thomas4d

Hi Sailor, I have the same machine 926le. Mine was also purchased from HD last season. I have had oil come out of the breather. The first time was because i had too much oil in it. Never really noticed again with the correct level in it untill last big snow. Had a little dripping but no big deal oil level is ok.  I have a tip for you in starting. Go to HD. get a new E 3 spark plug.  I think ours takes  E3.10.  I had trouble starting at first untill I put that plug in. I start with one pull now.  Choke full.  Prime 4 times.  Pause a second between primes. It helped me. Take Care,    

When I first got it I could not start it with the rope at all.I had to prime it as i was cranking it with the electric start to get it to even fire.  The gas I was using was left from the grass cutting season. Not that old but old enough to cause it to start hard. I use stabil in my gas can now when I purchase gas. Man I swear by that stuff. Yes it Starts one pull every time now.  The key to priming it is to pause between primes about one second.  I prime it four times with the choke on and the throttle at full.  Hope you get some fresh snow to get it out on. We are getting about 8-12 tommorrow.   

I have the 926le and love it. I only have the pin on the wheels engaged on the right wheel. It makes the machine so much easier to manuver. As far as keeping it straight you will get the hang of it.  you just kinda guide it towards the right a bit. Kinda like steering. I tried it with both wheels locked but found the easier turning to be better and i still get plenty of traction. I can keep it straight with one hand. Heavy wet snow will go about 15 feet. The lighter snow will go 45ft. The more you become familar with it the happier you will be . I don't even use the elecric start because it starts every time with one pull. I try to get my drive done before the snow starts to pack down. Once it piles up and you drive on it it will thaw n frezze and you have a ice mountain.  Fear not its a great machine. Dave 

Thanks for the great post i will flip the rubber cable clamp to prevent contact with spade terminal. I decided to run unit out of fuel. We got a little snow this morning. Put in fresh gas . Boom she started as soon as i hit starter button. That along with new plug seem to solve things. I quess fresh gas matters more than I thought. I wasn't that old but it seemed to make all the difference. I can't wait to get some deep snow to really try it out. I am just crazy that way.      Thanks Dave   

I have a brand new Ariens 926LE with tecumseh 9HP engine.  The first time I used it is was very hard to start. It will not start with the pull rope at all. Choke on , 3 primes, throttle up.  The only way I was able to get her started was to use electric starter n hit the primer while cranking engine . Once it starts it seemed to run fine. When I has doing the drive I noticed oil coming out the rubber tube . I shut it down. Changed oil to proper level.  I checked spark plug and it was black. I wanted to check air cleaner but I dont see where it is. I then went to get a new plug. Changed plug , oil at full.  Now I start it and its better but I still have to crank with electric starter n hit primer at same time. Once its warm i can start with rope but still have to choke the warm moter. I ran it for a bit pulled new plug and its black now too. I had a old international cadet with a 8hp briggs that fires up with ease. What do you think is my problem here. I do get a puff of black smoke when it first starts on choke but not a lot. Again once it starts it seems to run fine. Any Ideas or suggestions? Dave.        thomas4d@netzero.com