# Recommended repair shop North of Boston



## zup28w (May 10, 2013)

Hi all,

I managed to kill the auger today on my Ariens 8524. I was doing the end of the driveway and I believe I caught the metal blade that must have fallen off my neighbors shovel. It was wrapped around the main shaft from the blower to the auger. The augur is no longer spinning though the blower does spin.

All shear pins are intact. The augur spins with no resistance. When it spins, the main shaft that goes to the blower does not turn. I can hear clicking coming from the gear box between the two augur blades when I rotate the blades. Both blades also move together in sync.

Anyone know of a decent repair shop by Woburn/Stoneham? I had a bad experience at Whittemore Hardware and all the other Ariens dealers in this area have horrible reviews. The other problem I have is trying to transport it, but I'll have to figure something out there. Thanks in advance for your help.

Greg

Here's a pic before I removed the metal blade from the shovel. It's completely wrapped around.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

I think by the time you pay a shop to fix this the labor cost is going to be high enough that you can buy a used working machine off craigslist. Have you considered looking for another machine and / or fixing it yourself?

Donyboy has several videos on youtube of replacing the gears in those gearboxes. His are all MTD and Murray machines, but the basic process is the same.

PS, sorry for your bad luck. That wear strip doesn't even look big enough to break the gears. I wonder if your augers are rusted to the shaft and that is why the shear pins didn't break.


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

Could that be one of those gearboxes that has a roll pin that breaks?


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

Can you post a model #?


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## zup28w (May 10, 2013)

Thanks all for the replies. It's a 932104. From what I was told, some of the parts cross reference Murray. I actually bought it off craigslist this summer and it's been a complete money pit. For how much I have into it, I could have bought a brand new one.

Is the labor to replace the gear box going to be that high?

Greg


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

The gear is going to be around $80 and Ariens only sells complete gearboxes now for the tune of almost $200. He might have older or used parts around to save you some money, but it is still going to probably be 2 hours labor at least as long as everything comes apart easy.


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## mtd1024 (Feb 2, 2014)

that little piece of metals not the root cause of your problem id be surprized if the machine even knew it hit that.


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## zup28w (May 10, 2013)

Thanks for the input. I think I'm going to rename the snowblower "The Orange Money Pit". The machine is worth maybe $475-$600 depending on when you try to sell it and I've already sunk that much in repair work this year. I was planning on trying to get a better machine over the summer (when prices drop) and sell this one next winter (assuming it was running fine). Now I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to throw another $250+ into it.

We have another storm coming Tues but that should only be 1"-3". 

Greg


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## markp99 (Jan 2, 2014)

Nashua Outdoor Power is a Ariens service/dealer. Maybe a bit further out than you want.


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## chrisoppie (Dec 12, 2013)

Pro equipment in Woburn or Andover small engine in andover


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## zup28w (May 10, 2013)

Thanks for the names markp99 & chrisoppie.

My neighbor recommended a guy who does small engine repair work and he's less than a mile away. He'll provide a free estimate. I'm going to give that a short first.

I looked up Pro Equipment in Woburn but the reviews online weren't very good. Seems like they treat commercial accounts much better than consumers. The info could be wrong but I don't know anyone that's used their service department before.

Greg


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## zup28w (May 10, 2013)

Drove the snowblower down to the guy who does small engine repair after I got out of work. He just called me back and confirmed that it's the worm gear that's shot (insert multitude of 4 letter words). He's going to give me a call back tomorrow once he has a chance to talk to his parts suppliers, but chances our parts + labor will probably be more than we want to spend.

Greg


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Maybe check with this guy:

http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/snowblowers-sale/1637-discontinued-ariens-auger-gears.html


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## zup28w (May 10, 2013)

Thanks Shryp. 

PM Sent. 

Greg


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## zup28w (May 10, 2013)

Found some used gear boxes for around $100 vs $200 new, but when you add in labor, it's still more than what I want to spend. I've decided to cut my losses and I'm going to try to sell it on craigslist as is or see if a dealership will give me anything on a trade in. Appreciate all the feedback.


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