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

Thank in advance for any info on my problem.

I don't have a copy of the owners manual, just trying to figure out what is cuasing the problem.

I have a Ariens snowblower, model #924082, that worked great last wednesday storm. but today, impeller is turning but augers stops whenever snow accumulates in front of the snowblower. I put the snowblower on reverse the augers start turning again.  I move forward, working great, then slowly the snow accumulates then the auger stops again.

Is there a torque that keeps the auger from turning whenever there’s too much snow going in the auger?

check shear bolts in the auger shaft.

i think niper is correct looking at sheer bolts first! the augers on each side of the differential are mounted to a hollow tube that has a solid shaft  inside of it.the solid shaft goes into the center differential and is geared to provide rotation to both sides. the shear bolts provide the coupling between the inside solid shaft and the hollow tubes the augers are mounted to. the shear bolts can be identified by the bolt threaded ends being pointed.i think there are 2 shear bolts to each auger section. it is possable they are in place but not in one piece all the way thru the tubes.  you can see if the center solid shafts are rotating on each end of the blower housing where the bearings are when you engage the auger rotation lever.if the shaft ends are rotating and the augers don't spin when loaded with snow then the bolts are sheared.if the ends of the shafts are not turning on each end of the auger housing when the lever is engaged then you have issues inside the differential.i'll bet you sheared the shear pins. if so replace with new shear pins!not just bolts!  there are also grease zerks on the hollow tubes to lube between the tubes and the inner solid shafts so they don't freeze up over time. before replacing the bolts grease the zerks,rotate the outer tubes a few times and then grease the zerks again. then install the new shear bolts.

mkd55 wrote:

If you don't have the spare ones that Ariens provided in the manual baggie, Home Depot stores in the Toronto area sell the genuine Ariens shear pins for CA$2.69 each complete with bolt.  I picked up a couple of these baggies at lunch today, in case the ever-increasing amount of lawn-furniture and bbqs make them unavailable for the rest of the actual snow season.  The stores always get way ahead of themselves in selling the next season's stuff, displacing the stuff that you may actually need.

I did check for both shear pins and they were okay. Also, while I was snow blowing, I did look at the shaft ends and they were rotating. Could it be that the gear case (differential) be the problem? Everything is spinning/rotating just fine but when too much snow going in it just stop the auger.

panman! do the shaft ends  on each end of the auger housing keep spinning when the auger stops under snow load? if so the shear pins have to be sheared. if it was the drive to the differential i.e. loose belt or the differential itself, the shaft ends as well as the augers  would  quit turning.

panman wrote:

How did you check the shear bolts? The way I do it quickly is to turn it off, walk around the front and push at the augers with my booted foot (some people will tell you pull the plug wire, I won't argue with them). If the augers turn, your shear bolt is broken. Push pretty hard. They should not move beyond a fraction of an inch rotation due to play on the shaft. Usually they fall out when they break, but often they'll stay in and will appear to be okay. You can usually tell when blowing that a shear bolt is broken because snow piles up in front of the auger.

I am having the same problem. I AM NOT fully clear on what your talking about checking.

it SEEMS (CORRECT me if I am wrong here) that you are saying that ok some direction.

lets call front to back Y axis along the auger (left to right) X axis and vertically Z axis.

SO inside my unit is a high speed spinning paddle thing (blower?) that ejects the snow. this has a Y axis shaft coming out of to the some "gizmo" at the auger (differential??)

the "auger halves" exit this differential.

are you saying that the auger is NOT spinning. that a SHAFT INSIDE the auger is spinning and there are shear pins connected between this internal shaft and the auger "tube" on the X axis?

if that is how I undersatand this those STUBS I see at the end of the auger X axis shat are NOT the auger but the auger shaft INSIDE the auger tube?

SO let the unit JAM and see of those stubs are still spinning?

YES equals sheer pins (fingers crossed PRAYS thats it)
NO equals Differential hosed.

GOD I hope its sheer pins I LOVE this machine so much :-)

How do I determine WHICH machine I have?

I am 99% certain its THIS machine

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/grd/2177223494.html

but the engine looks different. (mine has a metal tank and less "stuff" on it. but otherwise looks identical to mine.

where do I get parts? how hard is it to change the differential?

yesterday I ate a newspaper. jammed in the blower. took 1.5 hours to get it out :-) seemed fine.

today I snagged a branch (15 inches of snow it was invisible)

BENT the auger blade "tip" so it "hit" the auger housing stopped it cold. I bent it back it started up fine I used it for 5+ hours no issues at the VERY END my last stretch of sidewalk (I do the whole neighborhood criminal to make them shovel if I have a machine) it kept getting stuck and I finally peered over and notice the auger not spinning but everything else was. turned if off tried to spin the auger I was able to make it go in "reverse" and it did move the blower as I did this. started it up its fine. stopped again. bounched the machine a little auger was spinning again. let it run for a while seemed fine as soon as the auger encounters real resistance it stops again.

REALLY hoping its sheer pins :-)

I found a little more information. (maybe you guys can help me ID the unit and where to get parts???)

There is a little sticker/plate thing on the back with a serial number. its white with black letters and black border and says exactly this

SER NO. 10ML35-
MFG. BY
ARIENS CO. BRILLION, WISC. U.S.A.

below and right of that is an orange sticker that says

MFG. AND LICENSED UNDER
U.S. PATENT NOS. 2,696,125
2,731,886 & 2,954,704

OTHER PATENTS PENDING (A)

the (A) is a A in a CIRCLE.

I also have some pictures I took (not the greatest cell phone shots when I left for work this morning)

http://www.mylittlemouse.com/Ariens_Snow_Blower

so the shot I took of the NUT on the outside of the housing. are you saying if the shear pins go THAT NUT will be spinning and the auger won't be? (I never actually looked to see if that nut ever spins)

Your "Differential" is the auger gear case.  When people refer to a differential in a snowblower that are talking about something that is on the axle at the wheels.  It allows the wheels to spin at different speeds and make turning a lot easier.  Newer machines have the power steering or trigger releases for the wheels.  The old ones had mechanical gears and you can either lock or unlock them with a pin on the left side wheel.  Cheaper designs have wheels that you can unlock from the axle to make turning easier, but they become completely unpowered and you loose traction and i have heard they become hard to keep straight.

Your nut just holds the shaft to the outer housing.  The shear bolts should be in the center of the augers.  The augers are the big corkscrews.  The shear pin just looks like a nut and bolt.  That nut will spin if the shear pins are broke.

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

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

With a shear bolt in there they should have a little play in them.  If they don't move at all that means the auger is rusted to the shaft it rides on.  That is basically the same as not having a shear bolt at all.  It is very bad for the gearcase.  If your augers have grease fittings grease them up and spin the auger before putting the new bolt in.  The shear bolt is just the weakest link in the front end and designed to break if something gets stuck in it.  If they are rusted on and can't break as intended you can damage the gears in the gearcase and that is expensive to fix.

You may want to check out a place called Cormier Equipment at www.c-equipment.com  They have lots of aftermarket Ariens parts online and delivery is quick and easy.

Partsman,

Good link.  I checked out a few prices and they are pretty good.