724'S. THE HAVE A BIGGER ENGINE THAN THE DRIVE CAN HANDLE. THEY MAKE A DRIVE UPDATE KIT WICH INCLUDES EVERTHING YOU NEED. ITS JUST UNDER 200.00  FOR THE KIT.  SORRY I TRIED FINDING THE PART # BUT COULDN'T. I WORK AT A SMALL ENGINE SHOP AND HAVE DONE A COUPLE. TAKE IT TO A SHOP AND THEY CAN TELL YOU WHATS GOING ON.    TAKE CARE

lumbrjck wrote:
The performance drive kit you're referring to doesn't apply to this model. Also, the engine size doesn't matter. The drive can only consume a small fraction of the engine power as it is limited by available traction. You could put a 20hp engine on it and it would be irrelevant to the drive system.

mtbmike wrote:
mtbmike,

Sounds like the anti-seize/oil blend that Ariens used to use on the hex shafts is dried out and gummed up. Oil the hex shaft that the drive plate slides on (grease would be better, but you'd have to take it apart). Might as well oil the large bronze bushing the drive plate spindle shaft rides in as well. Also grease the hex shaft that the friction disk slides accross. That should clean up the sticking problems.


If the drive plate gets condensation on it and freezes (this is fairly common with most friction drives) it may need a bit of a warm up to flash the frost off. Hold the clutch down until the drive plat warms and it should be fine. Check your cable adjustment and you may also want to get a new friction disk. p/n 032483. The newer disks have a much improved compound and can transmit more power.

PK

thanks for replying! been kinda delayed in getting at this, but now we have snow in the forecast so i figured its time!
blower is sitting in the garage, the gear shift is stuck and pulling in clutch doesn't free it up. Adjusting the cable seemed to
do nothing, so i took off the bottom cover. I found a spring laying in the bottom of the tray.. unsure where it came from.

if you can view the airens part manual referenced below, i believe the spring is part # 43 on page 8


http://apache.ariens.com/manuals/032342F.pdf


hoping someone can clue me in as to where this baby hooks up.

thanks again

PS - i was just now looking thru the Service manual, and there is a spring attached to the Impeller Brake that looks the same.
i'm at work now and can't  see the machine but i'll be checking that as soon as i get home tonite..


also - looks like oiling the hex shaft may have broken it free, the gear shift seems to be moving freely now.

ok i'm back again!

the shift linkage is now 100% better than before. Gear shift moves with nearly no effort.
thanks for the oiling instructions.

driving it around the driveway though, i seem to still have the slipping issue.
Snow is due tomorrow and so i'll give it a try, last time it was usable, and better
than shoveling.
 
I cannot find where the spring came from! here's a picture of the brake shoe
on my machine, please see this pic - brake shoe to the right and you can see
the hole in it's base (i'm having problems pasting the link to the pic,
please cut and paste this url-)

http://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1013152td0.jpg

well it took me long enough but i finally realized that my drive belt is slipping badly.
running with the belt cover removed, i can see the belt barely moving at first and
then gradually starting to turn.

this was a new belt a week or so ago. i'll be looking for some way to move the idler pulley, i think

Does the spring you found look like it might be a part of the drive mechanism.  My simplicity has a tension spring on it's drive engagement apparatus.

mtbmike wrote:
Seized idler bearing or drive plate? No belt tension (missing spring?) Why isn't the belt moving?

the spring that i can't place is pretty light-weight. Its about the same caliper as
the springs that are under the hand grips for the levers, if you can follow that.

snowman, it seems to me that there's just no tension on the belt. Unsure
where the spring goes in the configuration. Could you tell me where to look?

if you can look at this ariens manual, go to page 4, the spring looks like part # 52

http://apache.ariens.com/manuals/032342F.pdf



can't understand where it hooks up tho.

thanks very much

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!