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

Trying to keep an old (1970?) Ariens 7hp in use.  It's going pretty well, except for the shifter.  In N it creeps forward and getting into R requires persuasion and more to have it engage.

The adjusting nut is loose, but I can't budge the adjusting barrel.  Tried PB spray and let it sit a few days, and then a propane torch, using a large vice grip and a 12" pipe wrench it wouldn't budge.

I can fudge the adjustment, I think, at the lever end.  But should I make the shaft longer or shorter, and by what measurement?

Or is there anything else I can do to make  it work?

The threaded rod adjustment simply adjusts the height of the handle and the amount of travel it has.
It kind of sound like the friction wheel is dragging on the friction disk.  You can try this and see if it solves your problem.

Put what ever you have under the blowers bottom case so that both the wheels are off the ground a little.  The easiest way to do that is to lift the blower up onto the blower housing with the handles. While your holding it up slide something under the belly pan and lower the blower.  I think you will need something about 4" high.

If you trace the linkage rod down from the hand lever on the left side you will see a nut on a threaded shaft.  Right next to where the linkage rod connects.
Put the blower shift lever between 1st gear and reverse.  The wheels should spin freely. 
If they don't  back off the nut ( something like a 1/4 of a turn at a time) to the point that they just begin to spin freely.
Make sure they are spinning freely without any drag being felt.  If you like, loosen up the nut a little to much get the wheels spinning freely.  And then start tighten it again until you just begin to feel some drag.
When you have gotten to that point, then back off the nut an additional 3 turns.  That is the procedure for adjusting the friction drive system.

Just to confirm, you're referring to the bicycle brake like lever that's released to engage the power, and squeezed to stop power transmission to the wheels? 

Yes, but usually you have to push the lever down to engage the drive.  When it is released or in the up position the blower stops.  Kind of a safety thing.  But maybe yours is different. 
It would help to know what model you have.  If you can still read the tag it should be on the back of the frame right below the engine. It should start with a Nine like 924XXX.

This is the old model, the lever is on the underside of the handlebar and has to be squeezed for the machine to stop and released for it to go.  Totally opposite of today's models, this one will run away if let go of.

So is it the same adjustment sequence?