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

Ok, so I picked up an old 1977 Ariens 8HP 24" 924026 blower back in September for $20.  Actually it was $20 each or $30 for both if I grabbed a walk behind leaf blower too.  Neither one were in great shape and both had been setting for quite some time.  I picked up a yard vac after that so didn't feel like messing with the leaf blower and sold that for $50 as-is.  Got the snow blower running with a carb clean out and rebuild and some new fuel lines.  Changed out some old bearings and bushings and put some new tires and an impeller kit on it and could not wait to try it out.  We got 2 snow storms of about 1-2" and obviously it handled those with no trouble.  Then we had 3" of snow.  Oh boy did I have lots of snow to play with then.  Well, I was admiring how far it was tossing a small drift in the back yard and the connecting rod exited the block...

Well, I like to go overboard so I also opted for the 11HP Greyhound instead of the more sensible 6.5HP one.

If it works out great, maybe I'll strip it down and repaint it so it doesn't look like crap.

This looks encouraging. Did you run into any challenges? The the old pulley fit? Find a good price on the 11 hp?

Are you going to take advantage of the battery start option on that Greyhound?  How easily does the motor start cold?

Did you opt for the extended warrantee?

Same problems jrtrebor had basically.

Had to move the engine back about an inch.  It now sits up higher so the old belt cover and belts did not fit.  The new holes had to be drilled so close to the edge of the frame they almost didn't fit.

It feels a tad back heavy now.  It is pretty easy to get the front end off the ground.  Not sure how that will play out during actual use.  Might need to add some weight to the front.

The old pulley did fit and it was on for a short time.  I switched out to a slightly smaller one for the drive so I could have a slower first gear and a slightly larger one for the augers.

So far no trouble starting cold.  This one can even be started without the choke if its warmed up.  I have a 6.5 Greyhound on another blower and that one always needs choke to start.

I took my chances and did not get the extra warranty.  I bought a 6.5 back in January and it ran good all last winter.  When the HM80 on this blew I pulled the old 6.5 out after not doing anything with it since draining the gas back in April and it started right away so I figured the 11 would be just as reliable.  I figure it will either last forever or destroy itself in the first couple uses.

The battery start would be nice, but it starts easy enough and it would be more trouble keeping the battery topped off.  I might try out adding a light though.

Regular price: $349.99
Sale Price:       $299.99
20% Off Price: $239.99
W/ Tax Price:   $258.59

The $100 6.5 Greyhound probably would have been the better fit, but I wanted to have a little fun with this.

Shryp, where are the wood sections mounted?  Are those in the holes close to the crank maybe two inches away where belt guards are usually mounted?

Assuming you are referring to the wood I mentioned in the other thread yes.  It is just 1 small piece bolted to the top 2 bolts of the "bolt circle" above the crankshaft.  Looking at the top of the new belt cover, you can see the 2 screw heads that are screwing the top to the block of wood.  When I was mounting the flashing it was necessary to back the top with something to hold it in place.  After I built the cover I had to remove it to put the belt back on and re-attach the front of the machine and it was much more rigid now, but I left the piece of 1x2 there.

Finally got to use the blower today in about 3". Worked great.

My biggest problem: I ran out of neighbors!

Ok, I think I will have to go back up to a normal size pulley for the drive, or maybe slightly larger. It does seem a bit slow and I found myself using 5th gear for blowing snow. It is nice to get done quick though.  The current one is about 2" diameter and the original was about 2.5".

Hidden newspaper: didn't stand a chance, though it did get partially stuck in the impeller, but that was more the plastic bag wedged between the impeller kit and the housing and a half turn got it out. Never bogged down, just started making noise as it spun around inside. It wasn't a full size Sunday paper, just a small weekday one. If I kept the impeller engaged, it probably would have finished shredding the other half and cleared itself.

3/4 baseball size chunk of concrete: flies great, though a bit noisy.

I had concerns about the front end riding up because the bigger engine sits back further. I still might add some more weight to the front, but it seemed to handle pretty well except for the packed down tire tracks.

I think I might have a chipped tooth on one of the auger gears. It works great under normal use, but I just noticed when stepping on the rakes to spin the impeller that way there is one spot that slips down a tooth. I have another gearbox I was thinking of switching into it anyway, because I think this one also has a slightly bent shaft. When running full speed there is a slight up and down movement. Maybe the rake shaft is bent? This was on the front end that had heavy gravel gouges noted on the bucked and some bad dings on the impeller. I kept this gearbox over the other one, because the other one needs a new impeller shaft seal and this one wasn't leaking.

While on the subject, can the other impeller shaft seal be changed through the gear side or does the impeller have to come off to get to it? It doesn't look too rusted, but I have not tried taking it apart yet. I know I can get the rakes off it fine. Last but not least, I believe the manual says to use gasoila to seal the adjustment plug. Have you guys been using any kind of permatex stuff, or should I internet order some of that gasoila stuff?

I know jackssmallengines has the impeller, rake shaft, gear case seals and bronze bushings. If I go through the trouble of rebuilding the gearbox should I change the roller bearings too or do those generally not wear out? It spins nice and smooth and had oil in it when I got it, so I assume everything is good inside. I just had all the oil run out the back when I tipped it up to work on the rakes.

I might just save the other gearbox for a summer project and strip everything down and repaint it.

The drawing is a little weird.  It shows a removeable type worm in the picture but no pin for it.   It's probably not an accurate drawing of the worm.  The worm is probably the standard which is cut into the shaft.  In that case you'll have to go in from the impeller side. 

Never heard of gasoila before or the adjustment plug.  ??  The gearbox uses a gasket which you can supplement with Permatex or any other sticky stuff, loctite & etc.

>>If I go through the trouble of rebuilding the gearbox should I change the roller bearings too or do those generally not wear out?

   Bearings = plural?  The gearbox uses flange bearings and the same for the rake axle supports.  The auger support is a roller bearing so if that one it depends.  If it were my machine I'd definetly put in another unless it looked new regardless of being free.   For a machine I was working on to later sell those always get a new auger support bearing if I have things apart for something else.  Depends on your maint philosophy.

   Seems like a ripping machine with lots of love for anything in the bucket.   What happened with the shear pin?

I have never taken one apart, just going by the service manual.

The drawings for this gear box show 2 tappered roller bearings for the impeller and 2 bronze flange bushings for the rake shaft. (internal to gearbox)

I changed the impeller bearing already and the outer flange bushings, I was referring to the bearings in the gearbox.

The adjustment plug is a screw that tightens up the impeller shaft.  The box is solid with a threaded hole in the back.  The adjustment plug is a big nut that goes over the impeller shaft that holds the roller bearings and o-ring seal in.

These don't have worms, they have helical gears.  I believe the gear is cut right into the impeller shaft.

What about the shear bolts?  Those are intact.

I picked up 2 of these last year for pretty cheap so I have been swapping parts between them to get all the good parts on 1 machine.

Shryp wrote:

>>>I changed the impeller bearing already and the outer flange bushings, I was referring to the bearings in the gearbox.

Me to but I misunderstood because for some reason the model I thought you had was a 32 not a 26.  The 32 has an aluminum gearbox with no roller bearings so I was confused by the plural.  

For the terminology, they call the driven gear worm gear in the drawing.  Figure 10 is worm gear and shaft.   The cut driving part on the shaft many call worm so worm and worm gear.  Helical is for curved tops of teeth (versus straight across)  I thought but possibly it could refer to curved as in the type of driven gear used in the 26 with curved teeth on the sides.   

I opened up one of those long ago just for a peak and never noticed the adjuster nut.  Never knew there was one on those.

So you must have swapped parts enough to not need to take off the impeller.  Did you seal or plug the leak with something?

I swapped the gearbox, rakes and impeller from one housing to another.

One housing was in great shape, but the impeller shaft seal is leaking.  This is the one I want to rebuild and put back in the housing.
It still worked and held oil as long as it wasn't tipped back, but I figured if oil could get out then water could get in.

The other housing had big dents / gouges down the back side from what looked like gravel being forced behind the rakes.

I'll probably just wait until summer and pop it open and look to see what is inside.  Then order new seals for it and repaint it.

Shyrp, I have almost the identical Ariens, and I'm tired of dinking around with all the little problems on the HM80. I'm seriously considering replacing it with a Greyhound 6.5. (Plus I have a real greyhound, so this makes it even better.) How compatible were the dimensions on the 6.5? Did everything line up okay? Do these engines seem happy in the cold weather without a heater box on the carb? Thanks!