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

I have a 7 year old Ariens 824 with drive problems.  I replaced friction disk and that didn't fix issue.  The axle bearings themselves are ok - but they are loose in the opening in the housing.  The gap that exists allows the two gears inside to not contact each other.  If I take the weight off the wheels by supporting from underneath, I can push the axles down, thus making the gears mesh fine.  But the weight of the machine on the wheels during use pushes the axle up in that gap, allowing the gears not to mesh.  Is there a shim or something I can use to take up the space between the outer surface of the axle bearings and the orange housing through which they are mounted ?

   Ariens models are not all the same.  What is the factory model number on the back of the base?

The bearings are loose in the bearing retainers, it sounds like. I ran into that a bit when I replaced by axle bearings a few months. The original bearings were nice and snug in the bearing retainers, due to all the rust. But once I knocked the old bearings out, and cleaned up some of the loose rust, the new bearings had a bit of a looser fit in the retainers. My bearing retainers (it's a 924082 machine, which I bought used) are kind of like large-diameter, shallow cups, which the bearings slip into.

I used a few pieces of stainless steel shim stock placed between the outside of the bearings, and the inside of the bearing retainers, until it was snug when I pushed the bearing into the retainer. You could also try something like heavy duty tin foil, maybe aluminum flashing (if it wasn't too thick), etc.

It's interesting that you have the exact opposite problem from mine. My bearings were very worn, and had also worn down the outside diameter of the shaft (which really shouldn't happen, the wear should be confined to within the bearing itself). So even the new bearings are a bit loose on the shaft. But nothing was moving relative to the bearing retainers. If you don't have to replace the bearings themselves, that's nice, saves $15-20 each.

Normally on most of the Ariens blowers.  The axle are supported by either a bushing or a bearing.  When those wear out you end up with the condition your describing.
But your blower isn't that old so it could be something else

Thanks for your replies.  The model is 932101  -  824.  I'll try to explain more - hopefully with the right terminology.  This involves the axle that the wheels ae mounted to.  The axle passes through a bearing that is part of or within a hexagon shaped outer "nut".  This "nut" sits in the orange housing, in a hexagon shaped hole.  There is no other bearing retainer or fixture.  It's just this hexagon shaped nut in a hexagon shaped hole inthe housing.  Same on both sides.  The hexagon shaped hole has worn, I guess, to be a hole larger than the hexagon shaped "nut" allowing the motion I mentioned above.  The axle itself is nice and tight within this bearing/nut, but it's the nut that moves with respect to the hole in the orange housing.  If I hold the nut down and back in the hole, the gears mesh.  The gap is about 1/8 inch on the top surface of the "nut" and the adjoining next surface of the nut, toward the front of the machine.  Maybe JB Weld to fill that gap? 

I remember this issue coming up before. Unfortunately I don't remember the solution for the other guy. But, basically the frame was "ripping" on his.

From looking at the part breakdown.  You just have bushings that are as you say pushed into the housing.  If the steel of the housing that supports those bushings is worn.
There isn't a whole lot you can do other than have a bead of weld added to the hole.  Then reshaping the hole to fit the bushing tightly again.
Or you could make a plate say 2 1/2" square.  Drill out a hole in the center so that the bushing fits tight in the hole.  I realize that the bushing is not round so you would have to drill the
hole smaller and then shape it to fit the bushing.  Then weld the plate to the blower housing over the old worn out hole.  If the hole in housing steel itself is worn away there really isn't an easy fix.
There is one other possible fix that would work that doesn't involve welding.  And that would be to get a pair of flange bearings and mount those to the housing.
Eliminating the bushing setup.  You would just have to get a pair with the correct bearing ID to match your axle OD.  There could also be a clearance issue between the
bearing and the wheel hub.  But that could be resolved by shortening the wheel hub on the inner end.  Just an idea.
JB weld will not fix the problem.  It's hard, tough stuff, but not harder than the steel that has already been worn away.

Thanks for the excellent analysis and bearing link. 

I sent a PM to the OP with some other links to read of a similar situation someone else was having.