# Friction disc questions



## ChrisJ (Nov 27, 2014)

Two questions.

Is there any reason not to keep a new disc on hand? Dry rott etc?

Is a Stens replacement disc just as good as a genuine Ariens?


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## ChrisJ (Nov 27, 2014)

Can anyone tell how much life is, or rather was left in my disc when I took this picture?


This was before yesterday's abuse.


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## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

Looks better than mine when I replaced it. Mine had holes gouged out of the rubber. On the other hand, your friction plate looks like it needs some Carb cleaner. It should be shiny clean IMHO. And if your friction plate is dirty, that means your friction disc rubber is dirty too. And, in fact, your friction disc rubber looks a little too shiny/glazed for me.

Please understand that I have only replaced one friction disc in my entire lifetime and it looked a lot worse than yours. But based on other things I have encountered in my time on the planet, I would prefer to have a shiny clean friction plate and a non-shiny friction disc in my machine...


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I keep spare belts on-hand. I do not keep a spare friction disk. Rightly or wrongly, I tend to use their performance as a gauge for when to replace them. If the machine still pushes hard, then the disk is fine, IMO. Going by appearances (how worn down the surface is) could be misleading. It could look like the new shape, but be old, hard, and slippery. 

Mine can often spin the wheels, with chains on, when trying to drive itself into a big snowbank. To me, that says the friction disk is working just fine, so I leave it alone. If it got to a snowbank, and just stopped easily, showing that the friction disk was slipping, I'd start investigating. I'd also make sure that the metal disk is completely clean, with no oil/grease on it. 

There's probably no real harm in keeping one around. I'd put it in a sealed plastic bag, just to be safe, I suppose. But unlike a belt, the disk likely wouldn't completely fail suddenly, so I'd probably just buy one when I needed it. 

I've bought OEM replacements. I don't know if it really makes a difference, but they can be a pain to replace, and they're important for the operation of the machine, so I try to buy OEM.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

I wouldn't keep one on hand unless I knew for a fact the one on my machine was fairly well used. I've only replaced two of them and they were on on machines I sold. They didn't actually _need_ replaced. I just didn't want them coming back saying there was something wrong. Stens are probably fine. I don't know what the price difference is. Stens didn't get as big as they are and have the reputation they have by selling junk parts.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

No spare discs, only belts.


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## ChrisJ (Nov 27, 2014)

Belts fail that often on these machines?
I never even thought of a spare belt. Perhaps I should have a set on hand?


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

ChrisJ said:


> Belts fail that often on these machines?
> I never even thought of a spare belt. Perhaps I should have a set on hand?


Old belts tend to fail under heavy loads (when blowing a lot of snow, especially if wet and heavy). That's when you need your blower the most. A relatively simple fix when you have spare belts instead of finding out of stock belts at your retailers when you need them the most or ordering online and waiting for delivery.


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

Belts can last a long time but once they start to slip, they'll wear out fast. Also, I got a branch in the impeller once and before I could release, the belt twisted itself. Long story not short, belts can go bad quickly.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Like they said. Belts can fail suddenly, and when one breaks, the machine is useless. By comparison, the friction disk will likely go bad gradually, and even if it starts to slip, you can still use the machine. You may just need to help push when it encounters something difficult. I'd make sure I had spare belts on-hand before I'd consider a spare friction disk. 

I haven't had a belt actually fail during use, but I have replaced one or two on different machines when they started to look bad, or were stretched. I didn't want to be forced to suddenly change the belt quickly during a storm, even if I did have a spare available. I keep a spare of each belt, along with spare shear pins, of course.


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## ctdave (Sep 11, 2015)

I always have spare parts on hand, weather its belts, friction disc's or bushings or shear pins. when I pick up a needed part I will get 2. nothing worse than having something give out when needed most, and not being able to get them or having to wait a week or two for shipping, because its the middle of the season and it sold out. that friction disc doesn't look to bad, glazed maybe like mentioned in the other post. hard to tell how thick it is though.


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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

Agree - it's nice to have a belt in case it goes in the middle of a Sunday evening and you can't get one. The friction disc rubber gets hard over time and has a shorter shelf life. I would buy them when you start noticing it degrade. They don't die out of the blue often - unless it's been ignored for to long.


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## ChrisJ (Nov 27, 2014)

Pulled the bottom cover off and here's the results.

The shifter rod doesn't ride on the friction disk when the machine is sitting on the ground.

Aluminum disk is much cleaner now from being used and the firction disk no longer looks glazed.




Best I can tell, both the friction disk and both belts look like they're in good shape. 

Opinions?


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## nycredneck (Dec 29, 2013)

Here is a kit I found made by Stens, has both belts, friction disc and even sheer pins. It's obviously for my model blower.
Ariens Auger Repair Kit Snowblower Thrower ST926DLE ST11528LE | eBay


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## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

*ChrisJ*: Disc plate definitely looks better to me (but remember my experience is limited to one Ariens ST1032). Personally, I would replace the friction disc, because it is cheap and rubber gets old, but it is really up to you. 

(I ran the existing disc for a couple of months struggling in reverse. The last of those two months a new friction disc sat in my garage waiting to be installed. What a bone head I was, once I put in the new friction disc and adjust the drive tensioner, it was a new machine...)


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## ChrisJ (Nov 27, 2014)

E350 said:


> *ChrisJ*: Disc plate definitely looks better to me (but remember my experience is limited to one Ariens ST1032). Personally, I would replace the friction disc, because it is cheap and rubber gets old, but it is really up to you.
> 
> (I ran the existing disc for a couple of months struggling in reverse. The last of those two months a new friction disc sat in my garage waiting to be installed. What a bone head I was, once I put in the new friction disc and adjust the drive tensioner, it was a new machine...)


Looks like it's incredibly easy to change the disk too.
I'm probably going to put it on my stuff to do list for next fall. New auger belt, new friction disk etc.


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## bndawgs (Jan 27, 2016)

looks in better shape than mine. lol


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