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

I bought my Ariens HomeDepot back in 2005.  Sadly, this has been a disappointing machine from day one.  My previous thrower was a Sears 88799 9HP 27" and I never had a problem with it.  I was able to throw slush, wet snow, plowed crude, you name it.  This Ariens thrower always had a weak throw and would strugle with medium snowfalls.

Even though I always spray my throwers with WD40 before using,  this Ariens thrower had problems with even dry fluffy snow (10 or more inches high).  It would clog up and would not throw even hwne the chute was completely free.  Unit would not start throwing again until next day when all the micro bits of snow had melted off.   My problem with this thrower has only got worst.  Recntly we got 15 inches of very dry light snow.  The thrower stopped throwing half way thru clearing my driveway.  All shear pins are in tack.  I verified this by visual inspection and checking for loose play in the auger blades.  The auger blades are fixed and do not spin freely.  The impeller blade however does spin freely.  Is this normal?  How do I correct this problem.  Thanks in advance for any assistance.