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

Today i picked up an older John Deere 1032 snowblower. The unit starts on the first pull and is pretty clean with minimal rust. When you put it in drive it goes with no problem but when you engage the auger there was a terrible noise like a metal grinding. My first thought was the bearing in the auger housing was bad so i removed the tractor from the auger housing. The auger turns smooth and there is no play so that proves the bearing is fine. I found that the idler pully that puts the tension on the belt when you engage the auger is mounted to a little bar that moves up and down and at the bottom there is a weld that holds it to the shaft. The weld has a crack and the idler is off kilter. The brake looks worn like it was not disengaging when it was supposed to so i think that was the loud noise.      The unit seems to be like an Ariens the way it is set up. My questions are, How do i get info on this unit to find out the age ? The only numbers on it are 1032. I am going to weld the pully and try to bend the bar to get it in line with the belts again and replace the belts. The numbers on the old belts are worn so i need info on the unit in order to purchase new ones. I will try and get pics up this week. Thanks in advance for any help.

The john Deere dealer told me it was John Deere made with input and design by Ariens. They did not know the the year. It is made just like an Ariens except for the dash controls. Garandman wrote:

I'm really not sure, I know mine is like a knob and you just pull out and turn.  I think Kevin has one, and I'm sure others here will know exactly how to engage it.  Maybe loosen the nut and move the plate?  Report back as I'd like to know how it's done. 

Hi Knee. Ajace has a good memory. Mine is the 726, but it looks about the same vintage as yours. That  wing nut gets tightened to put the diff lock on, loosen to turn it off. Only problem is that some of these stay locked and have to be "worked out" somehow. Mine is stuck on the diff lock, but thats ok with me. Mine also has that noise when I engage the auger, but seems to stop after its running a bit. Two winters now and it runs real good. Heres a pic I posted on here last winter. It was throwing the dry powder nice that day.

Kevin

 

 Vangellis,

      I can't wait to look like your photo!!!!

                                              Fred  

Thanks for the help. How does yours do with wet heavy snow ? I had an old Ariens 8hp 32" last year that would not throw the snow 3 feet. It was horrible. If this thing can toss the wet heavy stuff good i might just keep it.  Vangellis wrote:

I knew it was done someway, I just didn't know exactly how.  Again, great picture.  Were the belts tight Knee?

The belts were tight and everything was functioning as should except it would only throw snow a few feet at best. I was baffled.  AJace wrote:

Ariens 8x24's throw snow like crazy, maybe the engine is tired?

I'm going to put  Impeller kits on mine this year  - http://smllengns.tripod.com/

I have an antique Ariens just like yours 7hp 24" that throws unreal, also my ariens 1128 which is great. The old ariens 8 32 was running strong with no signs of the engine struggling at all, the belts were new and tight, the auger was spinning smooth, the fan was spinning fast but if i put my hand in front of the chute when it was running i could not feel powerfull wind coming out like i do with all the others, and it dribbled the snow instead of shooting it. the fan was in perfect shape with no bends. it baffled me to the point i gave it away. I might pick up one of the kits in the link and give it a try on my Deere if i decide to keep it. Where in southie are you ? have you lived there a long time ? I have some old friends there. Garandman wrote:

Hi Knee. The first snowfall last year was a wet one and it clogged all day. I tightened the belts before that pic was taken. The next two storms after that were wet and I think it only clogged once or twice. Of course this was after I bought a Sno-stick to unclog it. LOL
For now it does the job for me. I'm sure these were made by Ariens.

Jubol, it has been a pretty warm summer here so far. Just looking at that pic cooled me off a little, but I'm in no rush for winter to get here. Think of a scene like this.

Kevin