# 4 year old Deluxe 28" sluggish



## rk219 (Feb 14, 2019)

I have a four year old Deluxe 28" (921030). I have one, maybe two problems.

Recently it has become sluggish. I especially notice this when going up hill on my driveway (400 feet, gravel, does get icy at times..for a sense of the conditions). Sometimes I need to nudge it along just to get it going in pretty much any forward gear. Yesterday as I was clearing snow it became very difficult just to get it up the driveway even after it had been cleared of snow. The snowblower would kind of just not want to move. The engine sounds fine though.

Also, the snowblower would not move in the first reverse gear.

Here is what I've done today.

I adjusted the speed selector gear following the instruction manual and including 7 turns upward after matching the pin and the hole. This got R1 working again (slowly though). But it did not help the sluggishness of going up hill on my now cleared driveway. 

I then opened up the frame where the friction disc is just to have a look around. There was a lot of black rubbery/foamy particles which I read in my manual is normal. I'm not able to tell if the rubber band around the disc is worn out or not though. I read someone mention that it would become sort of concave if worn but mine appeared to just be flat (so not concave, nor convex). I hope that makes sense.

I then tried adjusting the traction drive clutch. At first I tightened it to much so that the tab was not touching the stop hole so I had to loosen it a bit and stopped right when the tab came into contact again. This did not help the snowblower when going uphill.

So that is where I am now. I'd like to resolve this before the next snowstorm and I'd also like to DIY it too since I don't have a good way of getting the snowblower to a dealer.

Thanks for any help.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Maybe your carb is dirty? Does it have adjustable mixture screws? Belt slipping? Something binding? Doubt the latter.


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## Lottstodo (Feb 16, 2018)

I have seen this numerous times.
First check the drive belt, it is only a 3/8 " belt and you may find that it is worn enough to be bottoming out in the pulley and many of them have chunks taken out of the inside of the belt as well. Also remember to adjust belt slack using the idler pulley retaining bolt. (ALL belts)
Your friction disc is flat? Replace it. The new one will have about 3/8" rubber sticking up and will be somewhat rounded, do not let it get to where it is metal to metal or you will destroy the drive hub.

I do not adjust the drive cable to where is touches the the frame tab when not engaged , I always keep 1/16" space so that I can always see a gap.
I would replace both belt and friction disc. and reset all your cables and shift linkage, then after you run it a few hours recheck belt tension and the disc adjustment.


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## Lottstodo (Feb 16, 2018)

for the drive belt check it is the bottom pulley that the belt ends up bottoming out in.

ps. I just did one 2 weeks ago same thing.

I replaced with stens parts.
The reason I maintain a gap on the frame tab is that I have seen them adjusted to where when you engage the drive handle nothing happens until the lever is almost touching the handle bar, then it moves but it it then adjusted to where the proper tension is not seating the friction disc on the drive hub and lets the disc slip on the hub causing premature wear, but yet it is touching the tab as the manual states.


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

I assume that you cleaned off the friction plate and disc properly? Also, can you post a picture of the condition of the friction disc for the members here to review. There is alot of experience here, I am confident you can get the machine running well again.

.


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## rk219 (Feb 14, 2019)

Added picture to original message. Hope that helps. I did not do any cleaning, though I will. 

Thanks for all the replies. Tomorrow I'm gonna open it up again with your info in mind.


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## Lottstodo (Feb 16, 2018)

YES definite replace friction wheel!!! Do drive belt at the same time. and use brake kleen to clean up and remove rubber track on the drive hub, and of course remove all the old rubber debris. But readjust everything, including squaring the housing to the the drive tractor.


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

Lottstodo said:


> YES definite replace friction wheel!!! Do drive belt at the same time. and use brake kleen to clean up and remove rubber track on the drive hub, and of course remove all the old rubber debris. But readjust everything, including squaring the housing to the the drive tractor.


↑ What he said.

From the photo the friction wheel is past needing replacement, the metal part is almost to the drive hub. Also the drive belt is not visible in the photo so that suggests that it is worn out as well.


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## rk219 (Feb 14, 2019)

Thank you so much! I'm gonna head to a shop today to pick up a disc and belt. 

I haven't taken a look yet as it's still dark. I'm looking at the "Engine, Frame, And Belt Drive" assembly at parts.ariens.com and I see two belts, #14 (ARIENS SNOW BLOWER TRACTION V-BELT 07200111) and #15 (ARIENS SNOW BLOWER ATTACHMENT V-BELT - SET OF 2).

Would this be the belt I would need to find and purchase? 
https://www.jackssmallengines.com/jacks-parts-lookup/part/ariens/07200111

Home Depot has "Traction Drive Belt 70706500" and one of the questions asks if it fits the 28" Deluxe 921030 and Ariens came back and said yes, it would fit. Is this the same belt as the one I just linked above?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ariens-...r-2-Stage-Gas-Snow-Blowers-70706500/100646420

I'll reply later with how it goes.


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

If the engine sounds and performs fine, then it is simply a transmission issue, which to me, is the easier of the 2 to fix. Firstly, I find that the Ariens go through frictions disks faster than my Murray ever did, but they also have better traction. That is because the friction plate has a "grain" to it, which gives this machine the power of a "bull in a China shop"....Without Question......replace your friction disk, and thoroughly clean the friction metal plate. You tube is spectacular in showing you how to do this. Don't watch just one video, watch several. Different guys do it different ways ( oh...that sounds bad doesn't it?...) but they all end up with the same result. Also readjust your traction cables after that. I'm sure you'll be fine after that.:surprise::smile_big: Oh, and check those drive and auger belts too....replace before the get too worn.
Again.....You tube.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

The Ariens going through friction discs must be a recent happening as my ST 824 was used when I got it 18 years ago and I believe the friction disc was original, but any way I've never replaced it....the only Ariens I've ever worked on that need friction discs were the ones made in this century.


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

cranman said:


> The Ariens going through friction discs must be a recent happening as my ST 824 was used when I got it 18 years ago and I believe the friction disc was original, but any way I've never replaced it....the only Ariens I've ever worked on that need friction discs were the ones made in this century.



Actually Cranman,you are right and I should have phrased that better. 

What I really meant was that there is so much more rubber dust inside the Ariens than I had previously seen inside any other blower before. I was surprised by it when I saw the Ariens I bought....it was used at a dealership for demo, or who know...maybe a return. I thought something was wrong when I first discovered it, until I found out it was normal. My Murray's ( mine and my Dad's) never had that much dust in them, and I had mine for 20+ years. My Ariens was 4 years old when I bought it, and it seemed to me that there was probably 1/3 of the rubber gone. I had just changed my friction disk in the Murray at 19 years, before it decided to give up.


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## rk219 (Feb 14, 2019)

Just to update, I replaced the drive belt and the friction wheel and the thing is working perfectly again! So big thanks to everyone to helped me out...I greatly appreciate it.

I had a couple of irritating happenings. One of the wheels did not want to come off at all. I put a heat gun to it for a few seconds and then it eventually came off. Also, one of the "Flange and Bearings" did not want to come off and both the "BRG-Ball" (that circular object nestled inside the flange/bearing) did not want to come off at all (sorry about the terminology, I'm looking at the parts diagram on Ariens.com). It took me a long time to get them off.

So I greased both wheels but wasn't sure about the flange / brg ball. I don't want to have the same issue the next time I have to replace the friction wheel. Any recommendations?

Thanks again everyone.


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

Watching Donnyboy's videos, it seems that yearly lubing and greasing of those things is the key if your machine gets a fair amount of use each other, otherwise every other year. I'll be doing that on my machines. Glad it has worked out for you!
:icon-cheers:


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## rk219 (Feb 14, 2019)

Thanks, I appreciate the response and all the other help.


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## russ01915 (Dec 18, 2013)

You need a friction disc and belt. Get the auger and drive belt while you're at it. Also, don't shift while moving, only shift when stopped.


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## Rooskie (Feb 12, 2015)

rk219 said:


> I have a four year old Deluxe 28" (921030). I have one, maybe two problems.
> 
> Recently it has become sluggish. I especially notice this when going up hill on my driveway (400 feet, gravel, does get icy at times..for a sense of the conditions). Sometimes I need to nudge it along just to get it going in pretty much any forward gear. Yesterday as I was clearing snow it became very difficult just to get it up the driveway even after it had been cleared of snow. The snowblower would kind of just not want to move. The engine sounds fine though.
> 
> ...


I found this link. Cranman makes an observation you might find interesting:








4 year old Deluxe 28" sluggish


I have a four year old Deluxe 28" (921030). I have one, maybe two problems. Recently it has become sluggish. I especially notice this when going up hill on my driveway (400 feet, gravel, does get icy at times..for a sense of the conditions). Sometimes I need to nudge it along just to get it...




www.snowblowerforum.com




I put your model number and 'friction disk'.
You might try 'sluggish', 'slips'.


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