# Converting an ATC Pro 32 into an Auto-Turn Pro 32



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

I got around to installing the Auto-Turn differential today. I did this on a 2013 Pro 32 which has the ATC differential. It was the last year of the ATC. The following year (2014) they released the Auto-Turn and I thought I'd try it out. I have no complaints or issues with my ATC, I just want to try it based on some of the positive and negative things I've read. I wanted to form my own opinion of it. It's a pretty simple swap. I took a few photos along the way. 

First here are some photos of the Auto-Turn differential:



















Here are some photos of the ATC differential I took out:



















Here is the blower with it's wheels removed and ready to have the bottom cover removed.










Some photos with the bottom cover removed and with the ATC still installed.



















Here's it with the axle slid almost all the way out. As soon as I slid the axle to the left a few more inches the ATC fell right out. Then all you have to do is slide the Auto-Turn on where the ATC was. The blue stuff you see is AMSOIL marine grease that I use to lubricate the axles, auger shafts and other things which require grease. It holds up GREAT to water.










Here it is with the Auto-Turn installed.










Here it is with the tires back on and ready for the bottom cover to be put back on.












I did take it out and played with it around the driveway. It definitely is much smoother and makes turning a lot easier compared to the previous years ATC. I don't see any reasons why I won't like this better than the ATC.


----------



## Blue Hill (Mar 31, 2013)

Great post Hawk! I for one, as well as I'm sure a ton of other members, will be really looking forward to learning what you find out when you really get to try it out.
Cheers
Larry


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

I know I am looking forward to trying it out as well! We need some good snow storms though!! All you guys up in Canada and out on the east coast are taking all of it!


----------



## Blue Hill (Mar 31, 2013)

JRHAWK9 said:


> I know I am looking forward to trying it out as well! We need some good snow storms though!! All you guys up in Canada and out on the east coast are taking all of it!


Careful what ya wish for buddy. . I'll see what we can do. I'd be more than happy to send you lots of it.


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

Bring it on!!  The bureaucrat's around here have lost touch of reality and need to be brought back to it. We live in WI, not FL. They recently closed schools for a whopping 3" of snow!


----------



## ken53 (Nov 7, 2013)

Thank You very much for taking the time and effort to put together that post. You did an excellent job of it. Great pictures to, you must know your way around a camera too. 

I wondered how they split axle, thanks to your pictures its clear to me now. I'll be looking forward to your follow-up, posts. 

Those darn Canadians send us all their cold air but never their snow.  

Super job Hawk !

Ken


----------



## Blue Hill (Mar 31, 2013)

JRHAWK9 said:


> Bring it on!!  The bureaucrat's around here have lost touch of reality and need to be brought back to it. We live in WI, not FL. They recently closed schools for a whopping 3" of snow!


I think I heard a few winters ago, when the city of Toronto had the army come in to shovel out the bus shelters.  Can you say Nanny State boys and girls?


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

ken53 said:


> Thank You very much for taking the time and effort to put together that post. You did an excellent job of it. Great pictures to, you must know your way around a camera too.
> 
> I wondered how they split axle, thanks to your pictures its clear to me now. I'll be looking forward to your follow-up, posts.
> 
> ...


Very much welcome Ken! Now that you mention it, I should have taken a picture showing the right side axle sleeve half slide on to the axle to better demonstrate how the axles are split. I totally removed the axle sleeve and set it off to the side. Glad you were able to see how it works with the photos I took. 

It's seems like a very smooth system. It's actually smoother than I thought it was going to be. I thought there would be more "grabby" feedback from the inside wheel when making a zero turn. I hardly feel anything. It even seems to work decently when at max speed. I tested it while the driveway had a dusting of snow and was partially covered in ice from the sleet we had sometime last week.


----------



## Runner50 (Jan 21, 2013)

Blue Hill said:


> Great post Hawk! I for one, as well as I'm sure a ton of other members, will be really looking forward to learning what you find out when you really get to try it out.
> Cheers
> Larry


+1 As mentioned already, great job with the camera!


----------



## Smolenski7 (Nov 24, 2010)

JRHAWK89, you made that look so easy.

Question, can that modification be made with any Ariens? I really don't know much about the mechanical workings of my 2011 24" Deluxe, however, would it be possible to swap out the axle and differential for an axle and differential meant for a 24" Platinum?


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

I don't think I made it look any more easier than it actually was. 

As far as any Ariens. This should work on any Ariens which already has the ATC (Hilliard's Auto-Lok) differential. For those that don't have either the ATC or Auto-Turn then I believe Ariens has a kit that will allow you to install the Auto-Turn into other models. When I spoke to Ariens awhile ago to get info on the Auto-Turn, he did mention they also made a kit but seeing I already had the ATC I didn't need it. This leads me to believe you can purchase, as a kit, the split axle(s) needed to convert a solid axle, non ATC/Auto-Turn into an Auto-Turn system. May want to contact Ariens and speak with a tech to make sure your model is one of those supported by the kit. Keep in mind, the ATC differential (the one I removed) is no longer offered by Ariens. The ATC part number has been superseded by the part number for the Auto-Turn. So, if those guys with an ATC need to replace their ATC for some reason, they will be given an Auto-Turn differential.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Smolenski7 (Nov 24, 2010)

Thanks JRHAWK9. I've looked at the schematics for the 24" Platinum. If there is a kit, which I can't find online anywhere, I would assume it would come with all of the parts shown it. Probably a $200 modification. Might be worth it.


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

Smolenski7 said:


> Thanks JRHAWK9. I've looked at the schematics for the 24" Platinum. If there is a kit, which I can't find online anywhere, I would assume it would come with all of the parts shown it. Probably a $200 modification. Might be worth it.


Try giving Ariens a call directly, as I know they told me about a kit. Otherwise I think all you would need is the Auto-Turn differential and the two axles. I assume the axle diameter is the same and how the wheels attach to the axles are the same as what you currently have.


----------



## Snowmann (Dec 24, 2012)

The kit is to convert units with the remote locking axle or the trigger lock differential to ATC (and now Auto Turn). Solid axle models with lynch pins could be converted but new wheels would be required. That would get pricey.

If you already have an ATC, all you'll need is the differential unit itself. They are interchangeable.


----------



## Smolenski7 (Nov 24, 2010)

Why new wheels? Is the diameter of the axle different?


----------



## mkd (Dec 31, 2013)

jrhawk9! watched this thread and very imformative. i see the axle slides out the left side and it appears to be a one piece that is two diff. diameters. also only splined into the auto turn on left side? what exactly do you need to take apart to pull the axles to grease the axle bushings?


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

Smolenski7 said:


> Why new wheels? Is the diameter of the axle different?


I'm guessing it's because it's a totally different mounting system, the wheel offsets are different and/or the diameters are different. My wheels mount with metal clips, not pins.


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

mkd said:


> jrhawk9! watched this thread and very imformative. i see the axle slides out the left side and it appears to be a one piece that is two diff. diameters. also only splined into the auto turn on left side? what exactly do you need to take apart to pull the axles to grease the axle bushings?


The left axle is a solid one piece axle with splines on the left as you see in the photo. What I didn't take a picture of and wish I did was of the right side. The right side has an axle tube that slides over the smaller diameter seen on the right side of the solid axle. This axle tube has splines which then slide into the right side of the Auto-Lock. In addition to greasing where the wheels slide onto the axle, I also grease the solid axle where the axle tube slides over it on the right side, as whenever you are turning, these two axles are turning inside each other. Those of you with Auto-Turn/ATC, you may notice some rusty water/residue on the right side wheel. This is why I try to keep this area well greased.


----------



## Winter (Dec 30, 2013)

JRHAWK9 said:


> I got around to installing the Auto-Turn differential today. I did this on a 2013 Pro 32 which has the ATC differential. It was the last year of the ATC. The following year (2014) they released the Auto-Turn and I thought I'd try it out. I have no complaints or issues with my ATC, I just want to try it based on some of the positive and negative things I've read. I wanted to form my own opinion of it. It's a pretty simple swap. I took a few photos along the way.
> 
> First here are some photos of the Auto-Turn differential:
> 
> ...


Actually I just bought a 13 hp 32 pro 2008 used very little. First Ariens owned and it has the trigger. I used it easy to turn . So I showed my wife never used a snowblower ever and is 57 years old. She tried the tirgger and got use to it but after she just liked tilting the machine down and doing a nice turn and liked it better? So there you go,really auto turn ,ATC, Triger who needs them ,a woman just does the old fashion turn,ha,ha. Really I do use the triger sometimes. We have a very bumpy driveway as it is granite stone so have to leave some snow on it. So that is why I did not buy the Auto turn worried about it turning on its own.


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

I attached a screen capture of the parts manual showing the parts of the Auto-Turn/axle area. This may clear up some of the questions of the split axle. Although I'm not quite sure what number 14 is, as I don't think I have those two bushings on mine and I'm not even sure where they would go if I did have them! LOL Only thing I can think of; they slide on the smaller part of the solid axle and help the axle tube rotate among the solid axle. I did order a pair of them (@ $2ea) just to see what they are.


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

JRHAWK9 said:


> I attached a screen capture of the parts manual showing the parts of the Auto-Turn/axle area. This may clear up some of the questions of the split axle. Although I'm not quite sure what number 14 is, as I don't think I have those two bushings on mine and I'm not even sure where they would go if I did have them! LOL Only thing I can think of; they slide on the smaller part of the solid axle and help the axle tube rotate among the solid axle. I did order a pair of them (@ $2ea) just to see what they are.


My 77 Ariens differential has those 2 bushings (14) where the 2 axle pieces join.


----------



## mswlogo (Dec 22, 2013)

As much as I appreciate the work here documenting and sharing it... 

In all fairness to others evaluating and comparing ATC or AT on a Pro 32 is probably apples and oranges. 
Not mention adding the armor skids too. 

The pro line weighs twice as much and wouldn't bounce around so easily compared to a smaller and lighter Delux or Platinum. 

Also I have not seen much mention of models with the wheels set back further. Currently there is a hodge podge mix of which models have the wheels set back further. Wheel setback or not is also like two completely different machines. It might be some folks find one works better than the othe other. In completely changes the weight distribution. I suspect a Pro 32 has the wheels set back. 

So a Pro machine, larger machine, wheels set back, armor skids. Yeah that would probably track straight with NO differential installed  

Just something to think about, not a complaint about this work at all.


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

Shryp said:


> My 77 Ariens differential has those 2 bushings (14) where the 2 axle pieces join.


If you can even tell from my photos, do you see where they would go in my setup? I'm wondering if it's just a goof in the parts manual...??? I know for a fact nothing fell out and unless they were stuck inside the short axle sleeve and I didn't see them, I don't have them.


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

mswlogo said:


> As much as I appreciate the work here documenting and sharing it...
> 
> In all fairness to others evaluating and comparing ATC or AT on a Pro 32 is probably apples and oranges.
> Not mention adding the armor skids too.
> ...


Thanks for pointing that out. I also added two weight bars and a baffle to the front, so mine should be pushing 350lbs the way it currently sits.


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

JRHAWK9 said:


> If you can even tell from my photos, do you see where they would go in my setup? I'm wondering if it's just a goof in the parts manual...??? I know for a fact nothing fell out and unless they were stuck inside the short axle sleeve and I didn't see them, I don't have them.


My 77 Ariens has them pressed into the short axle. They are hard to see as they are very thin to begin with and if you add wear on them plus a mess of grease they are easy to miss. The only reason I know for sure they are there is because my axle was wobbly and I replaced them to tighten it back up.


----------



## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

Shryp said:


> My 77 Ariens has them pressed into the short axle. They are hard to see as they are very thin to begin with and if you add wear on them plus a mess of grease they are easy to miss. The only reason I know for sure they are there is because my axle was wobbly and I replaced them to tighten it back up.


thanks! I'm guessing I do have them then and just didn't notice them. I couldn't tell from the schematic how big they were or what they looked like. That's the only place I could see them being though. I guess I'll have a brand new pair to put in my parts box for future use....lol


----------



## mswlogo (Dec 22, 2013)

JRHAWK9 said:


> Thanks for pointing that out. I also added two weight bars and a baffle to the front, so mine should be pushing 350lbs the way it currently sits.


 You have a walk behind Snow Cat there.


----------

