Beginning to have winter and have been using my 3-4year old 28" Ariens snowblower a bunch at my office. Today I found out one half of the blade isn't turning. I can easily spin it by hand, like it free wheels. The other side doesn't. Do these have a clutch or a pin that connect the two sides to the center?
I can't really take it into the shop until spring, but if it's something easy I can fix myself I'll bring tools to my office and do it...
Any thoughts?
There should be two shears bolt in the center of the auger on either side of the drive mechanism. They're pretty easy to replace.
If you replace the shear pins with 5/16" bolts, DON'T go sucking up any patio blocks!
Don't ask ......
My 1978 Ariens seems to like 1/4" bolts as shear pins and they are thin enough in my experience that they shear when needed, your mileage may vary.
Regardless of whose name is on them, most snowblowers were made by MTD.
If you are not so lucky that it is only a shear pin, all is still not lost, so long as the gear box hasn't eaten itself.
I bought one a few years back that would only turn on one side. The shear pin had been replaced with a standard bolt, and when the previous owner sucked up a rock, it broke one of the driveshafts. I installed a new shear pin, but that side of the auger had extreme death wobble, because the end of the broken shaft was flopping around in the outer bearing. I tried welding the driveshaft back together, but it kept snapping. Fortunately, the augur sleeve itself was strong enough to support everything, so I welded the shaft up again, and then drilled through the auger tube and driveshaft near the outer end and then ran another shear pin through there. It worked great. In fact, I probably could have skipped the welding and just run two bolts through the shaft at opposite ends.
Ok, went and looked at the blower. On one side there's a bolt/nut attaching the blade to the shaft that just so happens to be missing on the other side.
Is the shafted threaded all the way thru? Ie, will I have to extract the bolt remnants or can I just punch the rest of it out of there? Seems like a new nut/bolt will get me going again, whew!
In reply to docwyte :
This is a shear pin. They are $1.98 at Home Depot. If it’s original, this should be the part that failed. Just drive out the remnants. It did it’s job.
Buy a couple of spares.
Sweet, thanks! I'll pick up a few on my way home from work today.
In reply to docwyte :
They are in the Lawn and Garden section, not with hardware.
Some snow throwers have 2-3 holes in the dash to keep extra pins in case it breaks far from the house. I like this kind, no tools required.
Woody said:Regardless of whose name is on them, most snowblowers were made by MTD.
Ariens isn't a most snowblower. They're made directly, not a rebadged MTD. Just so you know. 
Simplicity used to be independent, too, but I don't know where or who makes them since about 15 years ago.
Bought pins from my local hardware store. Also grabbed some smaller sized ones for my snowblower at home. Checked it when I got there and sure enough it had a broken shear pin too. Unlike my blower at work tho, where I was able to easily push the broken pin out, this one took a lot of work to get out. Ended up using a new pin to hammer out the old one. What a PITA!
Both blowers are put back together tho and I have spare pins for each. Thanks all!
Hopefully you bought specific shear pins because they are meant to break. If they don't break when you hit that rock, your drivetrain does.
RealMiniNoMore said:Woody said:Regardless of whose name is on them, most snowblowers were made by MTD.
Ariens isn't a most snowblower. They're made directly, not a rebadged MTD. Just so you know.
Simplicity used to be independent, too, but I don't know where or who makes them since about 15 years ago.
Simplicity is owned by Briggs and Stratton.
In reply to crankwalk :
Yes, new shear pins. Had to use the blower at work today, nice to not leave a strip of snow to have to go back and shovel...
having a gravel driveway, I keep a stash of sheer pins on hand.
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