Hi everyone--Haven't posted in many years--still have my Ariens 7524E 7.5hp and has provided great service over the years. One issue that I have never really resolved in this machine is the gear case oil level. Early on in its life it seemed to have a gear case seal problem whereas it seemed to leak pretty regularly. When I would go to top it up it would sometimes be nearly empty. Over the years I have paid some attention to it, topping it up with minor squirts of 75-90 gear case oil but rarely doing the full job of a true top up where you fill it to the point where you let it find the level of the screw holes and wait for it to stop dripping and you know it's filled. Somehow I have gotten away with a likely under filled gear case over the years but it has performed well and there's no damage that I am aware of.
This fall I dragged out all of my notes and perused the web, in hope to do things properly. The consensus is, and the manual states, that, yes, you fill up to at least the bottom of the hole or just fill until it leaks out and stops dripping (on level ground), that way you're at the right level when it stops.
I have read from, I believe, Snowmann previous posts that, at least on the 11528 LE, that you should put 4 or 5 inch blocks under the rear wheels to tip it forward, then let it leak and when it stops you have the proper level. This is also backed up by my vendors statement that Ariens had it a bit wrong in the manual and that the level should be at the mid-way point between the axles, which would probably roughly be the level where Snowmann stated with the tip forward leveling technique. I was never sure of a way to get it to the mid-axle level so I just pressed on with what I had always done, which was not a heck of a lot other than very unscientific Fall top-ups. Yeah, pretty dumb.
Questions:
1. I know Snowmann was referring to the 11528 LE re the tip-forward technique; would the same apply to the 7524E? (instructions for the 11528 LE also state to get the oil to at least the bottom of the hole like the 7524's manual, so I suss out it's the same issue of Ariens getting it wrong on the level but not sure if it would also apply to the 7524E.
2. Am I overthinking this? If I simply go by the manual and top to the hole level like I did a couple weeks ago, even if this is possibly overfilling, is it still OK? Can damage be caused by filling it level with the hole? I would bet my life that my recent proper (per the manual) fill up will result in leakage after some intense blowing but I don't know if that would be the result of overfill or bad seals or maybe it just leaks to the proper level then the oil pressure levels out and it stops??...
Any thoughts appreciated!
This message was modified Nov 27, 2017 by BobSmith
