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

Hi,

I have an Ariens ST27LE that I bought brand new last year and noticed this weekend after using the machine that the hub was throwing rust all over the wheel and tire.  Is this normal?  It is only on the right hand side.  The other side is very clean.  I also noticed that the wheel with the rust had some grease that had splattered on the rim so I wonder if a seal is bad.  Please let me know if this is a matter that should be address right away since my local Ariens dealer is a month out for repairs and I don't want to part with it  for that long since snow is on its way here for the weekend.

outer wheel

Inner rusty wheel

other side is all nice and clean

inside wheel

Pull the wheel off and grease the axle.  That's all you have to do.  Clean the wheel if you have a problem with the rust stains.  Otherwise, no damage.

You should do both axles to prevent the wheels from rusting to the axles.  Do that every couple years or as necessary.

Is it hard to remove the wheel?  If i pull the clip off of the end of the axle will the wheel come off or is there something else I need to know?

That's a different wheel retainer than what I'm used to.   Usually, it's a pin that goes through the hub and axle.  Remove the retainer and see if the wheel pops off.   It should  pull straight off unless there's a lock pin somewhere.  

Make sure the axle doesn't pull out with the wheel. This is a sleeved axle.

Same thing happened to my 2 year old ST27LE. I manged to get the right wheel off and I greased the axle. The left wheel however was rusted to the axle. I pulled out the wheel with the axle but after hammering for a couple of minutes I still couldn't get the wheel off. I might take to wheel and axle to machine shop with a press to see if they can dislodge the axle. Why can't Ariens grease the axles at the factory; is this a cost cutting measure?

I've just experienced the same hub rust problem as njbenz79 with my Ariens. I took the clip off the right wheel, removed the wheel, applied grease and put the wheel back on. Next, I removed the left wheel. It was rusted to the sleeve of the axle, so I removed the wheel/sleeve assembly. I was able to separate the two, but when I went to put the wheel/sleeve back in place I cannot get the sleeve to completely insert... the sleeve extends about 1/4" longer than the axle. As a result  so I cannot re-attach the clip to the axle. I notice that the sleeve has a grooved end, so I presume that there is something internal that meshes with it. Any suggestions as to how I can get the axle sleeve of the left wheel to fit properly so I can attach the clip to the axle?

These axles are coated with white PTFE antiseize at the factory. Grease will wash out after a period of time. The oil constituent of the anti-seize will do the same, but the solid elements of the antiseize will largely still be there. That said, it might require some wrestling if this lubrication isn't periodically freshened, but you should still be able to get it off. If there was nothing applied, after a few years it would be torch time. If the sleeve axle pops out of the Auto Traction Control (left side is the sleeve), then you can simply feed the spline back in. For the remote locking axle it's not so simple. You may have uncoupled the mechanism. You'll need to drop the bottom cover to make sure this is properly re-inserted.

Thanks Snowman

So applying grease doesn't seem the best option. Can I just remove it and apply antiseize?. Also, I have the remote locking axle, so it looks like I have to drop the bottom to see what's preventing me from re-inserting the axle sleeve. Can I just stand the machine up on its front, or do I have to worry about first draining the gas and/or oil?

No need to drain gas or oil.  Turn the gas off if you have a tank valve.

Put a mat down to avoid chipping bucket paint. 

Grease will work fine.  I've been using it for thirty years on axles.  Just have to do it every two or three years.  I use a spray type grease made for outdoor gear and chain applications.  Nasty stuff.  Black, tacky and very resistant to washing off.  One is  made by Crown  and is called Crown 7045 and another one pretty much the same is Keystone no. 423.  I just spray it on the axle and inside the hub and it lasts a very long time.