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!

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!