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

I'm having a problem with my Ariens 1028. I had it stored in a friends garage most of the time, so it's gotten very little use. It's about 3 years old but was only used once or twice it's first year, possibly once the next and then completely unused the third. I finally have the means to store it and went to use it this year and found that the auger won't pull snow into the impeller. With the machine off, the auger spins freely. The sheer pins are intact. After reading several posts on this board I'm quite confident that the problem is with the gearbox. After reading another message on this board, I removed the bolts on either side of the auger assembly. The auger now hangs loose. The only thing holding it in is the shaft connected to the impeller. As instructed by the post I was reading, I tried rotating the impeller counterclockwise and clockwise, in both cases, the auger didn't seem to "walk" off the shaft. Does anyone have any idea how to seperate the auger from the shaft that connects it to the impeller?

Thanks
-rcollins

Yaq, 

Take off the belt cover and check your v belts.

                                                                   Fred

yaqub0r wrote:
Before you take it apart, pull th eengine through and see if the impeller turns. If the impeller turns but the auger doesn't, then it's the auger gearbox. But as mentioned in the post above, the belts are the first place to check.

If it's a newer model, to remove the auger assembly you probably have to open it up and remove the drive pulley from the other nd of the auger shaft. The pulley carrier and bearing may be stuck to the shaft.

The gearbox you're referring to has a non-reversing design. That is, due to the number of worm leads, ratio, and lead angle, you cannot drive the input shaft by trying to turn the output shaft, only vice versa. That being said, if you are able to turn the rakes by hand it's very likely there was a major failure in the gearbox. You cannot "turn out" the input shaft. You'll need to remove the blower housing, then remove the attachment pulley, then slide the input shaft forward through the impeller housing bearing.

What model 1028 do you have? I'm thinking it likely has the smaller aluminum gearcase that is now only used on compacts. With some luck, maybe you only sheared the groove pin on the gear. If this is the case, most of the repair will be labor only (plus a groove pin).

PK

Both the impeller and the shaft which is bolted to the impeller move. The auger does not. Is it still worth checking the belts? I don't know much about snowblowers, but it seemed to be that if the shaft was moving, the belts are find and the problem is somewhere between the shaft and the auger, hence the gear box.

Snowmann - I've got a 924116-1028. Does your advice still hold?

Thanks
-rcollins

Yeah, forget the belts. You have bigger problems. It is as I assumed.

Take the snow head off from the unit. Remove the impeller drive pulley (sometimes this requires a gear puller, hopefully not). Remove the gearbox and rakes fron the housing. Remove the rakes from the gearbox. Remove all the hardware that holds tha castings together. You'll need to pry the castings apart withpout damaging them, so be careful. Use something like a utility knife to get it started, then use a screwdriver and evenly pry all the way around the seem. Be careful when sliding any of the castings or seals on the shafts. You may be able to salvage the seals, but sliding them over sharp burrs created by cross holes could damage them. You only what to take this apart once.

Check the groove pin that affixes the gear to the rake shaft. Hopefully this is sheared. If not, you'll need to replace whatever is damaged. If the gear is shot and the worm shaft is in good shape, you may be able to replace the gear only. Your unit isn't that old. Normally it is recommended the worm shaft and gear get replaced in sets.

Let me know how it goes. I don't see the groove pin in the parts manual (typo). I'll let you know what parts you need.

PK

Snowmann wrote:

HI Snowmann - I just went through the same ordeal as this OP, same model, same problem.

I too was also hoping the problem was a sheared groove pin but wasn't so lucky. The rake shaft gear is stripped but the worm gear doesn't have a scratch on it. 10HP engine with a bronze gear...hmmm.... I noticed you mentioned you may be able to source out the shaft gear itself?

They are looking for $170 for the (poorly designed) original replacment assembly and $250 for a mini-cast gear box that is out for this model. I would just like to replace the gear itself at this point since I have it all apart and hopefully have it last me another 10 years.

Thanks for any help.

Will

   I just fixed a destroyed gearbox on a 924116.  I could not buy the gear seperate or shaft and gear as an assembly.   As far as I know Ariens does not source them anymore.  They are only offering the cast iron gearbox as a replacement which is $179 from Jacks. 

   I do know of some NOS gears and shafts though.  It's the factory recommendation to replace them as a unit but just replacing a NOS gear to a good shaft works and should hold up for many years.  If you are stuck for a gear email from the signature link below and I'll email you a gear and shaft NOS source.  The gear is $65 and the shaft I forget but he had a few left as of last week.  I bought the cast gearbox a few days before I found out he had NOS shafts comming in.

trouts2 wrote:

Thanks Trouts2.

Email sent.