# Free Ariens score!



## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

So ive been a member of the forum for almost 10 years now..
I have seen all the "I scored a great free snowblower!" threads that people have posted over the years..
we are all always jealous! 
well, it finally happened to me! 

This morning im just noodling around on the internet, using my android tablet..
I open up the "nextdoor" app to check on a post I made a few days ago about a local event..
and there, top post, is a free Ariens! 
posted 13 minutes ago, as im reading it. Four miles away.

I show it to the wife, and tell her I will be right back!
I drove over..and I got it!

The owner was an older gentleman, probably retired, he was in his garage as I pulled up, snowblower was on the curb by the street.
he said "wow, that was fast!" (I was there probably 25 minutes after he posted it..)

I introduced myself and we began chatting about the snowblower..
He said it came with the house when his wife and he bought the house 10 years ago..
he had been using it, but the reverse was now broken, wont reverse at all, it doesn't run very smoothly, sometimes stalls, and it has a gas leak..

He said he simply didnt want to mess with it anymore, he really wanted a new snowblower, so he bought a new snowblower, which was delivered yesterday..
This old one didn't cost him anything, so he simply wanted to give it away just to get it out of the garage, today.
I said thanks for offering it up! I let him know I intend to keep and use it..(which I do)

Got it home..gas tank was empty. I set it up in service position and took off the bottom cover..
It would not fully shift into reverse..shifting was very difficult, like something was jammed.
I couldn't really see what was wrong immediately..took a bit of poking around and thinking to find what was going on..

Most of the internals were well greased, except! for the gear shift mechanism down in the transmission area..
The shaft that the disk slides along was quite dry..
I greased that up..shifting quickly returned to a "smooth as butter" condition! 
"broken reverse" wasn't really broken..just needed greasing.

Added gas, checked the oil level..tried to fire it up..
hard-starting..
got it to start, but it stalled out in seconds..
hmmmm..

using my limited knowledge of carb adjustments, which I only learned a few years ago, I turned the main carb jet in all the way,'
then dialed it out one half turn, two half turns, three half turns..
started again..success! she runs totally fine and strong..
ran her around the driveway for 15 minutes in 55 degree weather, trying out the controls..

Its all totally fine and fully functional! 
All told it took me about an hour of puttering and troubleshooting to get it all fixed..
(no sign of a gas leak, so far)

So I now have another working snowblower..This machine will likely become my main snowblower, if it works fine in snow..
and my trusty '71 Ariens will semi-retire to backup duty..
(I'll probably use both, alternately, so the '71 stays in operating condition..)

So I finally have a "score" story to share!  might be the only one I ever have..but im very pleased with it..

Its a 1991 Ariens ST824, model 924050.
"Big Wheel", full differential. 










Scot


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

The right place and right time is all it takes.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Very nice, congrats! 

"Dear Snowblowerforum, 

I never thought this would happen to me...."


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## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

:bestpost:


Good for you Scot, couldn't have gone to a better person. I am surprised that after all your hard work documenting everything Ariens, they haven't sent you a NEW machine for all the support you offer to THEIR product. I hope someone at Ariens sees this and says, you know what, we SHOULD send that man a new machine of his choice.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

You did good Scott....that is my favorite blower of all time...love that model.....lookis in great shape too!


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## russ01915 (Dec 18, 2013)

The best snowblower is a free snowblower that runs.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Good for you, Scot. It *does* feel good to make a find such as this. It looks to be in doggone good condition, too.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

It just takes patience but 10 years, not sure I could wait that long. :devil:

Glad the God of free finally smiled upon you.

.


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## 69ariens (Jan 29, 2011)

Sweat find


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## aldfam4 (Dec 25, 2016)

That snow blower found a good home, Congratulations on a great find. Now you just have to wait for some of that Lake Effect snow from Ontario, it won't be long!!!


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

Very nice! The 924050 also has axle bearings instead of bushings.

The only weak point is the aluminum auger gearbox, but how "weak" could it be if it's 27 years old?


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

congrats scott, you finally did it! while I've gotten good deals on both of my toro 824's they were not free


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

great story and congrats.

isn't it amazing that a blower that someone did not want to "mess with" could be so good after an hour?

scot.......there are more out there.........


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## tlshawks (Feb 9, 2018)

Sheesh, that's a whole lot of snowblower for free. 

I've gotten a few old school non-working stereos for free and brought a couple of them back to life on the cheap, but never a snowblower. I must hang around the wrong crowd.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Thanks everyone..
Yeah, its in nice shape, only rust is some along the bottom of the bucket and the scraper bar, which isnt surprising..

I'll definately try it out with the next snow, and report back! 

Scot


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## blk05crew (Jan 4, 2017)

Congrats, nice score! Can't beat free!


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## SimplicitySolid22 (Nov 18, 2018)

Nice Score.......Way to get a Nice Free Snowblower.....Great Find!!!


Scotsman....Do you know why Ariens went from the tear drop to that style bucket......Just a look or any functionality???


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

SimplicitySolid22 said:


> Scotsman....Do you know why Ariens went from the tear drop to that style bucket......Just a look or any functionality???


I dont know any specific reasons, but its most likely a bit of both..
Like all products that go on for decades, evolutionary changes happen for style, function, and in reaction to technological improvements.

The 10,000 series and early 924000 series "teardrop" bucket looks cool and works fine:










It does have one drawback.."service position" requires the chute be used as a "third leg"..and the chute has to take a lot of weight:









I didnt quite capture it in that photo, but you can just see the chute acting as one leg of a tripod..


The "1979 style" bucket did fix that particular problem:










Now the entire machine can rest firmly on the flat bucket front, a nice solid rectangle when in service position, and the chute isnt involved at all..so thats a plus.

So I would guess the primary reason for the change was for style first..the teardrop bucket was nearly 20 years old, and styles change.. plus you always want to be seen as modern and up to date, and not stale..and all your competition is doing it too. and it happens to come with some other benefits, like the service position thing.

Scot


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## rodster500 (Dec 11, 2018)

Grunt said:


> :bestpost:
> 
> 
> Good for you Scot, couldn't have gone to a better person. I am surprised that after all your hard work documenting everything Ariens, they haven't sent you a NEW machine for all the support you offer to THEIR product. I hope someone at Ariens sees this and says, you know what, we SHOULD send that man a new machine of his choice.


+1



Your website and documentation is amazing! 

Congrats on a great deal and a great story!:smile2:


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## Jackmels (Feb 18, 2013)

sscotsman said:


> I dont know any specific reasons, but its most likely a bit of both..
> Like all products that go on for decades, evolutionary changes happen for style, function, and in reaction to technological improvements.
> 
> The 10,000 series and early 924000 series "teardrop" bucket looks cool and works fine:
> ...


You Forgot to mention that the Change in the Bucket also included the "Planned Obsolescence Benefit" of the Bronze Gear instead of the Indestructible Old School Gearboxes. Nice Score, However.


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

Scored and won! 

(_I've also been on the lookout for a 924***_)


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## AL- (Oct 27, 2014)

Happy for you..... enjoy your site!


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## rodster500 (Dec 11, 2018)

classiccat said:


> Scored and won!
> 
> (_I've also been on the lookout for a 924***_)


Along the curb or to buy?


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## Bluejoe (Nov 29, 2016)

Congrats nice find


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## Julien Morrissette (Oct 7, 2017)

I have the same one 924050 but a bit rougher ( just changed an axle bearing otherwise there is some loose in various places but still works good enough to paint it), good machines. Looking for one with a blown engine to put my 8hp tecumseh engine i have laying around


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## The_Geologist (Feb 6, 2016)

Nice score! These are great blowers!


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## pete300 (Dec 2, 2018)

Great find, Looks to be in GREAT shape, other than your repairs. LET THE SNOW FLY!


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## Dusty (Dec 13, 2018)

Very nice machine. Very lucky.


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## Ian Ariens 924 (Dec 22, 2015)

My scores are never free,usually include me paying $50 or $100 and sometimes a long drive
Great for you Scot, I have really enjoy your posts, replies and your Ariens history website.

Well deserved


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

Ian Ariens 924 said:


> My scores are never free,usually include me paying $50 or $100 and sometimes a long drive
> Great for you Scot, I have really enjoy your posts, replies and your Ariens history website.
> 
> Well deserved



yeah but long drives can be relaxing and worth it. Especially when you get to look forward to fixing up an otherwise decent machine.


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