# Original barn find 1965? Ariens 10-m6



## willsmysticcobra (Jan 16, 2015)

Hello there!

Picked up my Uncle's original Ariens snowblower last Monday after he tipped me off that he was no longer interested in it. Upon taking delivery, I immediately tried to start her to no avail, but it had compression! 

Off to the store where I picked up fresh oil, new plug, carb cleaner, and a gallon of 93 octane gas to try and revive it. After a three hour session and some carb tuning, she fired right up!

Now I found this site due to some research and came across Sscotsman's website that deciphers the different vintage Ariens models. Great site by the way! 

My only question for the forum is I am just curious about the year on this beast. If I read correctly I have a 1965 built on the 22nd of October. The model stamp reads H60-75003E and serial is 5295 12062. 


Anyways glad to be apart of the forum and looking forward to helping and learning!


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Welcome from the Keystone state. Nice blower and in good condition. It'll last you a long time.


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## scrappy (Dec 7, 2014)

Welcome. Very nice machine.


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## willsmysticcobra (Jan 16, 2015)

One minor problem friends. For some reason , when I run my blower, the screw that controls the fuel pressure vibrates itself out and a steady stream of gas comes pouring out. The precious owner had a nest of thin gauge wire wrapped around said screw. There has to be something wrong with the screw, I'm just wondering if this screw is replaceable or if I should just rig up another homemade patch to keep it from coming out.


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## 43128 (Feb 14, 2014)

put some jb around it to hold it in place or get a new gas tank. the threads are probably worn if its loosening itself. you could also try loctite but the gas might stop it from working right


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## timreefer (Nov 28, 2014)

*vibrating out*



willsmysticcobra said:


> One minor problem friends. For some reason , when I run my blower, the screw that controls the fuel pressure vibrates itself out and a steady stream of gas comes pouring out. The precious owner had a nest of thin gauge wire wrapped around said screw. There has to be something wrong with the screw, I'm just wondering if this screw is replaceable or if I should just rig up another homemade patch to keep it from coming out.


How about a light spring. Just enough tension to keep it from spinning out.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

It isn't for fuel pressure it is just a shut off valve.

To me it almost looks to be threaded into the tank...

20-8546 - Elbow Fuel Cut-Off Valve | Small Engine Parts | MFG Supply










http://www.mfgsupply.com/smallengine/smengfuel/smengfuelvalves/20-5842.html


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## Harry (Nov 14, 2014)

Welcome Will,

As Shryp has said it is a fuel shut off valve and looks similar the first pic he posted. All the ones I have seen on Ariens machines have wire mesh filter (looks like a drinking straw) that goes in side the tank. These are easily found for $9 - 14 just about anywhere. Or if you can't find one there is a replaceable rubber o ring inside that can be found at any hardware store for a few pennies. The one I have pictured is slightly different than the one on your machine.

Replace that fuel line while you are at it. It will save you down the road.


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## GreenMtnMan (Jan 5, 2014)

Welcome, nice machine you have there. You will find lots of great people and advice here.


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## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

You got the old gal for a good price too, can't beat that. 
And a save from going to the grave.
Welcome to the site.


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## willsmysticcobra (Jan 16, 2015)

Wow, you guys rock. I am going to order up that new part and that will solve the frustrating fuel issue. I really appreciate the advice!


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

willsmysticcobra said:


> Wow, you guys rock. I am going to order up that new part and that will solve the frustrating fuel issue. I really appreciate the advice!


Make sure you order the correct one. The ones I linked to just looked similar to me so not sure if they will work or not.


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## WestminsterFJR (Dec 30, 2013)

Nice machine! How does the screw look like when removed? One option is to modify it so it no longer stops the fuel when it is screwed all the way in. Then you can just locktite it in place (functioning as a full time plug). You will loose the fuel shutoff function, but you can add an inline shutoff valve when replacing the fuel line as suggested in a previous post.


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

Shryp said:


> Make sure you order the correct one. The ones I linked to just looked similar to me so not sure if they will work or not.


Agreed, If you can empty the tank, and remove that shut off, you can take it down to your local hardware store and match up those threads. Often they have a card of both SAE and Metric threads. May take some time an effort, but you will get it right. 

That said, unless you have a set of thread gauges.


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## willsmysticcobra (Jan 16, 2015)

Hey all.... Well I took your advice and picked up the new fuel shut off part and it threaded in like a charm. We got 17 inches of snow in chicago this past weekend and I was anxious to try out my beast. We had about 7 inches of light to medium powder down and I was off.











Now I am sad to report, it didnt do very well. I got it started and started to make my first pass. The snow was thrown no more than 3-4 feet and that was with the engine singing at full power. I made about a 40 foot cut through the driveway, and it died at the end of the driveway. A few more pulls on the cord and it started back up. The issue is, every few feet it would die. Frustrated I took it back to the garage and started fiddling with the carb , etc. To my dismay/ pleasure, my neighbor saw me struggling and brought over his 30in width , 14hp beast of a MTD blower and hurled the snow 30-40 feet. 











He let me give it a whirl and man it was powerful. Watched the super bowl and the blower was on my mind the entire time. Went back to the garage and started messing with the levers on the carb and got her running MUCH better. the snow throw was still kinda dismal but I was able to blow the driveway of about another 6-8 inches of snow. The neighbor suggested the belt may be shot if the throwing was so poor, but on visually inspecting it, it felt taught, etc


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Have you looked into the impeller kits? Could also be your engine isn't running at 3600 rpm.


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## willsmysticcobra (Jan 16, 2015)

Shryp said:


> Have you looked into the impeller kits? Could also be your engine isn't running at 3600 rpm.


I did look into those and may want to give one a try. I can't hold the blower at fault for not being able to compete with that $1,300 dollar blower the neighbor was using. Being 51 years old, it still did its job after I took the new plug out, dried it of gasoline and messed with the throttle. I will have to take a picture of what I did, but it kept it running for a solid 10 mins and I was very happy with that.


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## Harry (Nov 14, 2014)

Will,

By no means will I say your sexy machine will ever be able to compete with your neighbor's 14hp beast. With a proper carb cleaning and tuning it should do you proud. If you want it throw further after it is running flawlessly look into adding an impeller kit as Shryp mentioned above. with that said, I have yet to add them to my machines.


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## Ray 1962 10ML60 (Oct 14, 2011)

Those impeller kits do work wonders, I put one on a Toro I pikced up for my brother in law last year and it was like a whole new machine. I would also check the belt and rpm as others stated, that machine should throw pretty good on its own, something's gotta be off.


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## SteelyTim (Nov 14, 2014)

I wouldn't even go as far as an impeller kit. I think it's time to change the auger bearing and auger bushings at the ends of the auger. If the bearings are bad you're not going to get as much distance tossing the snow.

If you hear a low howl when you engage the auger, it's bearing/bushing time. The auger should be nearly silent when engaged.


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## willsmysticcobra (Jan 16, 2015)

SteelyTim said:


> I wouldn't even go as far as an impeller kit. I think it's time to change the auger bearing and auger bushings at the ends of the auger. If the bearings are bad you're not going to get as much distance tossing the snow.
> 
> If you hear a low howl when you engage the auger, it's bearing/bushing time. The auger should be nearly silent when engaged.


That does make a sound now that I think of it. Are those parts semi available for our old ariens? I am pretty mechanically inclined so I know I can change them..


Thank you


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## SteelyTim (Nov 14, 2014)

Oh sure, there are tons around. You can probably replace all 3 for about $20.

Your main obstacle will be getting the belt pulley off the auger assembly. If you look at it and it has 3 bolts in the center holding it on to a knuckle, you're just about home free! Just squirt it with some penetrating oil, undo the bolts that hold the pulley on to the knuckle, loosen the set screws on the knuckle, and walk the knuckle off with a 3 jaw puller.

If it doesn't, then the pulley and knuckle are a single assembly. There is only one way to get that sucker off that I have found without damaging the pulley itself.

First, loosen up or remove the set screws on the knuckle. For upward pressure, stick a large wrench at the base of the knuckle for upward pressure (or a breaker bar works too). Then, after soaking it in some penetrating oil, hit the center of the auger shaft (that protrudes through the pulley) with an air chisel with the point bit attached. Might be a two person job depending on your dexterity 

Every once in a while you get REALLY lucky and the pulley comes of without a ton of effort, but it's been my experience that they won't 95% of the time of pulleys this style.

If worse comes to worse, torch, cut, bend, break the sucker off and just get a new pulley  . The pulley will have a square woodruff key on it, so make sure you save that....they're easy to lose.

The rest is unbolting. Remove the main bolts at the ends of the auger shaft, remove the triangular flanges, then pull the whole assembly out. The rear has a bearing, the front sides each have a bronze bushing which gets worn out. They're held in those triangular flanges on the machine. And be careful with the flanges....they're pot metal and crack around the ears if you knock them hard.

It's a good time to pull the augers off the shaft and give the shaft a good greasing while you're this far. Pick up a couple of shear pins and change those too.

Now, some say that you can change the rear bearing without removing the auger. Problem is that the 3 bolts that are in there are knurled and fit into the auger housing like wheel studs do in a car. Inadvertently I ALWAYS end up knocking one of the suckers in, then I hafta pull the whole assembly out anyway. If you're this far, it's an extra 10 minutes work anyway 

All in all, at most $30 in parts. Time wise, an hour if you're lucky, 2 if you're not. My main machine is a '62 Ariens, I changed mine about 2 years ago, and I just got done winging semi-heavy snow about 20 feet  .


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## SteelyTim (Nov 14, 2014)

Incidentally, I'll be doing the same thing on this sad sack of a 10M6 that I was given for free. This one's spent way too much of its poor life outdoors, so that's a project for T shirt weather as I know it is going to end up being one of the worst I've ever done.....


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## greatwhitebuffalo (Feb 11, 2014)

willsmysticcobra said:


> Hey all.... Well I took your advice and picked up the new fuel shut off part and it threaded in like a charm. We got 17 inches of snow in chicago this past weekend and I was anxious to try out my beast. We had about 7 inches of light to medium powder down and I was off.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## HJames (Oct 28, 2013)

Be careful turning up the RPM on a Tec, it's like playing Russian Roulette, sooner or later you're gonna blow a hole where it counts. 3500 rpm or a touch below is the magic number.


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## 404 (Feb 1, 2015)

Your valve is missing the gland nut. Compare yours to the pics posted above. The valve is supposed to have a hex nut right under the knob.

Buy a new one if it fits into your budget.


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## AgentOrange (Nov 10, 2014)

Yeah, that's a '65. I've learned the round muffler is the give away. They changed to the square style in '66.

Take that carb off and clean it out good. It's probably all crapped up. Lots of YouTube vids on it - look for donnyboy's videos. Use a 5/64 drill bit to rod out the emulsion tube. I got lots of crap out of mine! I tried to take it out and replace the o-rings, but it was going no where. Also the gas inlet needle (small square aluminum one) was sticking to the o-ring and starving the bowl from the tank. There's lots of aftermarket carbs and kits and I couldn't find one specifically for our Tech H60-75003E motor. So I used a repair kit #631021B I believe. I bought a new bowl too, but it didn't come with the spring-loaded drain which was leaking bad on mine. 

Anyway, pretty simple job and will make that baby sing! Getting the governor linkage set right after you put it back on is a little tedious, but you'll get it dialed in. I can go from a nice slow, lope at idle to throwing 10" at about 3/4 throttle. BTW, the tracks on your neighbors machine are sick!


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## SteelyTim (Nov 14, 2014)

Gotta say, I disagree with you guys saying that you "need" to raise RPM or add an impeller kit. I use machines this old all the time or older, and they operate magnificently. Here's a couple points....

Your 1965 Ariens will never perform as well as your neighbor's machine, in respect to throwing distance. Won't happen. I mean, you'll get 20 feet out of it easy as it is with new auger bearings. You could modify the snot out of it, add the impeller kit, change the chute, overclock the pulleys, even repower it with some other engine, but at that point all you're doing is basically building a new machine with an old carcass and investing a bunch of money and untold hours into a machine that was engineered from the factory that new more about snowblowers than you and I ever will.

Snowblowers then were built to last for generations. Today's machines without a doubt (at least the chassis anyway) are much better engineered to do the job, but are designed to last a finite amount of time.

Doing anything else other than replacing the needed parts is fine if you enjoy modding things and spending inordinate amounts of time and research on them...and kudos to you if that's what you do . Me, I prefer just replacing the necessary parts and maintaining them in the way they were meant to be maintained, maybe a couple shades better. All depends on how you want to approach it.

Best way to start is to replace the auger bearings and bushings. Without replacing those it's like trying to ride a bike with a rusty chain. You can't say if there's anything wrong with the governor if you've got a huge load on the engine before you even hit a flake of snow. 

Of course, we're all kind of theorizing based on our experience. If you were able to shoot a quick video, that would help quite a bit


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## 69ariens (Jan 29, 2011)

Here are a couple more things that could make you blower stall. Bad spark plug wire, point's need to replaced or reset or your carb not adjusted wright.


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## willsmysticcobra (Jan 16, 2015)

SteelyTim said:


> Gotta say, I disagree with you guys saying that you "need" to raise RPM or add an impeller kit. I use machines this old all the time or older, and they operate magnificently. Here's a couple points....
> 
> Your 1965 Ariens will never perform as well as your neighbor's machine, in respect to throwing distance. Won't happen. I mean, you'll get 20 feet out of it easy as it is with new auger bearings. You could modify the snot out of it, add the impeller kit, change the chute, overclock the pulleys, even repower it with some other engine, but at that point all you're doing is basically building a new machine with an old carcass and investing a bunch of money and untold hours into a machine that was engineered from the factory that new more about snowblowers than you and I ever will.
> 
> ...



You guys rock. I really do need to do some tuning and I will post up a high quality video very soon. Really appreciate all your comments and incite !


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