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

I've been using Ariens snowblowers all my life, so I'm pretty disappointed with my 2004 8526LE so far.  When I received it, one of the shoe bolts was stripped out and the shoe would not stay adjusted.  Ariens sent me a couple new ones, which I was happy with.  However during the big blizzard, I noticed my wheel drive was very sluggish, I had to push the thing to get it going forward, and as soon as it hit any resistance, it would stop.  I had fully tensioned and adjusted everything after the initial 15 mins but figured maybe there had been some stretching.  Brought it in to inspect, the pivot point where the drive cable connects (sticks just out of the body) was not pivoting, it was just hanging around in there loose.  Wasn't like that when I got it for sure.  Took it all apart, found the bolt with no cotter pin sitting in the bottom.  So it apparently had been slid through and no pin ever put on (the bolt was stuck in some ice on the bottom, with no pin in sight).  Of course this caused a lot of wear to the friction disc and there is rubber all over the friction plate now.  So I also needed to change the oil last night, and while it was draining I decided to inspect other parts again with a fine tooth comb.  I am missing a bolt that holds the dipstick tube support and the front of the carb cover in place, my starter has a horrible looking electrical connection that I had to re-do (it stopped working during the storm, I thought it was Ice, guess not) and in general all kinds of stuff was loose.

I bought it in the crate as it came from Ariens, unopened, so this was not a dealer assembly issue.  Pretty disapointed for $1000.....  I mean I looked it over when I got it and did the adjustments, but I had no idea I had to rip the entire thing apart and inspect the inside too.  Sheesh.

Now that its all fixed it works great, would drive itself through a brick wall, its not the quality of the product itself that bothers me, more the quality control of the assembly.  So at the beginning of next year looks like I'll need a new friction disc already and spend some time removing the rubber off the plate.  Oh well.

-Dave

That's why I worded it as I did and agreed to what I did Fred.  

Marshall wrote:

I would agree if my handle bars fell off, or my chute wasn't working properly.  However this part is internal and not assembled by the dealer, and since upon delivery it was functioning properly (bolt holding in there on a wing and a prayer) it would make no difference.  How many dealers remove the bottom cover to check the brake clearance Vs. checking from the top (where it can be clearly seen), and even if they did, would they have seen the missing cotter pin?

If you went to buy a car from a dealer and they mentioned a wheel had fallen off during shipment because someone forgot the lug nuts, would you feel any better about the fact that the dealer had fixed it rather than you?  It was still a flaw in the manufacture of the product, and is indicative that there could be more.....

-Dave

Forum Members have been complaining about Ariens quality control since I became a member in the vicinity of 2 yrs ago.

Many of the complaints were about rushed engineering (consumer grade drive systems, chute design, etc) 

That's why I bought a Simplicity.

When you get a good Ariens they're great. If you don't you get a big headache. Ariens will fix it...but the snow does'nt stop falling while the new snowblower is in the shop.

If you must have an Ariens make sure it's a Pro model.....many less complaints from what I read here.........

Like everyone is saying...Perhaps Ariens production quality has suffered due to the increased volume from Home Depot sales.

                                                                                                         Dan

drinkingbird wrote: I have no argument with you, as I said, I wasn't speaking to any particular case but rather in general. In your case it clear.

Let me add here that I am not defending Ariens. Well maybe I am a little bit.

What I don't like to see is any company that makes a good performing and quality product get hosed as a whole. Critisized properly, yes but, hosed as whole, no. When readers read things that basically leaves an impression that the product sucks, I'll try to step in if I think it should be narrowed down as to what the problem is (Drinkingbird, not saying you said that).

I have noticed the posts on Ariens quality control lately, it seems they are coming more often which is not good. Fact is, I had been considering making a thread about it from someone who doesn't even do snowblowers. But, I thought about it and decided that many of the post were related to box store screw ups and improper set-up thus giving me pause to post negatively. I know we hear about the problems more than we do the successes and this is a heavy forum for Ariens owners so, the rusults may be skewed somewhat?

Shoot, if I moved north tomorrow and were put in the position of having to buy a snowblower, with what little I know about them, I would go Sim's/Snapper and probably Toro second. But that's just an opinion from a guy in Oklahoma where there's more dust than snow. Might change once I were to get there?

Marshall, If you move north consider getting a Craftsman. Less complaints. J

  Marshall,

              Craftsman, Murray, or an MTD blowers.

They have fewer problems!!!

                                                      Fred  

Marshall wrote:

Not my intent.  I feel Ariens needs to quickly focus on their QC and stop the rush before what is still a great brand name becomes a no-name.  If I had a choice right now, I'd buy another Ariens.  I'd just be sure to take it apart fully this time and do a better inspection (I didn't think I would have to!)  The quality of the machine itself is excellent, and with the exception of Honda or Simplicity (out of my price range for the features I want) is the only one that is still 95% metal.  I just can't see myself having a plastic chute with some of the stuff I have to throw around here.  The quality of the build however, leaves something to be desired.  When all is said and done, Ariens mailed me new shoe bolts quickly with a very knowlegeable email response beforehand, a new friction disc will cost me $7ish, and I have cotter pins, so its not a big deal, I just would have rather taken it fully apart to check it out in warm weather, not in my 10 degree garage.

-Dave

Marshall wrote:

""When readers read things that basically leaves an impression that the product sucks, I'll try to step in if I think it should be narrowed down as to what the problem is (Drinkingbird, not saying you said that). ""

Guess you missed that part drinkingbird so I'll show you again.

Dkbrd, did you E-mail Ariens you problems and complaints to make them aware?  I think that would be helpful and I would be curious as to their response.  If they are not aware of the problem they cannot do anything about it. 

C