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

I have a five year old Ariens 7524.  We had our first big snow in Mass. last week and the Ariens worked fine.  When I took it out yesterday to do a little more clearing I noticed that only the left impeller was spinning, the right side was just pushing snow.

I looked at the impellers today and noticed the right impeller will free spin and the left impeller does not.  I checked the sheering pins and they were present on each impeller.  The right impeller is missing a zerk fitting on the right impeller but did not notice anything else.  This is the second time this has happened -- last time was the end of the season and I took the blower to a repair shop to get the full service and let them fix the issue.  Would like to see if I can fix it this time given how early we are in the snow season.  Looking for suggestions on things to check / possible solutions.

Thanks for any and all replies.

Remove the sheer pin on the side auger that is spinning free.  Even though it looks as if it is still intact it might be sheered. You might need a small screw driver to knock the pin out of the hole.  Post back after trying that.

I would also agree on shear pins.

Also, for future reference the impeller is the fan in the back that looks like a paddle wheel.  The corkscrew shaped things are called augers or rakes.

Here are a couple videos that might help you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwb2LBnt5ss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu4zPn4mhaA

One thing not mentioned in the videos is you should remove your shear bolts and grease the augers once per year and after greasing them spin the augers on the shaft a few times.
This prevents the augers from rusting to the shaft they slide on.  If they become rusted your shear bolts become useless.

Check your manual to get the part # for the proper shear bolts.  Then you can either get them from a local shop or order them online.  It is a good idea to keep at least 6 extra on hand just in case.

If you don't have your manual, you can download it from Ariens web site.
http://www.ariens.com/corporate/Pages/OwnerManuals.aspx