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

I'm kicking off my fourth season with my Ariens ST11528DLE snowblower. For years I put up with an inexpensive MTD which had something or other falling apart nearly every time I used it, all the while promising myself that next time I'd spend more money and get a quality machine. I heard an

awful lot of people saying that apart from the super expensive Hondas, the Ariens were the best. So when the time came I shelled out nearly $2500 for this 11.5 HP, 28" Ariens "Pro" model that I was sure would be like going from a Chevette to a Rolls Royce. I couldn't have been more wrong .

First off I will say that the thing does throw the snow a long ways compared to my old MTD. However in three full seasons and the first two storms of this season I've had the following problems with this expensive piece of crap: the metal engine cowling split apart from vibration and had to be replaced only a few weeks after I bought it. The replacement did the same thing so I got that one welded and reinforced. The headlight quit working and the wiring harness had to be replaced. Both of the engagament levers have split open at their pivot points and had to be welded. The tension spring on the wheel engagement cable broke. As if all of this isn't enough on a practically new machine, yesterday the electric starter wouldn't engage and I thought it must be frozen up. On closer inspection the starter has broken clear of the engine, and the ear with the bolt hole has broken off one side of the starter and the bolt is gone altogether. The starter body is just sort of hanging loosely by one bolt. Obviously this is off warranty by now and it looks like a costly repair.

Besides being extremely frustraing I find this sad. Ariens has had a very solid reputation and now it is clear that their priorirty has shifted from maintaining that reputation to cutting their production cost by using cheap materials and parts. For the unsuspecting buyer the feeling of pride of ownership is replaced by disappointment and hostility, and understandably so. If Ariens loses just one sale because of this product review my time in writing it will be made worthwhile.

The engine is a Tecumseh SnowKIng 11.5 OHV . It looks like Ariens has switched over to all Briggs & Stratten on the new models. I did email the company about all of the problems I've had and they haven't even gotten back to me. I'll go see the dealer next week, it's a half hour drive. I'm hoping the newest problem will just be a matter of getting a new starter which I expect will be expensive enough. I don't think the engine block is damaged,  just a corner brken off the starter where the bolt goes through into the block. As far as the welding, the dealer welded the first broken engagement lever while awaiting a warranty replacment and all of the subsequent welding was done by a friend who has a machine shop. Up to this point I'm not out a lot of cash but that is not the point. I was looking reliability and the satisfaction and confidence of having a trouble-free machine. What I have for my $2500 is something every bit as poorly built as the $1300 MTD it replaced.   

billywhiskers wrote:

You should have bought a Toro it would have cost you $1,800 and been trouble free  . Ariens isn't as good as it used to be but it shouldn't be as bad as you describe. See if you can lemon law it and get a Toro or fix it and flip in on CL. Every company makes lemons, sounds like you got one.

Steve_Cebu wrote:

Thats  real helpfull input.  I'm sure Toro never has a problem eh?

Billy does the machine have a three year warranty?  have the previous repairs been covered?

You may (do)  have a bad unit. Don't be too hard on yourself though as you did your research but some things fall through the cracks. Kind of hard to predict if you'll end up with a lemon. Ariens are generally decent machines as are the other top three contenders.

O 

Tecumseh engines are very reliable if you keep an eye on the oil level.  However, they are a bit rough and personally, I think power-wise, they're a bit over rated.  The so called 9.5 h.p. 305cc B&S engine on my Simplicity is  considerably more powerful than my previous two 10 h.p. Tecumseh engines.  The 305cc engine is rated between 9 to 11.5 h.p. depending on which label is stuck on the engine.  In reality,  after doing a thorough parts comparison between a 9 h.p. and an 11 h.p.  and seeing not one different part number, I'd say they're all  putting out around 11 h.p. 

Despite the fact that Tecumseh engines are a bit rough, from the problems you're experiencing, I'd say that your engine might have an imbalance issue.  It shouldn't shake so much to cause metal fatigue and broken parts.  Also, if it is imbalanced, it will not be making the power it's rated for.  It could easily be down by a couple ponies.   I'd also be watching for cracked welds and metal fatigue on the chassis.  That engine might have also contributed to other parts cracking as well.  The light and wiring may have been effected by the vibration too.

edit:  I failed to realize that you have an ohv Tecumseh.  My comments above were about their L-head Snow Kings.  However, the point about excessive vibration still applies regardless of engine type.  If the engine is securely mounted (as mentioned by mml4), it's likely an engine imbalance problem.   

billywhiskers wrote:

Billy- What you report indicates a tremendous ammount of vibration.As you may know Tecumseh is currently out of production which accounts for Ariens going to Briggs. The OHV Tecumsehs that were produced at the end of Tecumsehs production were smooth runners and if properly installed should no way vibrate that much. I would check the engine mounting system. I bought my son a Simplicity (2004 unit bought new in 2005) and when going over it prior to the first season we found two of the four mounting bolts for the Briggs engine were snapped. You wouldn't have known from looking at them from the top as everything looked normal. It wasn't till we removed the bottom inspection cover that we saw the nuts were missing and upon removing the bolts that they were snapped in half. This condition would as you can imagine cause a great deal of vibration.

Ariens Pro units are built like tanks-The kind of metal  failure you are experiencing is just not normal.

Marc

iLikeOrange wrote:

That is why I put a  wink there, just having fun, Toro is built well but I did say Ariens shouldn't have that many problems.  You are too serious.

Steve_Cebu wrote:
I think O has a headache and not in the mood.  :)

aa335 wrote:

Well no more dates for him then. LOL!

I had a 10HP Tecumseh SnowKing on my old MTD and I found it had a lot of vibration also. In fact I've seen an awful lot of blowers with Tecumseh engines and they mostly seem to show a lot of vibration damage, cowlings cracked, or sheet metal screws worked loose....the muffler even worked itself loose on my old MTD.  The engine on the Ariens runs smoothly enough at full throttle, but when it starts to force in deep snow there is just as much vibration as the old non-OHV 10HP engine.

I am on my second season with my Ariens ST1332LE, which has the Tecumseh OHV engine. I like the machine but it sure takes me for a ride and I am beat when done....... The engine is lacking in power and on our last storm I ended up setting the governor speed up and that seemed to help. I do get some vibration when the engine is under a HEAVY load. All in all though I do like the machine and I am doing a driveway that is over 600' long...................