Got 12 inches of snow yesterday. Got out the snowblower (921037/1.5 seasons old) started up hit the drive lever and it didn't seem to have any torque. Took off the bottom plate to check the drive wheel found it was very worn. Reset the tension and replaced the cover. Seemed to run but seemed slow for the speed setting. Made one pass down the steep driveway and got half way back up and it refused to move forward. Pulled it back up the hill to the garage. Went in the house to lookup parts on the web. My wife tells me that the computer is not working. I tried and sure enough, no go. Got on the phone to the Dealer I bought the machine from and asked if they had a drive wheel. They did. I drove the 25 miles (1 Way) in white out conditions to get it. Took me 3 hrs. to change the wheel. Put back together, started up, hit drive lever. Nothing. Pulled the bottom plate everything seemed fine. Started up with drive plate off and noticed the drive disk was not moving. Took off the belt cover and the tension wheel was all the way down and resting on the chassis. Pulled the belt off and found the belt tension wheel had scraped the chassis until it wore through and pushed a piece of sharp metal against the belt and ate up the belt. I bent the sharp piece back so they didn't hit the belt or the tension wheel. Went in house and call dealer for the belt. THEY DON'T HAVE ONE!
They give me another dealers phone number and the part number. I call them and they say the belt number has been changed and the don't have one. Called the first dealer and asked if they could suggest someone else. They told me they didn't Know of anyone. Asked if they could order it. They said yes, it would be arrive in a week to 2 weeks. Called a friend and had him get me all the dealers on this side of the State (West Michigan). I called them all and none of them had the belt. I found at least one that was helpful and offered to order it. So, on Monday I get to drive 120 miles round trip to get the belt. I would advise anyone with this model to check that belt and tension wheel. Considering mine was only a year and a half old machine and failed. The rant is over!
That's amazing for such a young machine... how many hours of use do you estimate it has? I wonder if maybe it was incorrectly set up at the dealer.
Do you have a part number for the belt? I bet you could find it somewhere online and get it shipped express. Or if Amazon has it and you have Prime, get free 2-day shipping.
That's amazing for such a young machine... how many hours of use do you estimate it has? I wonder if maybe it was incorrectly set up at the dealer.
Do you have a part number for the belt? I bet you could find it somewhere online and get it shipped express. Or if Amazon has it and you have Prime, get free 2-day shipping.
Lesson to be learned from OPs comments is that anyone that owns a snowblower ought to purchase a spare set of belts and sheer pins, and keep them handy - no matter how new their snowblower is. $hit happens, and at the worst time.
I know you went through a lot of effort to make it right.
I need to ask about warranty, weren't they offering 3 years back then or was it only one, did the subject ever come up? Was there any mention about the dealer/factory may be at fault in their setup? :confused2:
I had a friction disc problem with mine (2002 824 Ariens )it was a little past the year warranty. In its second season.
I noticed I hardly had any forward drive ,slipping action. So I called my dealer they acknowledged their was a factory problem, drove 45 miles round trip picked it up and returned it back in two days! with all new parts worked great still running!
Good luck let us know.
I would call the factory! may not hurt!
I know you went through a lot of effort to make it right.
I need to ask about warranty, weren't they offering 3 years back then or was it only one, did the subject ever come up? Was there any mention about the dealer/factory may be at fault in their setup? :confused2:
I had a friction disc problem with mine (2002 824 Ariens )it was a little past the year warranty. In its second season.
I noticed I hardly had any forward drive ,slipping action. So I called my dealer they acknowledged their was a factory problem, drove 45 miles round trip picked it up and returned it back in two days! with all new parts worked great still running!
Good luck let us know.
I would call the factory! may not hurt!
I asked the dealer about warranty. It would have to be a manufacturer defect. Another battle I don't need. We will just look at other avenues with next purchase.
What Zed said. Take the broken belt you have, drive to your closest NAPA Auto Parts store and I'm betting they can cross reference it and find something that will work better.
Also- You can always call Ariens and order a belt from them and they'll ship it to you. No need to have it shipped to a dealer and you have to drive 120 miles to go get it.
Also- You can always call Ariens and order a belt from them and they'll ship it to you. No need to have it shipped to a dealer and you have to drive 120 miles to go get it.
Hey bad cat
What are you referring to when you mention test?
Plugs, belts? I Know should never assume!!! but I never had a new one not work correctly.Again belts being the correct size etc.
Now bulbs are a whole another ball bark.
For what it is worth ariens makes it hard to use other belts. Many times they use fractional sizes. Other belts will work with some adjustment but don't last.
Next time try plugging the ariens number into Amazon. Bonus if you have Amazon prime it is free two day shipping if the item comes up.
Some of the better aftermarket places make the fractional ariens sizes.
Seems unimaginable no one has the belt in the middle of winter.
I tell everyone to buy extra wear parts since it is only going to fail when needed. Not like a mower where the weather is nice and you can run out for a part.
So I just took a quick peak and Amazon does not have it but a part number search shows some selling a 37 inch belt and others selling the ariens belt as 37.25 inch length. I ok with aftermarket stuff but not ariens belts.
Almost every belt in stock at any retail store will be a 45 degree belt. What Ariens uses also. Very rare to find a 30 degree belt at any retail store.
I'm having a very hard time figuring the length of the belt Ariens 07200717 must have top secret dimensions.
But for every drive belt I've ever seen on an Ariens it's a 3/8" belt by either 35.5. or 36 inches. Some of the newer machines have LCT engines that have a different crank height than the norm.
Almost every belt in stock at any retail store will be a 45 degree belt. What Ariens uses also. Very rare to find a 30 degree belt at any retail store.
I'm having a very hard time figuring the length of the belt Ariens 07200717 must have top secret dimensions.
But for every drive belt I've ever seen on an Ariens it's a 3/8" belt by either 35.5. or 36 inches. Some of the newer machines have LCT engines that have a different crank height than the norm.
Your right about the part #07200717. That is the # that one dealer said was the new part #.
I measured the inside of the worn belt and came up with 18 inches the outside about 1/2 inch larger. I don't know if that helps. Yesterday I put the belt on the snow blower and to get the tension pulley to be effective I had to take about an inch out of it.
Well I got a call from a dealer that said they got a belt in. I confirmed the part # (717). I went out to the shop and turned on the heater to warm things up while I made the 120 mile round trip to buy the belt. When I got home I had a warm shop to work on the blower. Installed the belt and made a few passes.
IF I were you, I would have taken the belt to a store with a belt gauge and measured it. That way, you'd know for sure what size belt your dealing with.
I can see getting a excuse to maybe taking a road trip to burn up some condensate in the car, but in this day and age of mailorder, and if I was not pressed for time, I would have just gotten that belt shipped
The problem that I had was the day my blower broke so did my computer. I managed to get off the first message to this forum. then nothing. No internet. We do not have cell phone service in this area, so no cell phone.
Got my computer back Saturday evening from the repair shop (replaced hard drive). Sunday looked up belt on internet. 2 day shipping 10 dollars. Would maybe get here Tuesday. Overnight shipping $40. So, I trusted the Dealer I talked to on Thursday, who said they would have the belt by Monday. They did. I needed to move snow as soon as possible.
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