# Husqvarna ST 330 no wheel power



## Chris1981 (11 mo ago)

I bought a Husqvarna ST 330 this year and I am having some trouble with the wheels having low power. If a small ice chunk or hard packed snow. that is frozen to the ground gets in The way the wheel stop spinning. No matter what gear I’m in. If I back up and try again and it comes in contact with the ice it will not push over it. Has anybody experienced it? It’s not like on other wheel snowblowers that I’ve had when it comes in contact and wheels continue to spin and Bounce up and down this thing just stopped dead in its tracks


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## Jackmels (Feb 18, 2013)

Try a friction wheel adjustment.


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## Chris1981 (11 mo ago)

Jackmels said:


> Try a friction wheel adjustment.


I’ll give it a try. But if there is no resistance in front of the machine it will drive in any gear. In sixth gear it is relatively fast but if it brings up in something it’s totally stopped spinning the wheels.


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## dr bob (Dec 12, 2015)

Follow Jack's guidance with a hard look at the friction wheel and the "tire" where it engages the disk.

Check the belt condition and tension. Under the belt cover, it will be the rear (closest to the engine) belt. It has a spring-loaded idler-tensioner setup that needs to be snug enough to stay fully engaged all the time.

The drive cable from the handle tilts the disk aft of the pulley so the disk contacts the friction wheel. It obviously need to operate smoothly to get full engagement. You can see the action with just the belt cover off using a flashlight.

The drive system has only a small tolerance for changing drive speeds under load. With the friction wheel engaged on the disk, changing speeds drags the rubber sideways across the friction disk, wearing on the rubber and risking having that tire twist/roll some in the process. That wear or twisting reduces the available drive friction, and could contribute to the symptom you describe. You can probably see the condition of the rubber drive tire looking down with the belt cover removed. Better look includes removing the drive box cover, and that will be needed for any repairs beyond cable adjustments. Don't be afraid to stick your camera/phone in there and record some video of the pieces and their actions as you operate the drive and speed controls. Engine off of course, with spark plug wire removed.


For some other drive box work, a member shared a link to a video showing the operation in that drive sections. I think the later 330 machines have the same drive system, so this would be close to what you'd be seeing with the drive box cover removed:


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## Chris1981 (11 mo ago)

dr bob said:


> Follow Jack's guidance with a hard look at the friction wheel and the "tire" where it engages the disk.
> 
> Check the belt condition and tension. Under the belt cover, it will be the rear (closest to the engine) belt. It has a spring-loaded idler-tensioner setup that needs to be snug enough to stay fully engaged all the time.
> 
> ...


I had a look at the friction wheel it seems to have a little bit of uneven wear on it but other than that seems fine.. I have attached some pics.


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## Tony-chicago (Feb 10, 2021)

Whoa. That looks different. There seems to be drips of "water" on one side. Wipe the disc with a clean rag. No oil or lube of any sort. Do not use the wax rag. Don't ask. Is the disc stable?


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## Chris1981 (11 mo ago)

Tony-chicago said:


> Whoa. That looks different. There seems to be drips of "water" on one side. Wipe the disc with a clean rag. No oil or lube of any sort. Do not use the wax rag. Don't ask. Is the disc stable?


The water is only there because it’s in my garage thawing out. When I tipped it up to remove the Belly pan it leaked down onto the disc. What do you mean by stable?


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## Chris1981 (11 mo ago)

Chris1981 said:


> The water is only there because it’s in my garage thawing out. When I tipped it up to remove the Belly pan it leaked down onto the disc. What do you mean by stable?


The aluminum color disc moves in and out when you pull on the handle. And the and the friction wheel moves back-and-forth when you change gears.


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## Tony-chicago (Feb 10, 2021)

Is the disc solid in action or the friction wheel stable. When press into service, is there any wiggle room. Like a lot? Maybe a pin or such is missing. Alignment. It all looks okay from here. I am assuming that from the lever up top to the friction wheel is all okay. No broken mounts.


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## dr bob (Dec 12, 2015)

The uneven wear is sometimes caused by the tire riding too close to the center of the drive disk. Recommend that you verify that your rubber drive tire never sits on the center of the friction disk. There's an adjustment on the cable on mine (ST227P) that functionally moves that slider back and forth, so it's rather easy to get the positions in reverse and speed 1 to straddle the center of the friction disk.

The "tire" is an available replacement part. Last one I bought (year or two ago now) was about $7, so except for the disassembly time it's an easy decision to put a new one on there and regain the whole width of the tire for drive function.


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## Chris1981 (11 mo ago)

Tony-chicago said:


> Is the disc solid in action or the friction wheel stable. When press into service, is there any wiggle room. Like a lot? Maybe a pin or such is missing. Alignment. It all looks okay from here. I am assuming that from the lever up top to the friction wheel is all okay. No broken mounts.


Oh ok. Everything is in place and nothing missing that I can see away. This snowblower is only a coupe moths old and only used a couple times.


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## Chris1981 (11 mo ago)

dr bob said:


> The uneven wear is sometimes caused by the tire riding too close to the center of the drive disk. Recommend that you verify that your rubber drive tire never sits on the center of the friction disk. There's an adjustment on the cable on mine (ST227P) that functionally moves that slider back and forth, so it's rather easy to get the positions in reverse and speed 1 to straddle the center of the friction disk.
> 
> The "tire" is an available replacement part. Last one I bought (year or two ago now) was about $7, so except for the disassembly time it's an easy decision to put a new one on there and regain the whole width of the tire for drive function.


Thanks I’ll looking into a new tire I guess. Is there any online to buy them?


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## Tony-chicago (Feb 10, 2021)

New tire is nice. But the larger issue may be something else.
With snowblower off, plug wire pulled, etc.

In service position with belly pan off, lock the drive lever. See how much weakness or olay there is. Do same with lever unlocked. See if there is ... well i got nothing.


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## dr bob (Dec 12, 2015)

I'm just looking at your pictures, and the uneven wear in the drive tire, and the really dark area at the center of the friction disk where I suspect the worn-tire bits are residing. Close to center, the friction disk scrubs across the tire more than it should, so it's prudent, based on that evidence anyway, to verify that the tire hits about the same distance left or right of center with the lever in "1" or "R" positions. The cable is adjustable.

There's no guarantee that your machine was set up perfectly before it left the factory, or something was mis-routed or mis-adjusted when the handles were installed after it came out of the box. It's worth a visit to your local vendor since the machine is new and still under warranty. If it was a big-box purchase or from a place without a real service department, weigh the benefits of a free and installed drive tire with the aggravation and worry that the impact-gun assembly monkey will be doing the warranty work when he comes back next fall.


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## dr bob (Dec 12, 2015)

Chris1981 said:


> Thanks I’ll looking into a new tire I guess. Is there any online to buy them?


I looked in the parts diagram and list that came with mine, then Googled the part number to get a list of vendors that carry it. It's sometimes a Good Idea to look for a more current parts diagram and listing for any updates or supercessions, but you are new enough still that you probably don't need that yet.

Or just call your local dealer.


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## shallowwatersailor (Feb 19, 2013)

You might consider cleaning the friction disc & drive plate of the old rubber as well.


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## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

That appears to be a lot of rubber debris on the drive plate for a new machine with little use.
Are you shifting speeds on the fly sometimes? You have to stop the machine before you change the speed selector.

I would adjust the friction disc (tire as you call it) pressure and clean the drive plate and see if that fixes your drive problem. 
I would also order 2 friction discs, as that one will probably need changing and it is good to have a spare on hand.

Go through the steps for adjusting/setting up the machine in the owners manual, to ensure everything is set up and functioning correctly. 

The machine is still under warranty, have you contacted the dealer to see what they have to say about the drive issue? If you can't sort out the problem, I would take it back to the dealer for warranty repair (hopefully). If it is a set up issue, they should have ensured it was set up correctly. 
If you purchased from a big box store, then you may have a tougher time getting this sorted out by a dealer.


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## dr bob (Dec 12, 2015)

Ziggy's post prompted me to look at the parts nomenclature for the drive bits. I have nowhere near the snowblower knowledge and experience he has and freely shares here, so the parts names he used, different from mine, grabbed my attention. Then that lead me to compare the subject ST330 parts diagrams with the ST227P parts diagram for the machine I have. The two machines use exactly the same artwork for the diagrams themselves, but have different part numbers and different names for the parts in the same positions. Nothing like consistency in part naming conventions within the same manufacturer's literature...

I attached the downloaded parts diagrams for the ST330. Parts in question are on pages 14 and 15.
Specifically: "597 36 28-01 FRICTION DRIVE RUBBER RING", which contacts the "TEXTURED DRIVE PULLEY ASSEMBLY" on the ST330. Contrast with the same-position parts on the ST227P, where the "RING RUBBER WHEEL" contacts the "FRICTION DISC COMBO PULLEY". Makes sharing guidance across a model family just that much more challenging.


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## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

Yes, different manufacturers seem to have different names for the same components. We all use names for components that we were taught or picked up over time and it can get very confusing, especially for first time owners looking for help.

I can't understand why a manufacturer would have different names for the same components across model lines though.

"RING RUBBER WHEEL" contacts the "FRICTION DISC COMBO PULLEY" just sounds foreign to me, but I get their drift. In my vocabulary that means "friction disc contacts the drive plate"


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## distrbd (Dec 8, 2021)

Is it at all possible that the cable that moves the rubber wheel has stretched or was never adjusted properly? I admit I lack experience and may sound way off base, just trying to understand why a new blower with only a few hours of use would suddenly lose power to the wheels, the following video shows how to adjust the cable so the rubber wheel is slightly moved from the center , it could be a simple adjustment that does the trick:


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