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

Have a 932105 ST8526LE and it's easy to get after market belts locally. 


Not wanting to change them again anytime soon, should I do that or order the OEM online?


The auger belt is slipping and I'm going to try adjusting the tension roller, but expect to change out the belts when all's said and done.

Either is fine, just make sure the auger belt you get is a heavy duty one with Kevlar and Aramid cores.

I have purchased V belts from V-belts for less and have had no trouble with them.  Here is a link to  their kevlar line of belts.  I normally order what i need plus a spare set to avoid not having a spare set around and to try to avoid future shipping charges.

http://www.vbelts4less.com/Kevlar-K-Plus-V-Belts_c_20.html

I had to replace the belt on my old Craftsman SS machine.  The broken engine mount caused the original to be totally destroyed.  I priced out a belt from Sears.  If I recall correctly, Sears wanted something like $57.00 for one belt, shipping and taxes included.  That's close to what I paid for the machine and there's no way I'd be spending that on a 35" x 3/8" belt.  I found a suitable belt from NAPA for around $8.00 and have used it for three winters of hard flogging and it still looks good!   Any decent quality aftermarket belts are fine.

To put is simply. Ariens does not make ANY belts, they do not have a belt factory.. Somebody makes all these things for them. Any quality belt supplier makes good belts..

If you have a decent Napa they probably could help you out there belts are gates belts which by all counts makes the ariens belts so like others have stated these companies dont make that sort of stuff themselves it is like car companies and oem filters most are made by one of the filter companies wix which makes napa filters etc I have a subaru outback and I am pretty shure Fram makes the oem subie filters..So I would have no trouble putting a gates or napa belt on the machine I actually am quite partial to Napa we have a very cool local napa the guys know what the heck they are selling and never give my wife a hard time about carrying out heavy parts etc etc I support local if at all possible! !! Happy repairing! !!

I prefer to get OEM belts unless there's an ridiculous price mark up on it.  Otherwise, there's no reason not to get aftermarket if they are high quality.

I as well would recommend using OEM... if u do go with aftermarket belts its a MUST u get the correct size!!!

I replaced the auger belt with another Ariens 07200007 and watched it run awhile without the plastic cover in place.

There's considerable strain on the outer edge of the belt as the tension pulley engages, and the whole belt seems stressed as it engages.  Once engaged, it seemed to run fine with perfect alignment.

Is there a belt designed to handle the smoking, grind down effect as the tension pulley engages?  It reminds me of smoking racecar tires taking off....   and is it preferable to quickly engage the belt via the handlebar lever, or slowly let it grab?

Eating this belt is the one weak part of this machine, besides being a bear to handle, and I have changing it down to a quick science but if there's something I can do to minimize belt wear would jump on the chance.  There's always one spot on the belt that just heats up, smoulders, smokes, and causes slippage and the auger not to turn.  When the belt is removed it looks like an iron was put on one part of the "V".  Tempted to try some of that sticky belt dressing just to see if it helps.

grump wrote: I have noticed on my 3 year old Ariens that when I enage the auger it sounds harsh........I wonder too what is the best way to engage it quickly or slowly? Any thoughts?

The best thing for the belt would be to throttle the engine down, engage the auger and then throttle the engine back up. Now, that probably isn't the most practical scenario of you are engaging and disengaging quite often.