Dudester

Thanks Redoctobyr, I'll give your suggestions a try on the inside shoot.....once it gets warmer lol.
I had a can of "gigiloo' close by, so I sprayed a bit of that on the crack between the axle and the hub, and it worked enough to get my wheels to turn in either direction. It's not a permanent fix, but it'll have to do for now. Come Spring, I'll remove the wheels and grease them with a non freezing, water proof grease. Thanks again.

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd chime in anyway, hoping someone can help with the same problem as the OP.  I just purchased a slightly used Ariens 1130 DLE snowblower which is a 2008 model. The machine runs great, and I've only used it twice so far this winter. However, I came to move the snowblower in my garage the other day. and I had a hard time manually moving the snowblower (with the engine off) Upon closer inspection, I noticed there was rust on the axles, as well as a rusty powder on the wheel rims. which is easily removed by rubbing it off with a dry cloth. The rusty residue is on both rims and axles. By moving the snowblower back and forth, I was able to eventually get the wheels to turn....however, the next day, they were locked up again. Keep in mind, when the snowblower is turned on, the wheels turn fine when I depress the drive lever.
Is there anything I can do to fix this problem, and keep the axle and wheels from rusting anymore ?
Seeing I have your attention here, I also looked inside the long shoot where the snow comes out, that there is some black specs on the inside of the shoot, as if the previous owner used to snowblower to throw asphalt or something black like that. My old snowblower shoot was still clean on the inside, even after 18 years. I have seen some pictures on the Internet of other used snowblowers that seem to have the black spray of something on the inner side of the shoots. I tried removing the stuff by simply rubbing it off with a cloth, but it's really stuck on there. I think I'll buy some Ariens orange paint this summer, and just spray the inside of it, wax it good, then spray some PAM in there.
Anyway, I'm more concerned about the axle rust right now, but it's too cold to try and remove the wheels from the axles in my unheated garage. In the mean time, can I spray the axles with something, that will prevent them from rusting any further, until I can get to them in Spring.  Is there a chance I could damage something by continuing to run the machine the way it is ?
Thanks, this is a great forum.

Hi Rick,
I know this is an old thread,  but If you still have the drift cutters...I'll buy them off of you. I have a 1998 (Anniversary Edition) 1130 DLE Ariens, which is the 921006.
Let me know.
Thanks
Ray

Do you have to dismantle the whole snowblower to do a paint job like that ? I'd love to be able to spruce up my old Noma Signauture series which is 18 years old.
Any tips would be much appreciated.
Thanks

goofienewfie wrote:
I know this is a VERY old thread, but I've got nothing to lose so here I go.  I'll be picking up a nice used  2008 Ariens 1130 DLE. this coming weekend, with just a handful of hours on it. Like most here, I have experienced the same cable freezing problem with my old Noma Signature series which is now 18 years old, so I decided to spruce her up and sell her cheap,  or give her away to a needy home. Where I'm sure she'd last a few more years before calling it quits. 
Anyway, I'd like to a picture of that lunch bag set up you have. I know it's not a permanent fix, but until I get the waterproofing done to the new Ariens that  XENORIAS  posted.(who btw lives only about a half an hour from me )  I'd like to try that on the new Ariens that I'll be picking up. I know the frustration of not having the deflector work properly from my Noma experience, which can be a real PITA when you forget to put the deflector down prior to storing until the next time you need.   Hope you can upload a pic, and that you're still doing ok LOL.