# 2014 Platinum 24 Chute Problem.



## skybar (Dec 19, 2013)

I did a lot studying, and reviewing, before selecting this snow blower over other brands and now I am afraid I missed a problem and may have made a poor choice. I live in New England and during the second snow storm my chute stop working. It just keeps rotating and never locks into place. The dealer is picking it up this weekend. Now that I have encountered a problem this early in the blowers life I did a google search on chute problems and found this to not be an uncommon problem. The chute controller is not very smooth when working but I just assumed it was new so it would get smoother with time. But, maybe not. I picked this model, in part, because of this feature as my 18 year old Toro did not have it and I thought it was a nice add on. Now I am worried that it is an add on problem and I may not be able to trust it in a snow storm because it is not reliable. Until the dealer looks at it I do not know what has failed. How common is this problem? Has anyone else encountered it?


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## Blue Hill (Mar 31, 2013)

Welcome to the forum skybar! I had exactly the same problem and I'm here to tell you it's a real easy fix.. Page 28 of your manual explains it.
First take the black plastic cover off of the chute control by removing the small bolt that holds it in place.
Now you will see the black cable leading from the control panel to the chute control. There will be an adjustment set-up at the top end close to the chute. You'll need two 1/2" wrenches, one for the adjustment nut and one for the jamb nut.
Mine wouldn't hold position, but was easy to turn. I backed off the nut furthest from the chute, about 1/4 turn and then held it in place while I re tightened the jamb nut.
If yours is hard to turn maybe the nut on the underside of the controller is too tight. You can try backing that off a little. That's the first thing I tried before I read the manual, and it made it harder to turn. Then I got the manual out and saw what I was supposed to be doing, so I put it back to where it was.
Let us know how you make out.
Good Luck.
Larry


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## HH4 (Dec 18, 2013)

Even with the proper adjustments you may eventually experience a similar problem. Most of the Ariens chute problems are usually the result of moisture inside the control cables freezing. Solution is to fill the cable housing with antifreeze instead of regular cable lube. This keeps the moisture that invariably forms from freezing and the cables operating smoothly.


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## skybar (Dec 19, 2013)

Thank you very much for your advice. I did read the manual and play around with the nuts like you said but to no avail. I called the dealer and to my surprise rather then pick it up he came over last night at 8pm. He had it fixed in about five minutes. Unfortunately he went to the snow blower before he knocked on my door so I did not get a chance to see what he did. He told me about the nuts but he moved the cable someway to put tension on the mechanism then he tightened the nuts. I wanted to see exactly what he did but I did not want to keep him any longer since it was dark and there was ice on the driveway. Apparently it is an easy fix if you know what you are doing so if it happens again I will have to fix it myself as I do not think I can ask them to pick it up for such a tiny problem. Maybe I will go down there and have them show me exactly what they did. I have a bad feeling that this will happen again. The remote control of the chute was one of the extras I wanted and now I am not sure of its reliability. Do you know exactly what he might have done with the cable?


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## Blue Hill (Mar 31, 2013)

I really think you'll be fine skybar. Ariens are good machines and by the sound of things, you bought yours from a very good dealer.


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## skybar (Dec 19, 2013)

Thank you. I think you are right. One other thing. I did not describe the problem enough. It was not just that the gear would not engage to lock the chute. It was that when I lifted the control handle the mechanism did not move at all. So if it were locked it would not have locked and when it was freely moving it would not move to engage the teeth. So it was not so much that it was just missing the engagement it was not moving at all.


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## skybar (Dec 19, 2013)

So my theory now is that the first snow storm we had was very icy and the weather got very cold between the end of the first storm and the arrival of the second. When I pulled the snow blower out, to use, the chute was not locking into position. I read the manual and tried adjusting the nuts to no avail. I think now the control cable was frozen and my attempts to fix things just made it worse because I was trying to fix it for the wrong reasons. I starting searching for Ariens and frozen cables and unfortunately found out that this is not an uncommon problem not only for the chute but also the deflector. So assuming this was the problem then I can expect to see it again. So, if I am right is there something I can do to prevent this otherwise I am going to have storms where the blower is useless. I cannot keep it inside. It is in a outside shed with no insulation. I wanted the Platinum because of these external controls and I am wondering about that decision. Does anyone else think I could be right and if so what solutions beside warmth can I try?


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