# New Ariens 28 Deluxe SHO



## iceman8 (Feb 24, 2018)

Coming over from Honda after a bad HS 928 experience (welded out of spec auger housing = constantly broken shear bolts). 
Ariens has had a decent reputation so we ordered and picked up a Deluxe 28 SHO. 

Another owner cautioned to check for proper lube before operating and so last night we pulled the bottom inspection cover...found almost no lube on the gears, chain etc. 
We know this is a friction wheel system and care must be taken with lubricants in area of same. We know.
After adding a small amount of oil to chain and grease to the gears, we buttoned it up. The bottom cover was not stamped properly and a pain to re-install, bolts/clip retainers very hard to align. Ariens could do better here.

Next, the auger housing was misaligned from the main gear case of the machine. A few bolts loosened on a flat surface, fixed same. Dealer should have not let machine out of shop that way. Note: this model not available at box stores, we had to go to an authorized stand alone dealer who charged a higher price, almost $400 over Ariens MSRP. We paid it because we wanted this model. The engine starts easily and we hope this machine will not disappoint.

Bottom line, check your new machine upon delivery for proper lube and adjustment. Don't trust factory assembly or any dealer to follow through. 
We actually tried to get this machine sealed in box for set up ourselves in the shop. Dealer refused stating "We need to check the oil and stuff."
Hoping this A 928 SHO will work out, we will post a follow up when the storms hit.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Checking a new or new used machine over is always a good idea. New from big box especially. There might be that mechanically proficient guy in the back who carefully put it together and adjusted it to spec or it may be some disgruntled person having a bad day who just wants to get done tossing it together. 
I'd have to say catching a bent assembly from the factory would be pretty hard until it started causing problems.

Now is the time to make sure you do a through pre-season inspection. Actually a little late for some parts !

Hopefully you enjoy the SHO and it serves you faithfully for years to come. 


.


----------



## Mountain Man (Oct 14, 2018)

$400 over MSRP ? Dealer didn't do a thorough setup and inspection? There are multiple wrongs here. I'm not aware of anybody selling over retail. So you paid $1749 for a deluxe 28? I'd return it asap. You can buy a platinum for that price. What was there reason for the price? This really frosts me.


----------



## 140278 (Aug 27, 2020)

todays chains contain oilite bushings making them self lubing on the cross pins just like on a motorcycle.
reinstalling the bolts into the clip nuts has long been hard, start one in wiggle it a little till you feel the hole turn it left a little till you feel a slight click, turn right and start to turn in start another repeat till you have them all started than fully tighten, please try to remember those clipnuts are not straight in nuts how they are stamped makes for some hard times for techs.

same with screws into plastic parts turn left click as the thread catches turn right the screw starts clean


----------



## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

The wheels fit snugly on the axles with the drive being a keyway. Ariens did not grease my axles, so can get difficult to remove after moisture gets in there (mine get washed out every year). The wheels are held on with a spring clip that are easy to remove. Turn the wheels so the machined square opening for the wheel keyway is on top of axle so the key will not fall and get lost when wheel pulled from axle. Take care of the right wheel/axle since there is a C clip on the end of the long axle that retains the short outer axle that fits over it. Remove the C clip and remove the short outer axle and grease the long axle, so that the bushings on both ends of the short axle are greased.


----------



## WIHD (Dec 15, 2019)

_"The bottom cover was not stamped properly and a pain to re-install, bolts/clip retainers very hard to align. Ariens could do better here. "_

absolutely no sh##. It took me a quite awhile to get mine reinstalled after servicing last fall, I couldn't believe it.
Pulled wheels after the season, axles were rusty already. Lubed w/ antiseize. Will do again annually, though I hate the thought of having to reinstall that cover again. PITA

Winter just starting here, machine is ready to go. 30 SHO


----------



## iceman8 (Feb 24, 2018)

UPDATE: We got substantial snow recently and a 3' berm at the end of the road from the contractor who plowed the main street. 
The 28 SHO performed well, plenty of power, threw even wet snow quite far. Easy to operate, auto turn works very well. 
I do not care for the choke/throttle control set up. Machine does start right up with the pull cord when those controls are set properly however, thankfully. 
CON: The lowest speed is too fast for deep, wet snow (8 inches). One is forced to take small bites out of same or push it manually, very slowly. 
This is where the hydrostatic drive machines really shine-they can me made to creep very, very slow. I think this machine will have no problem with 10 or more inches of dry snow that will come later in the season.
SUMMARY: We may well retain this machine in the stable and will correct the poorly designed/stamped bottom cover after the warranty expires. 
NOTE: Someone above was upset at the premium price we paid over MSRP....We are in Alaska and the box stores with list pricing... do not carry this Ariens model. Both of the other "authorized dealers" in our area charge freight and whatever else they want. Think "Alaska Tax" as we say here. They can get it and they do. It is what it is.


----------



## iceman8 (Feb 24, 2018)

captchas said:


> todays chains contain oilite bushings making them self lubing on the cross pins just like on a motorcycle.
> reinstalling the bolts into the clip nuts has long been hard, start one in wiggle it a little till you feel the hole turn it left a little till you feel a slight click, turn right and start to turn in start another repeat till you have them all started than fully tighten, please try to remember those clipnuts are not straight in nuts how they are stamped makes for some hard times for techs.
> 
> same with screws into plastic parts turn left click as the thread catches turn right the screw starts clean


Thanks for confirming that. For the price we paid for this machine...I would like to see a welded nut on the cover, and some care taken with the stamping/fit of same. I hate those clip nuts. Your comment to turn left, feel for click as thread overides, then turn right is golden. So few know that, leading to many cross threaded messes. We know, and have to remind the help here, of that technique...frequently.


----------



## PlOM (Nov 12, 2020)

iceman8 said:


> The lowest speed is too fast for deep, wet snow (8 inches). One is forced to take small bites out of same or push it manually, very slowly.


Nice to hear about the ability to throw wet snow, and the auto steer -- both of interest for me, looking for a new blower for this year. 

What was the unit doing (or not doing) that necessitated taking small, manual bites? Was the engine bogging down, or the wheels slipping . . . ?


----------



## Zavie (Sep 23, 2014)

iceman8 said:


> The lowest speed is too fast for deep, wet snow (8 inches). One is forced to take small bites out of same or push it manually, very slowly.


Adjust the 1st speed setting. The instructions are in your manual.


----------



## iceman8 (Feb 24, 2018)

PlOM said:


> Nice to hear about the ability to throw wet snow, and the auto steer -- both of interest for me, looking for a new blower for this year.
> 
> What was the unit doing (or not doing) that necessitated taking small, manual bites? Was the engine bogging down, or the wheels slipping . . . ?


Engine bogged badly. Machine needs a lower/slower first gear. Wheels never slipped, those are very good. All of the wheeled machines we have used previously suffer a tendancy to ride up over heavy snow...no downforce option like on the tracked designs. In the end, all machines have problems with large berms that have set up and started to harden and snow that is packed after falling from a cleared roof. Too packed and hard. Our tracked Hondas do no better under such conditions.


----------



## iceman8 (Feb 24, 2018)

Zavie said:


> Adjust the 1st speed setting. The instructions are in your manual.


Great idea, will look for that...fell asleep other eve going through the manual, which I think is superior to other brands we have had. The engine specs provided and part numbers for a variety of spark plug brands, etc. is very good to have. Someone cared when the manual was written. We will review the speed adjustment, thx much.


----------



## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

Zavie is correct, there is information in the manual for speed adjustment. 
I also found the speed of 1st gear too fast on my 28 SHO, even after making the adjustments in the manual, so did an easy modification to the control panel. I was used to the crawl of first gear on my old 10000 series.
See thread below:









Slowing down a Platinum 24 SHO


There have been very few opportunities so far this season to put my new machine (921050) through its paces, but one thing I did notice when tackling the EOD was even 1st gear seemed a bit faster than I wanted especially compared with my old Honda HS828 where you could have it crawl as slow as...




www.snowblowerforum.com


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

But you need to know there is a trade off in lowering that first gear. All the forward gears will be a little bit slower and the reverse gears will be a little bit faster. It's a trade off that may well be worth it but it's something to think about. More about the reverse being a little bit faster as the machine is coming at you. I had the drive cable momentarily stick on my tiller when I was in reverse and it shoved me into and on top of a 3' rabbit fence in the garden so that comes to mind when thinking about a machine in reverse. Just glad I wasn't centered on one of the "U" posts holding up that fence. Now that would have been painful.
Maybe I'm reading it wrong but if you're manually pushing the machine (in neutral) to go slow enough than adjust that first gear down would be something I'd do.

Not to trip anyone's trigger but the nice thing about the Ariens manual IMHO is it's written in English, not translated (usually poorly) from some other language. 

This may be too simplistic but just in case you don't know how the friction drive works, show and tell.  Yearly chore is pulling the cover and checking to make sure the hex shaft the friction disc slides on is clean and very lightly lubed so the shifter moves smoothly.
.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

iceman8 said:


> All of the wheeled machines we have used previously suffer a tendency to ride up over heavy snow...no downforce option like on the tracked designs.


Sorry, forgot to mention if you do have a problem with the machine riding up you can always add weight to the bucket. Either something permanent or removable, factory, aftermarket or DIY.






snowblower weight kit at DuckDuckGo


DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.




duckduckgo.com


----------



## Clutch Cargo (Dec 27, 2015)

> Not to trip anyone's trigger but the nice thing about the Ariens manual IMHO is it's written in English, not translated (usually poorly) from some other language.


You're certainly not bothering me. I dislike poorly written manuals and also ones that have all of the languages on the same page (usually brown toilet tissue). Ryobi ones are the worst. I am lucky in that I have a full suite of Adobe and I usually download the manual, remove what I don't need, and print off what is left. All of them are in 3-ring binders for easy accessability. 

Attention OEMS - the best way is to have manuals printed on decent paper, divided by language so the new owner can take what they need.


----------



## BazookaJoe (Oct 6, 2019)

I wanted my Deluxe 28's reverse to be as fast as possible. So, I have the shift linkage adjusted such that when I move the shifter to the fastest reverse speed, the shift mechanism is lightly bottomed against the internal stop. At this adjustment, the reverse is not fast enough to be dangerous for most anybody with the physical fitness to operate a snow blower. IMO, the reverse speed with this adjustment is about spot on.

Note that also with this adjustment for fastest reverse, the slowest forward speed ("first" speed) is just about perfect to crawl into a deep snowbank without clutching.

On the downside of adjusting the shift linkage for maximum reverse speed, the fastest forward speed is somewhat reduced. But- that fastest forward speed still seems to be pretty reasonable unless you're wanting to transfer a long distance.

If a person were to get some extra ambition someday, the shifter lever arm coming from the chassis could be slightly shortened to achieve fastest reverse and forward speeds. Just guessing, it looks like if that arm were cut & rewelded 3/8" or so shorter, it'd be golden.


----------



## outrag1 (Feb 10, 2017)

Town said:


> The wheels fit snugly on the axles with the drive being a keyway. Ariens did not grease my axles, so can get difficult to remove after moisture gets in there (mine get washed out every year). The wheels are held on with a spring clip that are easy to remove. Turn the wheels so the machined square opening for the wheel keyway is on top of axle so the key will not fall and get lost when wheel pulled from axle. Take care of the right wheel/axle since there is a C clip on the end of the long axle that retains the short outer axle that fits over it. Remove the C clip and remove the short outer axle and grease the long axle, so that the bushings on both ends of the short axle are greased.


Just did a thorough maintenance on my 4 year old 24 PlatinumSho. The wheels were such a pain to get off. Dealers should be greasing those shafts ahead of time. In any event, I won't have a problem getting them off in the future. Good as new now ( I mean new only if one of us put the machine together haha).


----------



## iceman8 (Feb 24, 2018)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> But you need to know there is a trade off in lowering that first gear. All the forward gears will be a little bit slower and the reverse gears will be a little bit faster. It's a trade off that may well be worth it but it's something to think about. More about the reverse being a little bit faster as the machine is coming at you. I had the drive cable momentarily stick on my tiller when I was in reverse and it shoved me into and on top of a 3' rabbit fence in the garden so that comes to mind when thinking about a machine in reverse. Just glad I wasn't centered on one of the "U" posts holding up that fence. Now that would have been painful.
> Maybe I'm reading it wrong but if you're manually pushing the machine (in neutral) to go slow enough than adjust that first gear down would be something I'd do.
> 
> Not to trip anyone's trigger but the nice thing about the Ariens manual IMHO is it's written in English, not translated (usually poorly) from some other language.
> ...


Yes, thank you. I have done nothing yet with the speed adjustment. Makes sense all ratios would be altered and no one wants to be bowled over backwards by the machine in reverse...good point. These machines are far more easier to turn and maneuver as well (over tracked type) which I do like. The 15 hp motor on this one is great too. Chunky plastic choke/throttle is junk but the rest is ok. 
I am all too familiar as well, with the friction disc design of most all these machines. Had to help a neigbor 20 years ago change a bad disc (worn out) and it was such a POA, swore I would never own one. Hench hydro drive Honda is all we ever bought later.


----------



## iceman8 (Feb 24, 2018)

outrag1 said:


> Just did a thorough maintenance on my 4 year old 24 PlatinumSho. The wheels were such a pain to get off. Dealers should be greasing those shafts ahead of time. In any event, I won't have a problem getting them off in the future. Good as new now ( I mean new only if one of us put the machine together haha).


Thanks for that...first thing we did on our new SHO is remove wheels, lube all and check/lube gear case. Two wheel spacers found missing on ours as well.


----------



## iceman8 (Feb 24, 2018)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Sorry, forgot to mention if you do have a problem with the machine riding up you can always add weight to the bucket. Either something permanent or removable, factory, aftermarket or DIY.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thought about that concept, thanks for the link.


----------



## Clutch Cargo (Dec 27, 2015)

> reinstalling the bolts into the clip nuts has long been hard, start one in wiggle it a little till you feel the hole turn it left a little till you feel a slight click, turn right and start to turn in start another repeat till you have them all started than fully tighten, please try to remember those clipnuts are not straight in nuts how they are stamped makes for some hard times for techs.


This is excellent advice, and while not perfect, having clipnuts (which are replaceable) is certainly better than the self-tapping screws and just parent material seen on lesser brands. I have helped a few neighbors with their MTDs, Toros etc. over the years and dread that feel on the wrench indicating that the hole has been stripped.


----------



## Mr. JT Monk (Oct 27, 2020)

Clutch Cargo said:


> This is excellent advice, and while not perfect, having clipnuts (which are replaceable) is certainly better than the self-tapping screws and just parent material seen on lesser brands. I have helped a few neighbors with their MTDs, Toros etc. over the years and dread that feel on the wrench indicating that the hole has been stripped.


Good to know that newer Toros have clipnuts on the bottom pans.

Picture of the new Toro Power Max HD 928 we recently purchased.


----------



## Clutch Cargo (Dec 27, 2015)

That is good to know. Thanks for posting. It's nice to see cost accountants lose one for a change, LOL.


----------

