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

I've been keeping an eye on Craigslist for a good 2-stage machine, to possibly replace the ST824 I bought last year. Just in case something really appealing came along.

The other day an Ariens 1024 Professional was posted. $250, seller said it needs a head gasket. The engine started and ran fine for me, he said it will intermittently start puffing smoke, etc. The rest of the machine seemed pretty good, so it came home with me :)

It has a 10hp OHV Tecumseh engine, differential, 24" cut, cast-iron gearbox, serrated augers, heated grips, etc. It has the long, tall chute. It has a cab, though I don't see myself using that. I actually prefer the idea of the narrower cut, with a lot of power. It should do better in deep/heavy stuff, vs the same amount of power with a 28" cut, or similar.

The paint's not great around the edges, but I can deal with that later if needed. I think it's spent some time outdoors, based on the rust on some of the engine shrouds. The transmission pulls hard in 1st gear forward, but slips quite easily in both reverse gears. My ST824 is the same way, which I found interesting.

Blower model number is 924120. The engine is Model OHSK100 221608B.

I'd appreciate any insight into the oil/smoking problem. The symptoms (at least what I've checked so far):

- It will start visibly weeping oil from the side of the engine, after it's been running for a minute or two (maybe less?). It will start running down the side of the engine, from a few places, especially when it really gets going (like when I had it churn through some heavy, wet stuff). The oil, coming from up high (from somewhere around the valve cover) will start dripping on the exhaust, and smoking. See pics showing a few oily areas while it was running.

- Compression, by hand, seems low, at ~35 psi. But with the electric starter, I got 150-170 psi.

- The plug looks good. Dry and gray, not oily at all.

- Dipstick level is good, halfway between low and full. The oil does not smell like gas.

- The previous owner said he thinks the smoking started all at once.

Does this sound like a failed head gasket? The fact that it seems to come from several areas makes me kind of unsure. It seems kind of like it might be pressurizing the crankcase or something? This could still be consistent with a head gasket though, I'm guessing. Could it be related to some sort of crankcase vent problem? My only experience with a failed head gasket was a Briggs OHV tractor engine, blown between the combustion chamber and valves, it just smoked a lot, no oil down the outside of the engine or anything.

The rusted fasteners on the engine are going to give me trouble. I've already twisted off two screws, despite PB Blaster. One is the little sheetmetal screw that holds the oil tube in-place. I don't know if I'll be able to get the remnant out of the engine, I doubt it. Will probably have to secure it some other way. I hope no really important ones are rusted in-place.

Thank you for any help!

Thanks. I have to see what other stuff is worn, or needs attention.

Something squeaks when I roll it, so I'll have to see what that is. Perhaps the axle bearings are in trouble, I'll find out. I haven't started on the rest of it yet, it's just been engine work so far. At a minimum, it will get everything reviewed, adjusted, greased, etc.

But I'm hoping it can be a solid, reliable machine that will last me for a long time. The price was right, and it should easily handle homeowner use.

I wanted to post an update on this.

I figured out the weeping oil problem. The problem was embarrassingly simple, but maybe sharing it will help someone here. I replaced the breather valve and gaskets, but it still failed the water manometer test, and kept weeping oil. But when I'd previously swapped in a breather from another Tecumseh, it had run fine. This had me scratching my head, then I finally figured it out.

The answer is in the last picture of my original post. When I worked on it, I dutifully re-assembled it the same way I took it apart, except for when I tried it with the borrowed breather. Well, the rubber tube from the breather valve was going a fitting on the carb, I assumed so that any oil drips were burned, rather than running down the side of the machine. Sort of like an EGR valve. Well, I finally took a closer look and found that this fitting on the carb isn't actually drilled through, it's just a blind hole. So the outlet vent tube for the breather valve was being run to a plugged hole Sigh. Pulled the tube off the carb, left the end of it out in space, and it ran fine.

Lesson: don't assume that things on a used machine are assembled properly.

The machine had a seized axle bearing, I replaced both. I reviewed and replaced some other worn items on it. It had a broken weld on the bucket, so I re-welded that, and welded some plates onto the bottoms of the worn skid shoes.

I got to use it recently in a foot of fluffy snow, it did well, and seemed to throw further than my ST824 (I assume in part due to having the taller chute style). I found that the augers handle interlock must be worn, and wasn't actually locking (it would pop loose when you'd release the auger handle, even if still holding the traction handle). I worked on the locking pawl a bit with a file, to try and sharpen up a rounded corner, and it's better now, though I still had to add some preload to its spring.