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.

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................... 

Well Billy. 

From the vibrations your machine is producing, something is definitely out of the ordinary.  All engines will produce more vibration when under a good load.  Nothing extraordinary but noticeable nonetheless.  The metal fatigue issues your machine is experiencing, likely are caused by a higher frequency vibration caused at higher engine rpms.

 I owned a new 1984 Suzuki ATV that had a solid mounted engine (not rubber mounted)  and it was notorious for cracking the front cargo rack.  There was nothing wrong with the engine but at high rpms you could feel buzzing in the handlebar of the machine.  I'm certain that the high rpm buzzing is what was cracking the rack.

I also have a KLR650 big single motorcycle that gets real buzzy at around 5500 rpm.  I mounted a set of PIAA riding lights on the bike's frame and the brackets on the lights housing would last about one year then crack and drop the light.  These PIAA lights are expensive and well built and all steel shell construction but could not hold up to the high frequency vibrations.  

Does your engine transmit vibration to the handles at high rpms while not under load?  

I can't say for sure, but from the evidence you've provided, I'd be willing to bet that sooner or later, that engine will cause metal fatigue problems elsewhere on the machine.  I'd be looking for a replacement engine with Ariens sharing the cost before the chassis develops serious problems. 

Steve_Cebu wrote:

My bad I missed the wink totally.

iLikeOrange wrote:

No snow for you then!

Borat wrote: " Does your engine transmit vibration to the handles at high rpms while not under load? "

Well no, not that I've noticed. And as I mentioned, I don't notice any more vibration on this snowblower than on the the MTD it replaced, or on the much older Craftsman blower I had before that. Both of those had 10HP Tecumsehs and both of those engines shook themselves apart over time. The Ariens has a bigger engine and OHV and I was sure that it woud be a much smoother engine but it isn't particularily smooth under load. Nice and smooth before the governor kicks in and then it shudders in exactly the same way as the other two Tecumseh equipped blowers I've owned. ( and this Ariens cost about double what I paid for the MTD)  I don't know if the Briggs and Strattens are any better in that regard. I also bought an Ariens 27 ton log splitter last summer with a Subaru engine on it and although it's early days that seems like a really solidly built, smooth running little engine and it remains smooth under load.

I'm womdering if a Briggs & Stratten engine would fit on my Ariens blower without modification to the chassis.  Over the years I've owned several pieces of equipment with B&S engines ( lawn tractors, push mowers, a tiller ) and to me they're always seemed like better quality than the Tecumsehs. But I'm not an expert and that's just my impression.

billywhiskers wrote:
If you go to: http://www.smallenginewarehouse.com/, you will see their list of B&S snow engines.  Most of them have downloadable files that give dimensional detail diagrams, bolt pattern and even operator's manuals.  You can also contact them to verify if there would be any issues concerning re-powering to a different engine.   I know that some engines need spacer plates installed under them to get the drive pulley(s) to the correct height.  The plate may also be made available if required. 

I'm sure there are participants in this forum that might be able to give you more info concerning a B&S engine conversion.