# Ariens ST724 Worth Transmission Repair?



## Herpgal1 (Feb 9, 2013)

I have a Ariens ST724 snowblower that i'm guessing is at least 10 years old. I live in Syracuse, NY where we get in excess of 100 inches of snow a year so the machine has has it's fair share of usage. I used it it today and it was initially difficult to get it into reverse, but it's now stuck in reverse even if I move it to a forward speed. 
I noticed that the place it appears lose down where it goes into the bottom of the engine. It moves now and i'm sure it's not supposed to be that sloppy. 
I have basic mechanical skills so I'd have to pay to have it picked up and brought to the shop to be looked at. 
My question: Is it worth it? I confess that I've been using it since I lost my fiance 6 winters ago and haven't done any kind of maintenance on it even though he took good care of it before he died. 
I appreciate any help you can give...if not, what do you recommend for a replacement? It has to be two stage, electric start and 7HP like the Ariens as we get our share of snow. 
Thank you.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

i would have to say that your st 724 is over due for maintinance. i would get it to a good shop and let them take care of it for you


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## Herpgal1 (Feb 9, 2013)

So you really believe that it's repairable and, more so, worth the money for the repair plus the $100+ charge for pick up & return from the shop? 
I also can't have it away for too long since I need it in this weather. You think the the loose gear thingy is an easy repair? I'm not trying to be contrary, I just want to be sure that at 10+ years and heavy use during those 10+ years, you really believe it's worth it to sink $200 and probably more into it for repairs? Thanks


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

those old ariens st's seem to be some good machines. is the engine running good? the lever seems like its out of adjustment but no service for 6+ years, nothing has been lubed, no oil change, nothing has been greased. there are plent of us here that have machines that are older than your st724 but we have been maintaining them or in some cases refurbing them. my toro 826 is a '79, my biggest problem is trying to pull start it so i've added the electric starter. november is my month to get the snowblowers ready for winter. some things i do myself other things that im not equipped to do then the machine ends up at the shop


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

If its only a 10 year old Ariens, then yes, its definitely worth spending $100 to $200 to get it back in shape...because the cheapest brand-new snowblower you can buy is $500, and a $500 new snowblower is probably going to be a "step-down" from your current snowblower, even when factoring in 10-years old versus brand-new..(yes, I am saying a 10 year old Ariens is a better machine than most brand-new $500 snowlowers!)

"difficult to get in reverse" sounds like it just needed some lubrication somewhere..with basic yearly maintance (which you can easily do yourself) this machine should last you another 40 years..but lack of lubrication caused something to get stuck, (and then probably break), which is causing your current issues..but its probably something minor that a shop can easily take care of..

IMO, if you need to have a snowblower, and the options are spend $200 on the current machine, $500 on a new one, or $200 to $300 on a used one...No contest, fix the current one..the best option IMO by far..

then..keep it well maintained!  (we can help you with that..its easy once you know what to do..) and it will serve you well for many years to come..

It sounds like something broke on the linkage, and now the shift lever isnt connected properly to the friction disk..shifting doesnt work at all, and its stuck in reverse..
probably isnt anything major to fix..

Scot


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## Herpgal1 (Feb 9, 2013)

I did change the oil in it - not last year, but the year before - I over filled it because they didn't tell me that it would only take a portion of the bottle so now it smokes a bit when started.
Here's another question for you. The primer bulb leaks gas. It has a hole in it but i was told it's supposed to have a hole in it. I replaced it about two years ago and questioned the hole when I bought the new one and was assured that it was supposed to be there. It started leaking gas last year at the end of the season. It doesn't do it right away, it starts after about 30-40 minutes of work. 

I had turned it off once I lost forward movement, it was dribbling a bit while I was using it, but not much. I cleaned my car off and when I came back - 20 minutes or so - it was coming out a lot faster...the blower was on flat ground, and I put my finger over the hole and 'primed' it twice - it stopped leaking. 

Any ideas about that? I haven't gotten back to the dealer to ask them or to purchase a new primer bulb, but why the hole? and why leaking after half hour of working? Thanks again for your help.


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## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

the stuck in reverse . tilt the machine up on its front end so the bottom is facing you. take the 4 or so bolts that hold the sheet metal pan on off. once off, look around, you will see a rubber edged wheel that rides on a hexagonal shaft. that is prob stuck. get some acetone or wd 40 and put on a rag and clean the hex shaft off. try to slide it into forward/reverse etc, back and forth cleaning on either side of the wheel until it moves freely. the wd40 and grease mix should be enough lube until you can get a service.

The fuel coming out the primer bulb is not right the bulb is not the problem, sounds like the float in the carburetor is stuck. you prob could use a rebuild.


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## Herpgal1 (Feb 9, 2013)

So you're talking about a carb rebuild, not a total engine rebuild, correct? I can just remove the carb and bring that in, right? ( Presuming that I can fix the transmission problem myself.)
Thanks.


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## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

Just a carb rebuild. They will or should do preliminary adjustments for you and you fine tune it. If it has adjustable jets. If not it is bolt and go. Very important to take pics of all angles of the carbon so you remember what holes the linkages go in.

Look on the bottom of the carbon. There is a hex bolt in the center. If it is plain its a non adjustable. If there is a screw coming out of the center of it. It is adjustable.

The hole in the bulb. You cover the hole when you press the bulb and the air gets forced into the carb and pushes gas into the intake to give a cold engine an initial boost. When you let go the hole allows the bulb to refill with air and not act like a vacuum and pull the gas you just sent in out.

The loose linkage for the shifter. Some thing may have popped off when the inside was stuck. Get the bottom pan off and pictures are the best way for us to see what's going on.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

if you are going to remove the carb remember to shut off the petcock on the gas tank, its under the tank or remove the gas from the gas tank. a new two stage snowblower like your st724 sill cost somewhere between $750 and $1200


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## Herpgal1 (Feb 9, 2013)

OK, that carb rebuild sounds easy enough. I may try to get this all fixed without having it taken to the dealer. I removed the carb for a rebuild on my lawnmower several years ago and had a friend do the rebuild then reinstalled it myself. Thanks for the reminder about shutting off the gas. I should be able to do it on the Ariens.

As for the tranny, i may also try and tackle that myself first if the weather will cooperate. I don't have a heated garage so I have to see what my fingers will take. I'd hate to be without the blower for a while, but that may have to happen. I might be able to borrow a neighbors' while I'm trying to get mine fixed.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Herpgal1 said:


> I noticed that the place it appears lose down where it goes into the bottom of the engine. It moves now and i'm sure it's not supposed to be that sloppy.


I think that is the key to the problem..
if you are willing to remove the carb and work on it yourself, then you can also probably fix this problem yourself too! 

There is probably something bound up inside the tractor unit, due to lack of lubrication..open up the bottom, cover the friction disk so you dont get grease on it, then hit anything that looks like its supposed to move with a shot of white lithium grease..comes in a can with a "straw" to apply it, like this:

http://www.suremarineservice.com/images/products/display/81981.jpg

See if you get things moving..then, you will probably be able to tell where the linkage from the handlebar broke, might also be an easy fix..(perhaps a bolt came off or something like that..)

The carb leaking gas is due to gas not being drained out for summer storage..gas these days is really bad quality, with the ethanol in it..gas quality has really taken a major hit when the ethanol was added, it *has* to be drained out every spring, the carb and gas tank both emptied of gas, before its stored for the summer..otherwise it partially evaporates and forms "varnish" that just makes a mess of everything, and causes lots of carb issues..just draining out the gas each spring will minimize those issues.

bad gas causes the float to stick, which causes gas to leak out of the carb..I agree that it probably has nothing to do with the primer bulb..
basically, its just a dirty carb..

You have to take the carb bowl off, and clean things out inside the carb..you should be able to do it without physically removing the entire carb from the machine, just remove the bowl...like this:






(not sure if you have an adjustable jet, or a non-adjustable jet)
but the video is just a demo of removing the bowl, and cleaning out the small holes in the jet and "general cleaning" of the carb..

I cleaned the carb on my '71 Ariens a few months ago..First time I have ever disassembled a carb in my life!  It went very well...I lost the float needle valve, but i had a replacement one from the "rebuild kit" I bought...I didnt remove the whole carb from the engine, only the bowl..replaced the jet and gaskets and gave it good cleaning out with carb cleaner..runs much better now! 

you might not necessarily need a "carb rebuild kit"..just a cleaning might be sufficient..but IMO its nice to have, to replace things that get dirty and worn out..

Scot


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## Herpgal1 (Feb 9, 2013)

I do have white lithium grease ( use it for car door hinges) and will try just cleaning out the carb. I do know about the ethanol issue, but how do you empty the tank of gas? Do I siphon it out - and where do I dispose of it? Can I put it in my car's gas tank? 
Thanks again for all your help! This forum is great!


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Herpgal1 said:


> Do I siphon it out - and where do I dispose of it? Can I put it in my car's gas tank?


Rig a funnel under the carb, (I use wire to hold a funnel in place) have the funnel going into an empty gas can..make sure the fuel shut-off valve on the bottom of the gas tank is open (if you have one) and loosen or remove the needle valve on the bottom of the carb..(or open the carb bowl drain valve, if you have one)..Snow blowers dont have fuel pumps, the gas goes from the tank to the carb just by gravity..so draining the gas out from the carb will drain both the carb and the gas tank all in one step.

its a slow process, so I usually make sure the funnel is secure, then just walk away for an hour or so while it drains..

yes, you can dump it right in the cars gas tank!
it should still be "fresh" enough in the spring that it will burn up fine in the car..(I like to make sure the car's gas tank is nearly full, then add in the half-gallon or so of snowblower gas, so its diluted)..

Scot


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

This is a slightly different blower, but sounds like the same problem you are having with your transmission.


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## cdestuck (Jan 20, 2013)

If you know how to remove the carb and reinstall, forget paying to repair it. Find the make of engine and track down a new carb online. Be cheaper that the rebuild.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

cdestuck said:


> If you know how to remove the carb and reinstall, forget paying to repair it. Find the make of engine and track down a new carb online. Be cheaper that the rebuild.


Not cheaper than the rebuild..(if you do the work yourself)
(and Herpgal is talking about doing it herself)
a carb kit is less than $20. (I think i paid $17 at Napa Auto Parts)
and you can find them online for $10.
While a new carb is $40..

If the carb just needs cleaning, there is no sense in replacing it..
also, like everything else, I would be concerned that a new carb is probably of lower quality than the original carb on the engine..
these days, everything is made to lower quality standards in China..
I would much rather keep the original carb..its probably a much better carb than a new one..

Scot


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## Simplicity Solid 22 (Nov 27, 2012)

Maybe post your model and serial number it will help us help you.










or here:


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

I have found that white lithium grease can get quite stiff in cold weather and you don't have a lot of leverage to move the friction disk on the hex shaft and white lithium can make it difficult. I prefer to clean the hex shaft with kerosene or brake cleaner if you have it, then coat the hex shaft with a light weight motor oil.


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