# Ariens 10962 stuck in reverse



## Tom 10965 (Jan 27, 2015)

New member here. My neighbor & I have two Ariens of similar vintage, a 10962 and a 10965. I do all of the maintenance on them. My neighbor's 10962 has a problem in that it will shift into reverse, but will not shift back to the neutral position w/o great force. 

Last year I replaced the clutch rod with a cable when the ball joint broke, but had no complaints after doing it. This year he complained after the first snow about the reverse problem. I've greased the mechanism.

Any suggestions?


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Maybe the grease you used was too think and the cold is making it like glue?


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## Tom 10965 (Jan 27, 2015)

Shryp said:


> Maybe the grease you used was too think and the cold is making it like glue?


Thanx for the reply.

I greased it in relatively warm weather assuming the problem was a lack of grease. The greasing generally helped, but did nothing for the reverse problem.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Used light Lithium grease? Not wheel bearing grease?
It sounds as if something might be on a slight bind as well.
Take off the bottom cover and see what's going on.
Welcome from the Keystone state.


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## Tom 10965 (Jan 27, 2015)

Thanx Joe. I had the cover off and took a look, but couldn't find the problem. I haven't dumped the gas yet to get a better look because it's still winter here in upstate NY. 

I'm just hoping someone else has encountered this before. Otherwise it waits for spring. Having two machines available is a good thing.


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## cdestuck (Jan 20, 2013)

I would disconnect what for mechanism that directly attaches to the friction disc. This will help you determine if the problem is the linkage or the friction disc slide


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## Tom 10965 (Jan 27, 2015)

*Problem found - temporary(?) fix*



cdestuck said:


> I would disconnect what for mechanism that directly attaches to the friction disc. This will help you determine if the problem is the linkage or the friction disc slide


The problem I found was that mounting hole for the throwout lever in the disk bracket is quite worn. It might be that the bushing is worn out rather than the bracket - no way for me to tell without tearing it all apart. Long story short, the clutch doesn't move enough for the disc slide to clear the neutral catch. If it gets into the reverse position it can't get back out.

The fix I found was to make a tube that slides onto the rod on the throwout lever from above the housing. This allows more rotation of the lever which allows the slide to clear the neutral catch. 

I doubt if this fix will last another 45 years, but with 8 -14" forecast for tonight it's the best I could do.

Anyone have a better solution?


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## nwin (Oct 4, 2014)

*I've got the same problem, I think.*

I'm following this thread because I just noted a similar problem today on mine (Ariens 910008).

It will shift from 4 all the way back to Reverse without problems. However, going from reverse to Neutral or 1 it is really hard and I have to use some force to get it there. Going from 1-4 is no problem though.

It's a new to me machine, and it started seizing up after plowing a lot of snow, so I'm hopeful that the grease the guy used on it was just a high weight oil and with the snow hitting the undercarriage, it just got cold and wasn't able to move as freely. Tomorrow I'll see if it is still bad first thing before hitting the 12" we're supposed to get.


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## Tom 10965 (Jan 27, 2015)

nwin said:


> I'm following this thread because I just noted a similar problem today on mine (Ariens 910008).
> 
> It will shift from 4 all the way back to Reverse without problems. However, going from reverse to Neutral or 1 it is really hard and I have to use some force to get it there. Going from 1-4 is no problem though.


Your machine has a different clutch mechanism than mine, but it sounds like a similar situation. On mine it is easy to adjust the clutch rod length. If you can shorten the rod it would give more throw to the clutch which, hopefully, would allow the slide to pass the neutral lockout. I suspect it is just a hex set screw holding the rod in the ball joint.


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