# Impeller roll pin replacement on old Ariens



## DaveV (Jan 12, 2011)

Hi, newbie here from Boston area- I have an ancient Ariens 6hp, see attachments- today in the wet snow I think I broke the impeller roll pin, as the auger turns fine, but the impeller no longer turns with it, but spins freely by hand. Does anyone know the proper step to replacing this roll pin? It does not seem simple like the auger shear bolts. Thanks in advance to all replies


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Most likely have to remove the bucket from the body, remove the pulley coupler thing from the back of the shaft, remove the bushing holders from the sides of the bucket then pull the whole assembly out of the bucket. While you have it apart probably would not hurt to replace the bearing on the back of the bucket and the 2 bronze bushings on the sides of the rakes.


----------



## BOSMECH (Dec 16, 2010)

Shryp has got that right. 
It will be a bit of work to do but not bad if it comes apart easy.


----------



## DaveV (Jan 12, 2011)

It's definitely a roll pin, I found a broken one in the impeller hole when cleaning the melting snow out of it - this repair cannot be done without removing the auger/impeller assembly?


----------



## dakota60 (Oct 20, 2010)

Not familiar with this model- or Ariens in General- but could this be accessed by removing the chute ?


----------



## abumpa (Nov 21, 2010)

My Ariens has 2 pins that can be accessed from the discharge chute area.


----------



## DaveV (Jan 12, 2011)

A-HA! I do believe mine is do-able with the chute removed, see attached - where can I get these roll pins..?


----------



## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Should be able to pick them up at a hardware store. I'd check with a retailer that carries Ariens too. Probably a better bet to make sure you get the right size specific to your machine.


----------



## BOSMECH (Dec 16, 2010)

Nice job DaveV I love new tricks to make the job easier.


----------



## DaveV (Jan 12, 2011)

THX - so the chute is removed, I see no reason why I can't do this job without pulling the assembly out?


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

It could probably be done, but as long as you can get the pulley/coupler off the impeller shaft it would probably be easier to just remove it.


----------



## thebundies (Jan 18, 2011)

Thanks for this information, I'm having the same issues on my old Ariens. I heard Sears sells roll pin punch sets.


----------



## DaveV (Jan 12, 2011)

So after trying to do it thru the the chute hole, I ended up just removing the auger end brackets and end bolts and pulled the whole assembly straight out, without removing the rear pulley. Used 1.5" roll pins as I couldn't find find 1.25" ones, they seem to work OK. Just have to slide the splined end into the female bearing at the rear of the bucket (that was a lil tricky) and rebolt the auger ends to the brackets.


----------



## BOSMECH (Dec 16, 2010)

I think you will be able to easly do it.


----------



## thebundies (Jan 18, 2011)

*Roll Pin*

I was able to replace the roll pins through the chute without taking it off. I used a a punch set and a long piece of metal to tap them in. The thing is the roll pins keep snapping. Any thoughts on why the roll pins would keep breaking? 

Thanks!!


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

I would guess either your roll pins are much softer metal than what was originally in there, they are the wrong size (too small diameter) or something else is mechanically wrong. Does the impeller shaft slide forward and backwards a lot so that the impeller might be hitting something? Do you pick up rocks or something? Is there ice frozen around it?


----------



## thebundies (Jan 18, 2011)

I will check the shaft to see if it slides. I typcially don't pick up much debris because my driveway is smooth pavement. I did snap a stick the other day so maybe that caused it, but I would have thought the sheer pins would have gone first unless it went straight to the propeller. 

Thanks for the reply....


----------



## OutWest (Dec 10, 2016)

Hi Everyone. Brand new to this site today BUT this was a great help to me. Thank you for the posts everyone made here. I know it is now nearing 6 years since the last post was made here but the info is still relevant. The Ariens I was working on was purchased new by my Dad back in December 1972, so it has been in the family since new. It is a 7hp snowblower and even though it is 44 years old now, it is still a good unit. 

The issue I had was this morning (after the snowblower had not been used for a couple winters), I was using it and the roll pins broke so the impeller stopped. I ended up taking the chute off. That was easy because it only has 6 short little Phillips screws holding it on with 3 little metal plates underneath holding the chute in place. Actually, I only needed to take 4 of the screws out and just loosened the other 2. This gave me access to roll pins once the chute was lifted off. To make your life easier though, if you have some long punches (9 or 10" long) that will fit the 1/4" hole, you will be glad you bought them. If you have some 1/4" rod that is 10+ inches long, you could use that also. 

Just wanted to let anyone know who has a early 1970's Ariens snowblower, it is possible to change those roll pins without taking too much apart.


Great site, glad I found it.


----------



## Stang (Mar 28, 2015)

Glad to hear that this was feasible for you guys. When I first read the earlier posts, I was worried that the impeller shaft would be bent if you did this while still mounted on the bucket. I guess it depends on your degree of rust-welding. I had a terrible time trying to get mine off, and mine was out on the bench vise while I was doing it. I had the proper roll pins, but they were just completely rust welded in there. The shaft was also rust welded to the impeller fan, so that was fun loosening it. 

Do yourself a favor and re-grease or anti-seize the shaft when you do this job.


----------



## Jackmels (Feb 18, 2013)

I find it easier to remove the Gearbox and Impeller on the 10000 series.. You only have to remove (6) 7/16 nuts from the side bearing assembly, and (2) 3/4 Bolts from the auger shaft, knock out the side bearing carriers, and it slides right out. Easier to deal with once it is liberated. Just my 2 cents.


----------



## DriverRider (Nov 20, 2016)

thebundies said:


> I was able to replace the roll pins through the chute without taking it off. I used a a punch set and a long piece of metal to tap them in. The thing is the roll pins keep snapping. Any thoughts on why the roll pins would keep breaking?


I know the thread is old and the original poster is probably long gone, but.

Technical name for these are spring pins and the Chinlee ones available nowadays are not what they used to be. Common practice back in the day was to have a Heavy Duty designation which simply meant installing one more spring pin inside of the larger one firstly installed. If I recall correctly it is the next or maybe two sizes smaller pin which gets installed secondly and they are a tight fit and not much fun to deal with.

They do get the job done though.


----------



## Stang (Mar 28, 2015)

DriverRider said:


> I know the thread is old and the original poster is probably long gone, but.
> 
> Technical name for these are spring pins and the Chinlee ones available nowadays are not what they used to be. Common practice back in the day was to have a Heavy Duty designation which simply meant installing one more spring pin inside of the larger one firstly installed. If I recall correctly it is the next or maybe two sizes smaller pin which gets installed secondly and they are a tight fit and not much fun to deal with.
> 
> They do get the job done though.


You bring up a good point about the new pins. I try to save my 40 year old pins whenever I can since I suspect they're much higher quality.


----------



## oteria (Feb 14, 2017)

Hi.. good advice ... I used the flat end of a long crowbar to hammer the new roll pins in through the shute.
I used a stiff wire inserted into the roll pin hole and rotated the impeller to align the shft holes with the impeller holes.
The wire also protrudes into the new roll pin to hold it in place for the crowbar.
Several blows with a crowbar through the shute did the job. Once again ... use a bigger hammer... Ha!


----------



## leetje57 (Mar 16, 2017)

*Replacing roll pin on old Ariens*



DaveV said:


> So after trying to do it thru the the chute hole, I ended up just removing the auger end brackets and end bolts and pulled the whole assembly straight out, without removing the rear pulley. Used 1.5" roll pins as I couldn't find find 1.25" ones, they seem to work OK. Just have to slide the splined end into the female bearing at the rear of the bucket (that was a lil tricky) and rebolt the auger ends to the brackets.


Hello, I'm new to this forum. Well I broke my old trusty (est 60's vintage) Ariens snowblower model 10M6D while digging out from yesterdays blizzard in the northeast, by hitting a brick on the side of my driveway. Instead of breaking the safety shear pins, I broke the auger gear box. I can rotate the augers freeley and they are no longer coupled with the drive shaft. When the break occurred I heard a single snapping sound (as opposed to grinding) so I think I may have snapped the roll pin that holds the main gear onto the auger shaft. That all said, can I access the gear box assembly by removing the auger end brackets as indicated above, slide out the auger shaft, and open the box to see whats going on? I don't want to have to remove the whole impeller assembly if I don't need to. Thanks


----------



## leetje57 (Mar 16, 2017)

Hello. I am new to this forum, and I was reading this thread with great interest, as I managed to break my old trusty (est. 60’s vintage) Ariens snowblower (Model 10M6D, Ser 38382) during yesterday’s Northeast blizzard. I hit a brick on the side of my driveway, and instead of snapping the safety shear pins on the auger shaft, I broke the auger gear box (10180 is stamped on the box). When this happened, I heard a single snapping sound (as opposed to grinding), so I believe I broke the roll pin that holds the main gear onto the auger shaft and (hoping) not the gears themselves. I won’t know for certain until I open up the box, but I was wondering if I could access the box by removing the auger end brackets, sliding out the auger shaft, etc.? I’m hoping I don’t have to remove the entire impeller assembly. Thanks


----------



## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

leetje57 said:


> Hello. I am new to this forum, and I was reading this thread with great interest, as I managed to break my old trusty (est. 60’s vintage) Ariens snowblower (Model 10M6D, Ser 38382) during yesterday’s Northeast blizzard. I hit a brick on the side of my driveway, and instead of snapping the safety shear pins on the auger shaft, I broke the auger gear box (10180 is stamped on the box). When this happened, I heard a single snapping sound (as opposed to grinding), so I believe I broke the roll pin that holds the main gear onto the auger shaft and (hoping) not the gears themselves. I won’t know for certain until I open up the box, but I was wondering if I could access the box by removing the auger end brackets, sliding out the auger shaft, etc.? I’m hoping I don’t have to remove the entire impeller assembly. Thanks



Welcome to the board !!

You have to remove the whole assembly to open up the gearbox for proper inspection & repair. Easily done by removing the 1/2" bolts on the outside of the bucket at the auger shaft bushing flange, then remove the 6 nuts holding the flange, pop out the flanges. You should be able pull the whole auger assembly straight out. Then remove both shear pins, then the small roll pins at each end of the auger. 
Your augers should pull off of the shaft now, sometimes rotating them as you pull can help. I hope they come off, but im guessing that they are rusted frozen on the shaft and thats why the gearbox broke instead of the shear pins. Then remove the bolts on the side of the gearbox to see whats broken in there. Good luck with your project.


----------



## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

You will also have to split the machine in half with a couple of bolts, and then take off the auger/impeller pulley, an then the auger/impeller assembly will pull out the front. You should find several youtube videos with the procedure.


----------



## Landngroove (Oct 12, 2015)

I just did this procedure on my Ariens 10000 series. Was not a bad job to do. You do need to split the auger housing from the tractor, 2 bolts, and undo the chute crank handle. Be careful because the tractor will fall suddenly back, when removing the second bolt. You will have to slide the auger and impeller assembly out of the housing. Take note of the differential, how it sits (top) mark with sharpee pen. Also looking at the auger assembly from the front you will only have to slide the left rake from the shaft to access the side cover to the differential. Again take note and mark the rake so you will not put it back on the shaft reversed. Remove the side cover, and clean out broken pieces of roll pin (5/16"X 1, 3/8"). Remove the drain plugs and use a punch through one of the holes to remove any remains of the roll pin in the shaft. You will have to install the new roll pin through one of the drain plug holes with a punch. The hardest part of this job, at least to me was lining up the ring gear, and shaft, and turning the assembly to line up with a drain plug hole. Take your time and you will be successful.


----------



## leetje57 (Mar 16, 2017)

Landngroove said:


> I just did this procedure on my Ariens 10000 series. Was not a bad job to do. You do need to split the auger housing from the tractor, 2 bolts, and undo the chute crank handle. Be careful because the tractor will fall suddenly back, when removing the second bolt. You will have to slide the auger and impeller assembly out of the housing. Take note of the differential, how it sits (top) mark with sharpee pen. Also looking at the auger assembly from the front you will only have to slide the left rake from the shaft to access the side cover to the differential. Again take note and mark the rake so you will not put it back on the shaft reversed. Remove the side cover, and clean out broken pieces of roll pin (5/16"X 1, 3/8"). Remove the drain plugs and use a punch through one of the holes to remove any remains of the roll pin in the shaft. You will have to install the new roll pin through one of the drain plug holes with a punch. The hardest part of this job, at least to me was lining up the ring gear, and shaft, and turning the assembly to line up with a drain plug hole. Take your time and you will be successful.


Thanks for your reply. So, after I split the augur housing half from the engine/tractor half, will I then have to remove the flywheel and bracket that holds the auger drive shaft, to remove the auger and impeller assembly from the housing? This is the part that worries me the most based on videos I have seen on Youtube on newer models. I figure my unit is about 50 years old and I don't want to break any of the bolts holding the flywheel or bracket. My augers seem to rotate fine on their shaft as there appears to be sufficient lubrication. Sometimes when I move them along the auger shaft it catches something and I can spin the drive shaft but mostly it does not. I hear no grinding of the gears. Interesting to read that I can remove the roller pin using a punch through the drain plug hole.


----------



## leetje57 (Mar 16, 2017)

Shaw351 said:


> Welcome to the board !!
> 
> You have to remove the whole assembly to open up the gearbox for proper inspection & repair. Easily done by removing the 1/2" bolts on the outside of the bucket at the auger shaft bushing flange, then remove the 6 nuts holding the flange, pop out the flanges. You should be able pull the whole auger assembly straight out. Then remove both shear pins, then the small roll pins at each end of the auger.
> Your augers should pull off of the shaft now, sometimes rotating them as you pull can help. I hope they come off, but im guessing that they are rusted frozen on the shaft and thats why the gearbox broke instead of the shear pins. Then remove the bolts on the side of the gearbox to see whats broken in there. Good luck with your project.


Thanks for your reply. I think I can do this as I do not want to fork over a grand for a new one. So, I have a question about your line "Easily done by removing the 1/2" bolts on the outside of the bucket at the auger shaft bushing flange, then remove the 6 nuts holding the flange, pop out the flanges" Is this the part where I have to remove the flywheel and bracket that holds the auger drive shaft, to remove the auger and impeller assembly from the housing? I worry about this part the most as my unit is about 50 years old and I don't want to break any of the bolts holding the flywheel or bracket. My augers seem to rotate fine on their shaft as there appears to be sufficient lubrication. I was surprised I did not break the shear pins. Sometimes when I move them along the auger shaft it catches something and I can spin the drive shaft but mostly it does not. I hear no grinding of the gears. I remain hopeful I can pull this off. Thanks again


----------



## Patrick8 (Feb 3, 2021)

DriverRider said:


> I know the thread is old and the original poster is probably long gone, but.
> 
> Technical name for these are spring pins and the Chinlee ones available nowadays are not what they used to be. Common practice back in the day was to have a Heavy Duty designation which simply meant installing one more spring pin inside of the larger one firstly installed. If I recall correctly it is the next or maybe two sizes smaller pin which gets installed secondly and they are a tight fit and not much fun to deal with.
> 
> They do get the job done though.


----------



## Patrick8 (Feb 3, 2021)

leetje57 said:


> Thanks for your reply. I think I can do this as I do not want to fork over a grand for a new one. So, I have a question about your line "Easily done by removing the 1/2" bolts on the outside of the bucket at the auger shaft bushing flange, then remove the 6 nuts holding the flange, pop out the flanges" Is this the part where I have to remove the flywheel and bracket that holds the auger drive shaft, to remove the auger and impeller assembly from the housing? I worry about this part the most as my unit is about 50 years old and I don't want to break any of the bolts holding the flywheel or bracket. My augers seem to rotate fine on their shaft as there appears to be sufficient lubrication. I was surprised I did not break the shear pins. Sometimes when I move them along the auger shaft it catches something and I can spin the drive shaft but mostly it does not. I hear no grinding of the gears. I remain hopeful I can pull this off. Thanks again


Hi there. Thank you all for posting about how to deal with broken shear pins, roll pins, whatever you choose to call them. I have an old Ariens Sno-Thro and unit was working great 2 days ago, blowing significant snow, we got about 20 inches. The day after the storm as I was cleaning up snow in the driveway, snow was no longer being blown out of
the chute. Auger was spinning fine, but impeller was not spinning at all, yet it could be rotated freely by hand. 
I believed it was the roll pins that connect the impeller to the auger and I was right. All I had to do was remove the chute which is only held on by 5 3/8" bolt / nuts and I could see the shaft of the impeller and the holes where roll pins should be, but they were gone. Plenty of room to install new roll pins ($2 fix) using a punch and small hammer. 
You can slide your arm in from the front of the units, past the auger with a hammer and tap the pins down. 
In order to get the holes that are on the impeller shaft to line up with the holes on the impeller itself, just pull the 
start cord slowly and they will line up. 
I used stainless steel pins 1/4" by 2" and they worked fine. I put the chute back on, fired up the blower and it
ran perfectly.


----------



## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

Seems odd that the roll pins were nowhere to be found. They don't usually fall out.


----------



## Patrick8 (Feb 3, 2021)

RIT333 said:


> Seems odd that the roll pins were nowhere to be found. They don't usually fall out.


My thought is that there were not roll pins in there, that before I got the machine, someone had put in 
bolts and nuts that rusted off or something. There was nothing in either of the holes, I could see daylight when I
lined the holes in the impeller up with the holes in the shaft.


----------



## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

Makes sense.


----------

