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

We have an Ariens 26" snowblower - model 8526 with an electric starter and a pull cord. When put away last spring was running fine. Pulled it out yesterday for prep for winter and the electric starter spins and the pull cord can't be pulled. There is good oil in it, etc. Any repair shop is booked until well into January since snow is coming and we need a working blower. Ideas? help? Suggestions?

RedOctobyr wrote:

The starter spins but does not engage or able to turn the engine over. Like the poster above you I am thinking it is rusted. I did put some penetrating oil in last night but did not think to cause a vibration to help in the breaking up of the rust. The blower was stored indoors all year but it was a very damp spring, summer and fall and I do not know what steps were taken for storage as that was done by someone else. I'll give the suggestions a try this morning and post back. The assistance is greatly appreciated!

If it spun before being stored, then personally, I'd be surprised if you would run into trouble with it being stored indoors. Damp spring or not, that's still going to be comparatively dry. My snowblower, mower, weedwhacker, etc, are stored in my garage. My lawn tractor is stored outdoors under a tarp. I've never had an issue like that. That certainly doesn't mean it can't happen, of course.

If you have something like a plastic-faced mallet you might want to try that, if you decide to give the engine a whack to add some vibration. Personally, I wouldn't just haul off and hammer on the aluminum block with a steel hammer. Maybe at least put a piece of wood against the engine, and hit that. Maybe don't hit it on the cooling fins, if possible, you don't want to break any of them.

If you've put oil in the spark plug hole, leave the spark plug out when you're trying to turn the engine over. Otherwise you can end up trying to compress the oil as it gets to the compression stroke, and the oil won't compress. It might simply not turn. If the electric starter is actually spinning, but the engine is not, then that sounds strange. The starter should engage with the flywheel. If the flywheel can't turn, then the starter motor shouldn't be turning either. If the gear on the starter motor cannot actually engage with the flywheel (something is stuck on the starter), that could cause the starter to turn, without turning the engine. It may be worth taking a close look at where the starter engages with the engine's flywheel. Perhaps something is bound/jammed up between the two, and the starter itself is actually what's keeping the engine from being able to turn?

If need be, remove the belt cover and see if you can turn the crankshaft.

OK, I have sprayed something similar to WD-40 into the engine via the spark plug hole several times over the last 24 hours. Tapped it with a rubber/plastic coated mallet enough to cause it to vibrate but not jar or damage. No luck. Still can't pull the pull cord or start with the starter. It did run fine when it was stored, we used it all winter without issue. I'm stuck! I'll have to se if I can find the instructions on taking off the starter and/or pull cord. Any ideas?

Actually, yes, remove the belt cover and take the belts off.  Determine if it is a problem with the engine or a problem with the transmission in the machine.  The auger belt is suppose to disengage when not in use, but the drive wheels always have part of the system engaged.

I just found an old ariens (model 932001, 20", 2.7hp) sitting out by the dumpster on the way home from work last Friday, same condition except I hadnt try the electric start.  Luckly I was patient and took time to look it over and tried to spin engine from pully side, no luck.  So with  a bit of PB blaster and seafoam down the sparkplug hole and about 2 hours of soaking, I took off the blower and used my channellocks to spin the shaft back and forth until it would cycle all the way around.  Then with an oil check, some fuel, starting fluid, and a new spark plug I had it running within 2 minutes.

It looks just like this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ariens-Snow-blower-2-Stage-20-Inches-wide-2-7-H-P-Electric-Start-Runs-Good-/150713847676?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23173ecf7c