pnpramp

also would a Clarence impeller kit help?

My Ariens does not seem to be as powerful as it should be. I watch people with smaller (but newer) machines move through snow more quickly than I can. My Ariens is an older model (85 I think), but it still throw snow better than it seems to. It reading some other posts it seems that the issue is sometime in the slippage of a belt. I looked through the owner's manual and it only discusses belt replacement and nothing about tension. Any ideas for better performance?

Thanks in advance
This board is AWESOME (this is my second post so I am a newbie)

The bolts that come out are the bolts that hold the whole assembly (muffler, stand pipe, coupler, and adapter) to the engine. They are 3/8 course thread (16 tpi) and only about an inch long.

I am new to this board, but it seems like the kind of place I can get straight answers.

I have an older Ariens ST1136. The muffler was threaded directly into the block and those threads wore out. I purchased an adapter from B&S that bolted into the block and then the muffler screwed on to the coupler (with a female/female coupler). My issue is the bolts keep working loose and the muffler falls off. I have tried thread locker, but that did not seem to help. The muffler sits about 10 inches from the block (8 inches of muffler, coupler and adapter).

My questions are:
1. Is there another way to lock the threads? I was thinking JB weld
2. Is there another muffler combination that works better?
3. Is there a way to brace the muffler to lessen the troque?

Details (if these help)
Engine:
Briggs and Stratton 11hp
Model 252416
Type0632-01
Code 85092410
Muffler B&S part # 391569S
Adapter B&S pert # 392700