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

  I bought a new Ariens 724 2 cycle snow thrower this  year ,and am wondering what those on this site might recommend for end of year maintenance my snow blower?  Manual is helpful,but not  complete.   I not interested in tearing this thing apart.  thanks

Grease and lube wherever you can see a fitting or requirement (see manual).    Blow some WD-40 into any cables that are accessible.   Pull spark plug, and bring piston up to the top and spray in a good blast of light multi-purpose oil.  Pull start cord slowly to move piston up and down and leave it near the top.  That will spread the oil on the cylinder and close off the ports.  Clean spark plug and put back in.   Drain fuel from the carb either by running it dry or using drain screw on or near bottom of carb.  It's probably best to do both.  Drain all fuel from fuel tank.  Leave cap on loosely to allow air/humidity to vent out as required.  Get a rag and try to block off the carb intake to keep critters out.  Leave enough rag exposed so that you see it's there when you go to fire it up next season.  Put a breathable cover over it, thank it for doing a good job and put it away.    

To the above I would also add:

Spray all exposed unpainted steel with Breakfree CLP (sporting goods dept of Walmart with the gun cleaning supplies).
This stuff gives better long term lube & rust protection than WD40. Get exposed nuts and bolts and all the scratches on your augers and shave plate.

Check all fasteners to make sure nothing has vibrated loose. If you find any, consider using Loctite on it.

If you're as bad as I am ;) paste wax all the painted surfaces except on the engine.

All good suggestions.   I'll add them to my list

Thanks

Thanks for the great info.

Would you suggest changing the oil at the end of the season, or just before the next season.

Mike

Fresh oil for storage would be good.  That way, the engine doesn't have to sit for eight months with old  oil  that will likely have some contaminants/condensation in it.   

After running the engine to warm it up, drain the old oil and put in fresh, then turn the engine over a bit just to distribute the "new" stuff. Once that is done you can do the long term storage stuff.

Bill_H wrote:

This is when wax is not used for good looks.  Wash the blower first to remove any road salt from EOD clearing.  Then wax. . . doesn't matter if it's paste or liquid especially if the machine will be covered and protected from the elements.  A friend in the neighborhood now has rust appearing on his machine because he never washes or waxes it after a season.