# New Ariens - Leaking Oil?



## lucyb12 (Jun 15, 2020)

Good morning everyone I'm new to the forum coming from Michigan. So this past winter I invested in an Ariens from a local dealer and used it a few times back in December/January, it's been sitting in the garage ever since. Last week I noticed an oil drop forming on the corner of the orange sheet metal, dripping on to the floor... I'm not the most mechanically inclined so I'm here asking for your advice. Any ideas on how to fix or where I should be looking? Thanks!


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

Tip it up into the service position and take off the belly pan. I doubt that it is oil. Maybe excess grease that has dripped/melted (especially since the zerk is right above the grease spot).


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

That grease zerk should have a small rubber cover from the factory as shown by white arrow in attached pic.


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

Grease shouldn't melt, especially with no high heat. It is most likely lubricant spray from the control cables (the one with the big spring that you see in the picture). Once in a while, I would spray some lubricant in there to prevent it from freezing up in the winter. The excessive oil would then drop to the ground at the end of the cable like that. It is a new machine, so who know what maintenance they did to it. If there is a mess (excessive grease, or oil), they wouldn't wipe it off.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

Modern grease will melt. I have 4 grease guns (different fittings and grease) in my unheated garage and they all have to be wiped occasionally to eliminate liquid drops of grease. The pic of the problem area shows grease dripping from the zerk and a darker stain on the cardboard underneath that looks like grease stain. The little rubber cover prevents this. Ariens are very careful with their products so a little item like a rubber cover is typical of their quality ways.


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

I keep my grease gun in a plastic bag in a flower pot to catch the drippings.


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## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

Town said:


> Modern grease will melt. I have 4 grease guns (different fittings and grease) in my unheated garage and they all have to be wiped occasionally to eliminate liquid drops of grease. The pic of the problem area shows grease dripping from the zerk and a darker stain on the cardboard underneath that looks like grease stain. The little rubber cover prevents this. Ariens are very careful with their products so a little item like a rubber cover is typical of their quality ways.


I agree it is most likely grease drips from the zerk. My Ariens purchased last year did not come with a rubber cover over the zerk and it looks like this one didn't either. Perhaps Arien's is saving 5 cents a machine now by not supplying a rubber cover,  or maybe my dealer never reinstalled it?


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

is it under warranty? I would ask the dealer if so instead of guessing.


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## lucyb12 (Jun 15, 2020)

I definitely see the leak in the zerk area. But what about what's going on in the bottom highlighted area?


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

TAKE THE BELLY PAN OFF AND LOOK INSIDE. IT’s PROBABLY ALL RELATED TO THE GREASE/LUBE!! I DONT EXPECT ENGINE OIL FROM THAT LOCATION.


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## rod330 (Oct 9, 2015)

lucyb12 said:


> I definitely see the leak in the zerk area. But what about what's going on in the bottom highlighted area?


If you're not sure how to put it into the "service position", follow these simple steps. First make sure there's not much gas in the tank. It don't want to drain a nearly full tank, sandwich a plastic grocery store bag between the filler and cap to reduce the likelihood of leaking. Then grasp the handles and tilt it up on its end as shown in the photo. Placing a wood block between the top lip of the blower housing and the floor will reduce the chance of an engine oil leak. Simply remove the belly pan- usually 4 to 6 hex head screws. See how much oil has accumulated on the belly pan and send us a few photos of the internals.


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## WIHD (Dec 15, 2019)

Town said:


> Modern grease will melt. I have 4 grease guns (different fittings and grease) in my unheated garage and they all have to be wiped occasionally to eliminate liquid drops of grease. The pic of the problem area shows grease dripping from the zerk and a darker stain on the cardboard underneath that looks like grease stain. The little rubber cover prevents this. Ariens are very careful with their products so a little item like a rubber cover is typical of their quality ways.


no grease cap on my new Ariens purchased in December 2019.


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## penna stogey (Nov 25, 2019)

Plenty of YouTube Vids to help you step by step through this crisis...Good luck


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

WIHD said:


> no grease cap on my new Ariens purchased in December 2019.


Perhaps it is time to visit Ariens to get one, or your dealer to see if it was not replaced after greasing.


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## WIHD (Dec 15, 2019)

Town said:


> Perhaps it is time to visit Ariens to get one, or your dealer to see if it was not replaced after greasing.


Thanks, yea dealer I got this at is 70ish miles away so prob won't drive all the way there. I have some laying around so threw one on, but this is the kid of detail people pay for w/ an Ariens machine. It should be anyway IMO.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

WIHD said:


> Thanks, yea dealer I got this at is 70ish miles away so prob won't drive all the way there. I have some laying around so threw one on, but this is the kid of detail people pay for w/ an Ariens machine. It should be anyway IMO.


did i miss something here? did u take off belly plate? was it just leaking from zerk?

thanks


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## WIHD (Dec 15, 2019)

orangputeh said:


> did i miss something here? did u take off belly plate? was it just leaking from zerk?
> 
> thanks


there was no grease cap on my new machine. I am not the OP. I know some say you don't need them, but it does keep them from getting gunked up (at least on mowers, cars, motorcycles etc). thanks.


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## BeatsShoveling (Feb 14, 2020)

The drive section of the snowblower doesn't have any sealed parts that will "leak" oil, practically speaking. It does however have a bunch of exposed things that get greased or oiled every year or so. Any extra lube will run freely out of the mechanism and onto your floor. After a few years you can expect to scrape all kinds of old grease, oil, and rubber particles off the inside of the bottom cover.


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