# Ariens 11526 Pro Model:926005 Drive issue



## sjm1027 (Oct 14, 2015)

Had a storm today the the blower started ok but when I put it in drive nothing happened. When I put it in drive I can not push the machine forward or backward with the drive engaged if I really give it a good push I heard what sounded like 2 metal plates grinding against each other. I can push the machine when the drive lever is not engaged. Any idea where I should start?


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## Snowbelt_subie (Dec 20, 2016)

sjm1027 said:


> Had a storm today the the blower started ok but when I put it in drive nothing happened. When I put it in drive I can not push the machine forward or backward with the drive engaged if I really give it a good push I heard what sounded like 2 metal plates grinding against each other. I can push the machine when the drive lever is not engaged. Any idea where I should start?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I would flip the blower up in the service position and take the belly pan off you can see the friction disk and see what is wrong.

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## tadawson (Jan 3, 2018)

I'll take drive belt or it's tensioner for $10 . . .


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## sjm1027 (Oct 14, 2015)

tadawson said:


> I'll take drive belt or it's tensioner for $10 . . .




You win. Belt


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

so what was actually wrong with the belt?


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## sjm1027 (Oct 14, 2015)

Ok I took it apart to see what’s going on and I noticed the drive belt was not on the pulley so the belt doesn’t look broken and it doesn’t look too worn and I’m wondering if I could just go through the season with it. Can I get the drive belt back on by loosening some adjustments and not having to split the machine in half










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## sjm1027 (Oct 14, 2015)

paulm12 said:


> so what was actually wrong with the belt?




Nothing that I could see. It came off the pulley 


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

Yup, poor design on those models. Belts jump off all the time. 
That newer design moves the transmission pulley to the friction wheel. Nice idea as it removed friction plate assembly, and uses the lower transmission pulley surface as a friction plate surface. But the downside is the belt misalignment issue. When engine is running and snowblower is not moving there is a large alignment offset, when you engage drive lever it moves pulley to friction wheel and aligns the belt almost perfect. 

Two options....
1 st... You can replace a bolt on the pulley movement plate assembly to make it more aligned when running engine and no drive engauged.

2 nd... you can cut 1/4" off of the auger pulley, file out the molded key inside, the place it on the crankshaft first and then the transmission pulley and finally the auger pulley. 

Here's the pulley modification I was talking about, and if you look closely you will see where the belt had slipped off and was wearing against the auger pulley. 

I'll find the pixx of the bolt replacement and post that up soon.


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

Here's the thread about this topic ....

https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/ariens-snowblowers/111850-ariens-11528le-drive-belt-slips-off.html


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

Can't find what I'm looking for ....

But here's the diagram pixx, it is plate assembly #10 I'm talking about. 
It is hinged on bottom and pivots front to back, somewhere on the LEFT side of chassis there is a bolt stop, please look inside pulley area from the top and you should see the plate assembly and the stop bolt. 
Let us know how you make out.


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## toromike (Aug 20, 2018)

Here's donyboy73's video on this issue, the fix is a single nut


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## Rooskie (Feb 12, 2015)

I see your problem right away: It is too darn clean inside the magic box. No oil or grease flung far and wide, so probably a 'lack of lubrication' issue. You think all that excess lube you normally find in there was just leaks??


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

@Shaw...

Did they not have keepers/guides for the belt coming off the engine on that model?

As in sjm's photo, if I had that machine, and that belt kept coming off, and indeed it was the correct belt, I would either get a smaller belt, or modify the keeper shown to where it would have a tighter belt area by tacking a sleeve over the wire keeper, or even slightly bending it in that area.

JMHO


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

oneacer said:


> @Shaw...
> 
> Did they not have keepers/guides for the belt coming off the engine on that model?
> 
> ...


It is just one of those things you have to see in person, very hard to explain.
When the correct belt is in place and engine is running if you look down from the top engine pulley to the bottom driven pulley it looks like it's a quarter of an inch offset !!!
The belt will stay on some machines for quite a while, where other ones tend to fall off a great amount.
It was just a poor design initially, but after a few years and this problem became known they did straighten it out. I think if you added fingers down below to keep it in place you would just cut into the belt. By doing either modification it will stop the problem from happening. Toromike found a video about the issue and it was a nut to fix it, I thought it was a bolt, I remembered it was something to limit the travel,.


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## toromike (Aug 20, 2018)

Shaw351 said:


> . . . Toromike found a video about the issue and it was a nut to fix it,


Like Shaw351, I initially thought that I had seen a fix for this issue that used a bolt as an adjustable stop for the drive pulley. Maybe there's still one out there that uses a bolt. But, I came across another solution that is reported to come from Ariens. Instead of a nut on the stud like donyboy73 used, Ariens recommended slipping a piece of 1/4" fuel line on the stud and securing it with a cable tie. The fix starts at 9:06.

https://youtu.be/m-PQISVTk_I?t=546


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