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

OK, I have a 7524. I like it. It's small, meets my needs and today it got a good test and passed with flying colors. Problem: even when I first started using it, the first day, it would have a tendency to do a little chirp when you first engaged the auger clutch. Didn't think much about it. This is my first snowblower so I don't have a lot of references. I mentioned in another thread that yesterday when I first started it I engaged the auger and the engine died. I tried again and it made a really loud squeal and I shut it down.I cleared it out as much as I could, banged it up Engaged the next time without complaint. AfterI cleared the driveway I shut it down per the book cleaning it out and running the auger for about 3 minutes straight before shutdown. LIke I said, I Cleaned out what I could get to --you can't get everything and it's impossible without a garage to get that, how do I describe it, pancaked ice/snow behind the impeller plate. It's just there and will be til we get a thaw and IT may be the source of the tension/friction on the belt that causes the squeal when you first engage the auger). Anyway, after running the blower for about a half hour and moving a TON of snow, I shut it down for about 40 minutes. I come back home and have to clean up a bit more in the driveway. I start it, let it run for a couple minutes,

Engage the auger, squeal, disengage
Engage, squeal, disengage
Engage, smaller squeal, disengage
Engage, runs fine.

During operations, I have noticed that when I gently engage the auger vs. push it down fast, it tends to not not chirp. Even after it's running for a while though, you can get a chirping out of the auger when it engages, mostly when you just press it down hard but sometimes even when you push it gradually and gently. The initial engaging of the auger is happening when it is NOT under load.

Does anyone else's blower make some sort of belt noise when you first engage the auger? Is this normal for Ariens? If I do everything else right but I get some squeals when I first engage and then let off, try again, etc., until it runs normally, am I causing any damage? Would this be something that I should get the dealer to look at under warranty or just live with it? Any comments appreciated.