Heat expansion from operation likely made the cap pop out. Those caps are usually press fitted in you should be able to tap it back in place if not I think you can replace the cap.

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

 

Might use an O ring? Maybe the O ring came off too?
Just a guess.

 

Is that a crack at the 12:00 position of the housing?

 

T'is but a scratch...

My guess is the housing was overfilled with grease, or grease was added on top of gear oil. Maybe some water got in the housing and expanded when freezing and pushed the cap out.

 

Ariens do not recommend grease in the auger gearbox, gear oil only. But their recommended L3 oil is very thin and has a tendency to leak past the impeller shaft seal.

I use synthetic differential gear oil type GL5 in 75w-140 viscosity which is just a bit thicker than L3 and that has prevented leaks from the seals. Some others here also use similar viscosity oil.

 

Update...cleaned the cap and where it sits really well and tapped it back on. We'll see if it holds. Whatever lube is in there doesn't "drip" (it stayed in place) and was loaded up pretty well. The consistency was like whipped cake frosting and light brown. Not too thick/not too thin. You can see some of it oozing out in the pic above. Now I'm worried it has the wrong kind of lube in there. I bought this unit at 1 yr old with very little use so I imagine it's never been opened up before.

 

if it was over filled when the grease expanded from some heat it forced the cap out, if it comes back out go to a auto parts store and match it's od with a cup type expansion cap core plug for a motor or a new from ariens

 

If I recall correctly, the Ariens L3 gear lube in my 2018 D 28 SHO is red in colour.

The lube is a liquid, not at all like grease.

 

Did snow / water get in it at all?
Whatever is in there I wouldn't want water or moisture in it.

If it was mine id contact Ariens about what should be in it and replace all that you can.

 

Can you unbolt/remove the flat cap on top it? To fill grease from there instead.

The front cap is stupid if it pops out easy like that. Yes, that can happen when you overfilled the grease, but still, it is not a strong gearbox design.

They use grease now? I thought it is a top load design to prevent leak.

 

Very odd I’ve owned model 924505 /1332 Pro 20 years and have never opened or serviced the auger gear case. Never seen any leaking during my annual service inspections in fact it still have the factory reddish brown sealant applied from the factory. Photo of auger casing below.

 

I have a 1998 924108 that I got in pieces from someone that has the cheaper aluminum gear case. It had no signs of leaking and the original sealant on the plug and when I opened it it was bone dry. I filled it and still no signs of leaking.

I've been confused by it for years now.

 

The front end of the impeller shaft (at the front of the gear case) rests in a flange bushing. The bushing is behind the cap that fell out. There should be a retaining ring in a groove that prevents the bushing from moving forward. If the ring is missing or broken, the impeller shaft might be able to push the bushing against the cap, forcing it out. (see attached)

In this regard, it seems to me that because the bushing fills the space between the front of the impeller shaft and the gear case housing, if the bushing is held in place, expansion of grease on the other (gear teeth) side wouldn't develop sufficient pressure on the front side of the bushing to push the cap out, at least not in normal operation.

All to say that before resetting the cap in place, clean the area inside, and check that the "C" ring is in place in the groove in the gear case.

 

The front end of the impeller shaft (at the front of the gear case) rests in a flange bushing. The bushing is behind the cap that fell out. There should be a retaining ring in a groove that prevents the bushing from moving forward. If the ring is missing or broken, the impeller shaft might be able to push the bushing against the cap, forcing it out. (see attached)

In this regard, it seems to me that because the bushing fills the space between the front of the impeller shaft and the gear case housing, if the bushing is held in place, expansion of grease on the other (gear teeth) side wouldn't develop sufficient pressure on the front side of the bushing to push the cap out, at least not in normal operation.

All to say that before resetting the cap in place, clean the area inside, and check that the "C" ring is in place in the groove in the gear case.

Very good tip here. Pushing the cap back in only puts bandage on, it doesn't get to the root cause. Check the C ring. If the thrust bushing falls out, some gears are going to get crunched and wallets will be opened.

 

Use 'Red 'Loctite' on the cap before you press it back in, that will help secure it in position when it hardens, or if you have to, put 'JB Weld' on it to help keep it from coming loose and blowing out again.

 

That cap shouldn't just fall off. If you had to tap it back in, then the press fit is good. The cap is steel, the housing is steel, and things don't get that hot up front.

Something mechanical + forceful made the cap come loose- maybe the impeller shaft moved forward? (just thinking out loud here...) You might want to check the screw which holds the belt pulley on the rear end of the impeller shaft)- maybe that fell out? That screw probably holds the impeller shaft from moving forward.

And when you tap the cap back in place, it's a good idea to apply a small line of grease resistant RTV sealer.

 

The impeller shaft (aka worm shaft) itself shouldn't be able move forward without also pushing the front flange bushing forward, and that's where the C retaining ring seen in the parts diagram (and service manual) comes into play.

Hopefully the area will be cleaned and inspected to ensure that the front bushing is intact and the retaining ring is solidly in place.

 

Update #2. Based on the comments of many of you, I decided it wasn't a great idea just putting the cap back on. So, I took the cap back off. It looks like the flange and "C" retaining ring appear to be doing their job. I see no signs of damage (see pics). One thing I'm curious about though is it appears to be packed with some kind of grease. Again, see pics. The one with the grease on it is the inside of the cap. I took the filler screw off the top of the case and that's what is inside too. Everything I've read on this site says it should be gear oil, not grease. Thoughts?

 

My Craftsman uses the same type. A heavy grease type.

Edit, I guess the cap does not take an O ring?
I like my gearcase better.

 

The bushing and retaining ring look good. At least that's not the cause.

As was mentioned in posts earlier, spec calls for Ariens L3 Synthetic Severe Duty Gear Lube p/n 00068800. Also, the level of the oil "must be 6.1 - 6.7 cm (2.4" - 2.6") from the flat surface of the gearcase cover." I don't have a gearcase to check, but it seems to me that roughtly 6.4 cm down would be below the worm gear on the impeller shaft and probably not higher than the top of the auger shaft. (The driven gear would be partially in the oil, and would carry it on the teeth to top where it is engaged with the worm gear.)

That grease is not likely to settle down on its own and establishing the level some 6 cm below the cover would be problematic. Perhaps the gear case is not only incorrectly filled, but overfilled, and is forcing grease out wherever it can.

(Could that milky material be the gear oil that has mixed with water?)

Incidentally, the parts, service, and user manuals for Ariens blowers can be downloaded from Operator's Manuals - Ariens. Once the model number is filled in, there will be a list of documents, each for a particular serial number range.

 

I've seen plenty of older ariens serviced after the factory with a heavy grease, but its no good as the grease is forced to the outside of the case and the gears essentially run dry. Then you will be digging for "gold" like below. You need the L3 oil for sure.

Sent from my SM-N986U1 using Tapatalk

 

The older Ariens machines like the ST824's that used an aluminum gearcase came from the factory packed with "00" semi-liquid grease.Ariens has since superseded all previous gearbox lubricants to L3 synthetic gear oil-which is wonderful as long as those old gearbox shaft seals don't leak like a sieve.

 

I would think someone has filled the unit with 00 grease instead of L3 gear lube (oil).
Perhaps the seals were leaking and the previous owner removed the L3 and replaced with grease?

 

Found myself reading up on this thread for the exact same issue on my Ariens SnoThro Pro28” (926038). Going to check the retaining ring and tap the cap back on if all looks good. I noticed a leak last summer but assumed it was the fluid film I doused it with during winterization. So fast forward to the end of this snow season and I noticed the cap pushed out almost all the way.

 

@Skeetie96 Welcome aboard.

Might be an idea to use a few spots of rubber sealant/similar when re-attaching these, would beat shooting it across the street.

 

When I took our 2007 1336DLE apart I used a combination of gear oil & grease. I figured it would mix. It did. I ran that for a few years and finally found some 00 grease. I bought it and drained most of the thick oil/grease mixture out and used the 00 grease. It seems to be a very low temperature grease. Still running it with no issues yet.

It is something that you definitely want to keep lubricated because they are not cheap, if you can even find one.

 

I think I know why it popped out…. The weather finally got nice so I checked it today and the oil is overfilled. The manual said about 6cm below the hole…. It was more like 4 cm…. And that was after some of it leaked out.

 

When I filled mine I overfilled it. I'm still waiting for it to leak. I think it's been 10 years now.