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

Last winter, the Electric Starter on the snow blower just quit engaging in the flywheel gear. No bolts were loose. We removed the starter, and all the teeth in the gear on the starter looks OK.

With the starter out, and in a vice, we put AC power to it. It comes up as we think it should. When I called the dealer in Buffalo as I wanted this 926 Pro model, based on discussion here, and it was not available in Cleveland, where I live. On the phone, Dave in the shop (and I like this dealership) told me that it might not be lined up correctly. As you know, when the starter is bolted to the frame, there is not play.
The engine listed on the front page of the Tecmseh manual says OHSK 80-130, but the model # on the Engine says OH318SA. My neighbor says I should try to find a schmatic diagram of the starter, which I will try to do from the dealer in Buffalo, or Tecmseh. Or another Ariens dealer in Cleveland as the one I called was not very nice on the phone.

Thanks,
p.s. snow has been only moderate in Cleveland this winter, and I can use the rope.

 

   It used to work so the mounting plate is the right one and as you say there’s no adjustments. 

   The plunger might be sticking.  For fussy ones sometimes I take them off, put it on the floor with my foot on it and press the button to see if the gear spins out.  I’m not sure about the workings but I think if one side of the stator goes bad it will turn in the wrong direction.  Whatever the cause you can verify it’s pushing out and spinning in the right direction.  It’s illegal here to work on them unless you are a licensed electrician because of the 120. 

  according to my part smart page  both units use the same starter     33329e or d  . this should be tagged on the side of starter.   you may very well have to shim this.  its been done before.  check the teeth on your ring gear... you should be able to peer into the housing where the starter came off.  make sure these are not rounded off.

thanks,
quot;if one side of the stator goes bad it will turn in the wrong direction." This may be what is happening. I will pull the cord to see the direction the ring gear turns, then power the starter to see what direction it turns. As I said, it does spin out, but does not engage in the ring gear. In addition, I will look at the teeth on the ring gear to make sure the teeth are not rounded. They should be OK as there are not more than 150 hours on this Ariens, with 25 or so snow throwing events.

As far as using a shim, I am not sure how to install a shim. Would I shim the starter away from the engine mount, because the starter gear is not lined up correctly with the ring gear. If so, how thick should the shim be?

I will check the tag on the side of the starter to see if the number is 33329e or d.