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

Can you post a reduced size picture so it does not blow out the formatting?

hopefully that is a little better, I shrunk the pics down.  Sorry about that

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.  

I have the ST27LE And the both tires rims and all come rite off after I remove the clips that hold the rims on the shafts.

The rust like in that picture you could have put oil on both ends of the rim that would sooner or later drip in between the rim and the axle making it easy to take off and come apart if you had a flat tire or needed to repace a rim you don't think it would be pressed in if so you would have to pay someone to press in out then back in again. I think it's so rusted on that you also pulled out the axle I can't even see how that happened it must have really been rusted on that much I can say.  Plus they wouldn't have a clip for the rim on both sides if they weren't made to come off. Read the owners manual it may tell you more there too I no one side has a grease fitting I forgot which side?

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd chime in anyway, hoping someone can help with the same problem as the OP.  I just purchased a slightly used Ariens 1130 DLE snowblower which is a 2008 model. The machine runs great, and I've only used it twice so far this winter. However, I came to move the snowblower in my garage the other day. and I had a hard time manually moving the snowblower (with the engine off) Upon closer inspection, I noticed there was rust on the axles, as well as a rusty powder on the wheel rims. which is easily removed by rubbing it off with a dry cloth. The rusty residue is on both rims and axles. By moving the snowblower back and forth, I was able to eventually get the wheels to turn....however, the next day, they were locked up again. Keep in mind, when the snowblower is turned on, the wheels turn fine when I depress the drive lever.
Is there anything I can do to fix this problem, and keep the axle and wheels from rusting anymore ?
Seeing I have your attention here, I also looked inside the long shoot where the snow comes out, that there is some black specs on the inside of the shoot, as if the previous owner used to snowblower to throw asphalt or something black like that. My old snowblower shoot was still clean on the inside, even after 18 years. I have seen some pictures on the Internet of other used snowblowers that seem to have the black spray of something on the inner side of the shoots. I tried removing the stuff by simply rubbing it off with a cloth, but it's really stuck on there. I think I'll buy some Ariens orange paint this summer, and just spray the inside of it, wax it good, then spray some PAM in there.
Anyway, I'm more concerned about the axle rust right now, but it's too cold to try and remove the wheels from the axles in my unheated garage. In the mean time, can I spray the axles with something, that will prevent them from rusting any further, until I can get to them in Spring.  Is there a chance I could damage something by continuing to run the machine the way it is ?
Thanks, this is a great forum.

Sorry, I can't help with your axle questions. But for the black stuff stuck in the chute, you could try something like Goo Gone, mineral spirits, or denatured alcohol to remove it. One of those might help. Even isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, which is common and cheap, would be worth a shot. If you have some around, you may as well start with that. You may want to try the more aggressive products in one little area first. Maybe apply, let it sit for a few seconds, and wipe with a white cloth. If the cloth turns Ariens orange, that's not a good product to use

Thanks Redoctobyr, I'll give your suggestions a try on the inside shoot.....once it gets warmer lol.
I had a can of "gigiloo' close by, so I sprayed a bit of that on the crack between the axle and the hub, and it worked enough to get my wheels to turn in either direction. It's not a permanent fix, but it'll have to do for now. Come Spring, I'll remove the wheels and grease them with a non freezing, water proof grease. Thanks again.

In thinking about your axles a bit more, you have me curious now. I'm puzzled how they could rust up so quickly in the span of a day that they wouldn't turn again. But they still turn OK under power.

Does the machine have a differential? Or is a locked axle? Is there a pin or something you can pull to disengage the transmission from one side? Is the machine unable to be pushed forward/back, or is it just that the wheels won't unlock to let you turn the machine? It seems odd that you can't push it or pull it, but that the transmission can move it. If you start it, does it try to move at all before you squeeze the drive lever? If you push down on the handles to raise the bucket, still without squeezing the drive handle, will it try to move at all while running?

I could see if being difficult to push if the drive clutch was not adjusted correctly. If the rubber friction disk was always dragging just a little bit, that would make it tough to push. But that would mean that it would gently be trying to move itself any time the engine was running. If you could tip it forward, onto the bucket, with the wheels in the air, you might be able to get a better understanding of what's going on. You could remove the panel underneath the machine and take a look at the rubber friction wheel, and see if it is touching the aluminum disk even with the drive handle released. If you do tip it forward, make sure to shut off the valve under the gas tank first. I usually remove the gas cap, put a plastic bag over the opening to the tank, then screw the gas cap back on, so gas does not come out the vent hole in the cap.

My '93 MTD has bushings for the axles, I believe, not bearings. And I may have put some oil on them ~8 years ago when I bought it. But I don't think a lack of oil/grease should make it so that you can't push the machine.

Hi Njbenz79

The reason that you see a lot of rust coming out of your axles is because the Anti-Seize coating from the factory is totally washed out. Ariens puts a coat of Anti-Seize grey paste on its axles and on,under and around the keyway before slipping the wheels back on. Every season you should remove your wheels and do this to prevent your axles from seizing with the wheel hub and of course rusting out. Go buy this Anti-Seize at any Auto Parts store. Hope this helps!...By the way, apply some in front of the wheel clip and axles too...Perhaps, you should try removing the rust first before applying the Anti Seize paste....Good luck!