Forums Archive Index > Outdoor Power Equipment > Ariens 926 Pro, second use, delight turns to disappointment
Date: 10 Dec 2005 3:08 pm
This was the second storm for the Ariens but it was the first real test and I've come away somewhat disappointed. To start with, a few minutes into the job the machine started to make a terrible rattling noise. After a quick check of places where metal meets metal I found that one of the screws holding the metal shroud around the motor had come out and shroud was banging against the motor. I felt this was a minor problem so I continued to blow snow. About 20 minutes later the auger stopped working. A quick check uncovered a loose cable. I tightened it and kept going. 20 minutes later it came loose again and I tightened it again. The cycle continued through the rest of the job but in fairness to Ariens it may have been due to me not wanting to overtighten the nut and risk damaging the cable.
Today I went to the dealer and he gave me a replacement screw but it wouldn't tighten. I figured either he gave me the wrong size or someone stripped the hole. I went to the hardware store and bought an assortment of standard and metric screws in both coarse and fine threads and tried each of them until I found one that kind of fit. As for the cable the dealer said to tighten the nut more. I've tightened it a little more than I did last night but haven't been able to test it because of a broken shear pin.
Normally replacing a shear pin is a 5 minute job but in this case the hole in the auger doesn't line up with the hole in the shaft. It's about an eighth to a quarter of an inch off which kept me from being able to push out the remnants of the broken pin. My neighbor came over and pulled on the side of the auger housing a little to line up the holes while I knocked out the old pin. I also noticed that the right side auger has a lot more latteral movement that the left side which is snug up against the transfer case. I decided not to put a new pin in until I show it to the dealer.
Hopefully I've tightned the auger cable enough and the replacement screw will stay in place but I'm bringing the unit back to the dealer on Monday to see what he says about the auger. I've never had this problem on any of the other machines I've owned.
I believe the first two problems are manufacturing quality control issues but I've noticed what I believe is a design problem with the chute control. It works fine on level ground or if the machine is pointing uphill but if the manchine is pointing downhill rotating the chute 190 degrees in either direction is difficult. When you let go of the lever the chute won't lock in a fully rotated position because gravity pulls it forward before the locking mechanism kicks in. I found I had to hold the chute in place with my left hand before letting go of the control with my right hand.
On a positive note the deflector problem I experienced during the first storm didn't reoccur. A little WD40 seems to have solved the problem. Also the 9.5 OHV motor can move a lot of snow without bogging down. The height of the plume of snow coming out the chute was awesome. I was tempted to see if I could blow snow from the front yard over the house into the back yard. The engine runs welll but there's a noticable vibration at idle speed. It so easy to start I think Ariens could offer electric start as an option. The differential drive is a big improvement over the lock pin mechanism and the locking deflector control is a big improvement over the deflector control on my 2004 Ariens 1128.
Date: 10 Dec 2005 7:29 pm
On your chute control, it sure does seem like a fine line between flapping back and forth like a shutter in a hurricane and too tight.
When you go from side to side you are kind of lifting or pulling toward you or pushing away or pushing down to release the position lock. What if you force it locked when you are going downhill? IMO the fix should be the chute should not "drift" at all no matter the position of the machine. Uphill downhill or sideways, you should need to apply enough force to get it to move.
The thing reminds me of an automatic stick shift on an old karman ghia or beetle.
Date: 11 Dec 2005 7:43 am
Hi guys!
1) The shroud screw is an issue for the engine manufacturer. I wouldn' expect Ariens to check every nut and bolt on the engine.
2)The issues with the cable, the chute and POSSIBLY the auger sound like it COULD BE lack of dealer prep.
3)The rough running of the engine can be blamed solely on the EPA :evil: for their insistance of non adjustable carbs.
Marc