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

hi guys, here to vent. I have a 3 year old simplicity pro, P1524E. i bought this machine ($1800) expecting an awesome experience after years of working on my snowblowers. I also bought from a local dealer with a good reputation. very first use - machine surging, plugging up, traction slipping, can't climb small hills without a lot of intervention (hip checks, sweat, swearing). have dealer pick it up. SIX weeks later (several shoveled storms later) comes back, still slipping. w-t-f. so i fix it myself. next year - stops running. Bent push rods. dealer is overbooked again. so now, at age 54, i learn how to replace pushrods. didn't really want to know. oh year - the stupid amber light ($65 each) gets snagged on a bush and breaks off. then again when i bump into it in my garage. both break at the the silly little plastic bracket, too thin to even glue back together. i'm handy but can't find anyway to mount this stupid oval shaped concoction. yesterday we got buried with 32 inches. my neighbor's doing 5 or 6 driveways with his ariens while my simplicity can barely handle 2. it's a battle to climb the driveway and now the wheels are doing the wet-friction-disk dance. whenever it's surge power kicks in, the engine stumbles and wants to die. i gotta say, i've had it. I'll cut my losses and sell this in the spring, maybe i can get a grand.

Sorry to hear about the issues. The P1524E is supposed to be a stout machine. Personally I think when Tecumseh threw in the towel that Briggs wasn't quite ready to build snowblower engines...but since Briggs bought Simplicity guess what you're going to find on their snowblowers. Regarding the drive disc slipping I would check with Simplicity becuase there's probably a simple fix for that. Perhaps something as simple as a gasket that goes between the engine and the belt cover. For what it's worth I have a 1987 featureless Ariens and a larger 2004 Ariens with all of the bells and whistles. I haven't had to fiddle with or fix anything on the older basic Ariens. While I like my larger tricked out Ariens it has required a lot of "attention" to keep everything working the way it's supposed to work. Maybe with snowblowers simpler is better...not as much fun, but better none the less.

thanks for your reply. i was thinking about my problem machine, and it seems to mostly be setup issues. I think my dealer didn't do a great job, and my plan is to take it elsewhere in the spring and leave it to be fixed. i think you summed it up - its the constant attention that i hate. nothing worse than something breaking in the middle of a big storm (we just got 33 inches here). i expect my gear to work when i need it and expect to be constantly repairing it.

No problem. You had every right to vent. You didn't buy a bargain basement machine from a discount store that was put together by a part-time teenage employee with other things on his mine. You bought a premium machine from an established dealer. No excuses for it not properly being set-up and tuned. I wouldn't give up on it. Either take it to a more competent dealer as you suggested...or download the set-up manual from simplicity.com and go over everything yourself including the carb. Properly adjusted, that blower should pull you up a sloped driveway.

I was under the impression that they had corrected that issue. I would try another dealer as stated, also I believe there must be something on the net about other folks having the slipping drive issues. Might be worth a try and yes I feel your pain you pay good money for what you think is going to be a reliable competent piece of equipment only to be severely disappointed. Others have stated the quality associated with big brands names just isnt there anymore it seems...

Having same issue with bent push rod. Was told this was an issue with these models. They did a fix by applying some type of coating or ring around the push rod hole to keep it from coming out of hole, but it just happened again. Now being told the best fix is replacing the head.. Very disappointed with Simplicity , will see if they agree to assist me with this known issue which the first fix did not work .

I have a couple late model snowblowers with Briggs engines and I haven't had any issues with bent push rods. That being said, this doesn't make me very comfortable hearing of this problem. I wish you luck.

I have a 1528P also. I had issues early on with the drive disc which unthreaded itself, and made the machine move on its own. After that got fixed, it has been pretty good. The drive motor for  the shute gets crap in the gear box, and has to be cleaned out, or motor and gearbox replaced every 6 or so years. I found out they are from a 2004 saturn drivers side rear window motor IIRC. Due to the way it is mounted, the output shaft is up through a loose seal, and the motor was never intended for the application it is in. But for a 7 year old blower, it works a treat, starts on the first pull. I keep a spare chute motor on hand, cheap if you know where to get them. I took apart the motor gearbox, cleaned and regreased, still on the original one I did just change out the friction disc, it took an hour or so. I live north of Syracuse, in the snow belt, and we get hit pretty hard, over 200" a year.

I guess I will give Simplicity a passing grade. I knew the electric chute was going to be an issue, and that came true. But, I know now how to fix it cheap and quick. I do like being able to hit the rocker on turn arounds up and down the driveway, it saves a bit of time.

The only other issue I had was the ground for the regulator/rectifier unit got corroded. I cleaned that up and the light/ chute work again.

About the light: I too broke it off right quick, and balked at the price of a new one. I used a huge gob of industrial hot melt glue to stick it on sideways right where it normally mounts, and it has not let go in over 6 years. The light is now oriented vertically, but works fine that way.

"Tubby" - I have a 1738e Simplicity Signature Pro. Had it since 2007-2008. I have noticed a decline in the chute motor function. The unit simply must be warmed after use and allowed to melt away any snow on it before I feel comfortable in running the snow blower on a day to day basis. Too many times the chute will stay fixed in place. I took the gears apart once and as you say, there is not much to the assembly of the chute motor and linkage. I took you up on the Saturn 2004 window motor replacement suggestion. The actual motor type is the Passenger-side Rear Window Motor. The plug has to face away from the handgrips side. Otherwise the output shaft bumps into the frame. I used the 2004 Ion model as the search type. The sizing is a bit different than the Simplicty OEM provided motor but they are close. The electrical plugs do not match up. I am working on converting that now to connect the harness from the Simplicity end to the Saturn window motor end. I will update the thread when that is completed. It has been economically rewarding to read this message thread due to the difference in pricing between what Simplicity sells and what is available on the auto parts market. Alas, the Simplicity belts do not show up as an exact match for the auto parts belts (I tried) but if someone has a tip on that process, it would be interesting to learn of an alternate supplier. Thanks for a great board here. I have recently visited the local Simplicity dealer for the replacement belts. I examined the latest 38 inch Pro model they had on hand. The chute direction control hand switch has been duplicated on both handgrips, for redundancy as well as left handed users I guess. The chute lift spring is much more refined and looks heavier duty than the one on mine. The chute rotate motor also looks updated. The Briggs motor also is bigger, with a fancier exhaust, and the gas tank looks bigger. Floor price listing was $2800...

Seaway45 wrote:

Seaway, Everything you said sounds right except the belt comment. You don't want to buy standard auto belts as they are not going to last.Look in your manual for the oem belt part number and surf the net. Lots of comparable belts made for OPE out there that will work just fine. Putting the wrong belt on will just make you do it over again at a later time.