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

Hey guys, new to the forum, I'm from Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. I have a few questions about the above mentioned model that I hope you guys can shed some light on. I've been doing a fair amount of reading over the last week to try to educate myself before I purchase a snowblower. We were hit hard this winter and I swore I am not living another one without a blower from now on. So I went out today to look at a second hand 05/06 Ariens 926LE. It has the L head 9HP Tecumseh engine on it. Now I have a few concerns about this unit 1: The machine is 5 years old and has been used less then 10 times - I would think a sitting engine would be worse off then a lightly used one. 2: There is a fair amount of surface rust on the unit not sure how long a new one would take to develop this but seems normal I guess. 3: Now this is my biggest concern, he has done no maintenance. He did not even realize that a shear bolt had given out from his last use so I could not even give it a true test drive. The dipstick tube was a half turn undone and some oil has been weeping out, not a big deal. The worse in my opinion is he has done no oil changes. The oil on the stick looks fine but after 5 years I would think it would definately need a change. Also there is some nicks from him snowblowing his new gravel driveway in spots. I imagine normal wear and tear in that case but disappointed to see a barely used 5 year old machine with signs of oxidation everywhere and the auger nicks. Now he is asking $900 canadian, keep in mind it retails for 1300 new in canada. I think I can get it for $750 as I have him down to 800 already but disappointed with the lack of maintenance. Also the throttle cable needs some adjustment as it is either full throttle or off, I am not sure how much work it will take to adjust. Any advice and comments would be appreciated! Cheers, Mike from Canada

Chances are that the engine is fine.  Sounds like the machine was lightly used.  A bit of rust might be cosmetically disappointing but other than that it means little.  You might want to put a shear pin in the auger and test the unit to make sure the gear box is good.  Check the axles/wheels to ensure they're not rusted together.  That can be a major problem if you have to take a wheel off.  If they're rusted on, you may not be able to remove them.  The wheels usually have a locking device to transmit power from the axle to the wheel.  Disengage the lock and see if the wheel will spin on the axle.

If you decide to buy it, get your hands on a manual and give the machine a good once over. 

By the way, Home Depot were selling new 8/26 machines for $799.00 with a better ohv B&S engine.   I think I'd be looking for a year end sale first. 

Hey thanks for the quick reply.

Yea I think most disappointing was the cosmetics.

As far as the price you mentioned is that in Canada or the US?  Prices up here tend to be about 20-30 percent more for the same units.  That goes for everything, cars, boats, motorcycles, and small engines.  I know many people who go south of the border to purchase anything with a motor on it.

Mike

Ptindy- My 93 year old Father has that exact machine. Make sure the chute control cable is cable tied to the handle down tube/frame to keep it out of the way of the muffler. If the cable tie is missing/broken the outer sleeve on the cable will melt and you will have  to replace it . There were two upgrades on the machine :

1-There is a "baffle" kit that prevents water from leaking down on to the belts thus causing them to slip. A 15 minute job that is well worth the time. I installed it on my father's unit when new - some guys who did not install the kit reported losing power to the wheels due to belt slippage.Ariens sent me the kit under the warranty for free.

                   2-One of the shafts in the tractor section that goes through the outside of the frame can rotate and cause the whole in the frame to egg shape. They devised a kit which is nothing more than a clevis pin which passes through a hole already present in the shaft.The pin prevents the shaft from turning which eliminates the problem.Total instalation time for the pin is about 2 seconds once you remove the inspection cover. 

There is an optional dual belt kit for the auger which I never put in because I find nothing wrong with the way this machine throws in stock configuration.

The L head Tecumseh is loud and reliable and takes 26 ounces of 5-30 oil. Put a vice grips on the drain tube to hold it still when you loosen the cap as the cap is a tight fit and will unscrew the tube from the engine block. Take the shear pins out and grease the zerks and spin the rakes before reinstalling the pins. Use OEM pins as replacements. The unit has the sandwhich style aluminum gear box which has been trouble free but not being the cast iron variety I feel better about original spec. pins. The torque setting on the pins is 11 ft. lbs.

I hope the previous owner used the fuel shut off and your carb is not in need of any cleaning. There is a drain pin on the bottom of the bowl. We shut the valve and run it dry after each use and then hold a rag on your  finger to drain the bowl. No carb issues and it starts every time.

Lube the wheels /axles as Borat suggested and make sure they are both in the locked position. We have found trying to operate it in the free wheel mode is less than desirable.

Don't forget to ask the previous owner for the electric start cord which came with the unit and the 2 spare shear pins.

I would call Ariens about the two kits and also order a manual if the guy didn't provide you with one. It's a good machine and Ariens is a pleasure to deal with over the phone. 

I'm not sure what  machines go for up in Canada but the unit was $999 (USD) when new at Home Depot. In the spring of 2006 after a season of very little snow the dealers were stuck with large #s of blowers and cut the price by 50%. We paid $499. $750 Canadian may be pretty close to what the original owner paid for it.

Marc 

   

"As far as the price you mentioned is that in Canada or the US?"

Canadian dollars. 

It was year end clearance at HD.  I bought at Toro SS machine that was regularly $899.00 for $599.00.   Believe it or not, the local Toro gouger dealership was selling the same machine for........ wait for it........ $999.00.   That's right..... $100.00 over MSRP!!!    The above prices are before the 13% HST government gouge! 

If you had a big snow season out west, there may not be any machines left.

Cheers guys. Thanks for the advice much appreciated. I actually purchased an older Ariens ST724 as it was a great price in my opinion. It is in much better shape then the 926LE was. I put a post up on the main discussion page regarding the ST724 looking for some replies. I unfortunately bought the thing in the dark and did not notice a small up and down pulsating in the front auger so I am hoping to rebuild the front auger assembly all the way back to the pulley drive and that replacing bushings and such to clean it up and tighten things up a bit. We will see. Thanks again. Why does my post squish up into one big paragraph even though I make seperate paragraphs? Mike

double posted (???)

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