# How long should a friction wheel last?



## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

Yesterday,I serviced my machine, a 921037 28+ Deluxe. I could not believe how badly my friction disk had worn, and it was worn quite a bit worse on the inside of the disk ( toward the right- inside of the wheel rim). I checked this same disk last year, and it was in above average condition. I removed it, and replaced it with a warranty supplied part. The dealer thought it might have been bad rubber. I do use high speed transfer speed to take it to the park occasionally,by my house.I would have posted a pic of the bad disk, but the dealer kept it for warranty purposes.Anyone else experience this?:sad2:


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

No. I'm in New Jersey, middle of the East coast. It snows 1-7 times per year, 2"-7" with occasional 12"-25" snows. A friction disk will last 30+ years.


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## e.fisher26 (Nov 6, 2016)

It is very possible that it is over tightened, too much pressure between wheel and disc and cause damage


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

do you shift on the fly? that is while the machine is moving?

that and too much pressure as mentioned by e.fisher26 may wear the disk prematurely 

I have seen many 30 year old plus Hondas with the original friction disk. I tell people to only shift while stopped.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

Cutter said:


> Yesterday,I serviced my machine, a 921037 28+ Deluxe. I could not believe how badly my friction disk had worn, and it was worn quite a bit worse on the inside of the disk ( toward the right- inside of the wheel rim). I checked this same disk last year, and it was in above average condition. I removed it, and replaced it with a warranty supplied part. The dealer thought it might have been bad rubber. I do use high speed transfer speed to take it to the park occasionally,by my house.I would have posted a pic of the bad disk, but the dealer kept it for warranty purposes.Anyone else experience this?:sad2:


I have had the same problem.

I use my machine a lot during the season. The first friction disc lasted 3 years and the second lasted 2 years. There is an indicator of disc wear on the left side so I know when the disc is close to wearing out. I replaced the friction disc recently and found the rubber was worn unevenly (same side as yours wore most). The hex shaft was worn where it rides in the bearing, more on right side where the splined drive for the cog is located. But also on the other side, but not as much. 

Bought a new hex shaft from the dealer and checked it against the old bearings and new bearings, no difference. So there is a light interference fit that will allow the shaft to spin in the bearing and wear. So I checked for side movement in the shaft when installed and there is just a little. So I used blue locktite on the shaft bearing surfaces and a thin washer on the left side of shaft to take out the side movement and load the bearings ever so slightly. 

Attached are pics showing the wear indicator in released position, engaged position and then in near worn out position. My indicator was just about touching the right side of opening. With this Ariens system you cannot overload the wheel drive pressure. The pic of the friction disc shows it leaning to the left, reverse that when looking at it installed in the maintenance position. The most wear occurs on the right side (drive cog side). The hex shaft wear is shown on both bearing surfaces but is much more on the drive cog side.

You may want to check your hex shaft for wear too.


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

Town said:


> I have had the same problem.
> 
> I use my machine a lot during the season. The first friction disc lasted 3 years and the second lasted 2 years. There is an indicator of disc wear on the left side so I know when the disc is close to wearing out. I replaced the friction disc recently and found the rubber was worn unevenly (same side as yours wore most). The hex shaft was worn where it rides in the bearing, more on right side where the splined drive for the cog is located. But also on the other side, but not as much.
> 
> ...



Hey all..thanks so much for the great replies, and thank you Town for such an indepth one. I don't shift on the fly, as it loves to destroy transmissions. the point that e.Fisher26 has some merrit, as I did check the cable adjustment a little bit into the winter,and it was not set properly.I reset it, so that the indicator now touches the left side of the square in the body.That may have had something to do with it.I bought this from the local JD Dealer, who said it was used there a little bit, but now I am thinking it was a return. They were very good about supplying warranty for the friction wheel.What town has to say about the wear in the hex shaft certainly makes sense as well.My disk looks the same as Town's, but did not have the ridge on the opposite side as Town's. So...I was thinking that the whole disk assembly is not running true so yesterday I took some shots of the friction wheel with a level on it for plumb ( it may look like the level is sitting slightly on one of the screws, but it is not)....the whole system seems to be straight and true. SO...I don't know, and i guess I will have to wait until next year to find out. I do know one thing...replacing this disk was the easiest one I have ever done....literally 25 minutes to R&R. The **** belly pan took longer to put back. But, I did figure that out too...I removed the clips on the pan, put them on my big vise, hammered each of the tops closed, and they screws went in like butter. But, forgive my Lord, for the words I said, trying to but the bolts back in before I fixed the clips!:sad2::smile2::wink2:


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## Sid (Jan 31, 2014)

I agree with JL and EF especially with the Craftsman/Murray, that disc is a solid doughnut of rubber 
that under most circumstances will last almost forever. I only changed mine [disc] after around about 20 years, because I thought it was time. I keep a couple of spares, sealed in plastic, just in case. Those vulcanized discs, I think will peel off if they are pressed too tight when driven, that as been my expierence .
Sid


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

Sid said:


> I agree with JL and EF especially with the Craftsman/Murray, that disc is a solid doughnut of rubber
> that under most circumstances will last almost forever. I only changed mine [disc] after around about 20 years, because I thought it was time. I keep a couple of spares, sealed in plastic, just in case. Those vulcanized discs, I think will peel off if they are pressed too tight when driven, that as been my expierence .
> Sid


 I loved my Craftsman/Murray, and I changed my disk about 19 years, but it was a nightmare to change. Trying to engage the gear into the sprocket on the left, and then into the chain, and the washers on the spindle....and just when you almost have it, the spacer(s) drop into the abyss.Well it left the air kinda "blue" in the garage. But doing my new Ariens was an absolute treat....so easy and simple....done in 20-25 minutes, and not one swearword. But then I could not believe that I tore my friction assemby apart,fixed it easily and successfully but couldn't put the belly pan on! GRRRR.
But, ended up fixing the clips...just hammer the top end on them closed ( leave enough space to be able to slide them over the metal) where they fold over, and the screws were in in seconds.:smile_big:


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## bigredmf (Jan 16, 2018)

40 years on my 1979 824 and going strong!


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## SimplicitySolid22 (Nov 18, 2018)

Did those clips come with each of your blowers or did you by them due to belly pan hole stripping/enlarging???


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

SimplicitySolid22 said:


> Did those clips come with each of your blowers or did you by them due to belly pan hole stripping/enlarging???


I didn't buy them as they came on the machine when I bought it. But, once you take the pan off, it is really hard to re-insert the bolts, and yet it looks so simple. Once you take the pan off, take a very close look at how the clips are sitting on the pan, and you will notice that they angle slightly upwards.Once you take them off, and hammer them down ( only takes a couple of light hits with the hammer), put them back on, and put the bolts back in. I have R&R'd my belly pan about 4 times in the last 2 days, and the bolts are in in seconds.:smile2:


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

bigredmf said:


> 40 years on my 1979 824 and going strong!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Really....you mean 40 years on the same friction disk?:surprise:


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## eyebolt (Dec 15, 2016)

20 years on my friends MTD snow blower 8 hp . 4 car driveway. I change it for him. The machine runs but it is tired.:surprise:


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## vmax29 (Oct 19, 2017)

My Troybilt’s friction wheel lasted 15 years when it started slipping but only when I was clearing slush along the curb and it was getting wet from the standing water. The new wheel made it like new again. And it was very simple to replace. One thing I noticed, that surprised me was how little material wore off during all those years of heavy use. Those little friction wheels take some beating and continue to work. Hydrostatic drive is nice but those friction disk systems are very reliable IMHO.


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

That's from the cheap Chinese rubber they use in manufacturing to save a buck. I never saw a disc last more than a year or two under normal usage on a newer snowblower. The old Honda's lasted a lot longer due to much better material used when they were manufactured, that was a reason for the higher price of the Honda.
Those "Sliption" discs are constantly slipping under normal use, like "spinning" your tires on your car going around a sharp curve, and when they are first engaged, it is like spinning your tires in the air and letting the wheel hit the ground after it is up to full speed. You usually saw a little bit of smoke coming off the tire when you did that from the friction and heat , like "smoking" your tires when you did a "Burn out".
Those friction discs are only designed to help provide "Assist" to help with the forward and rearward travel movement of the snowblower, they are not designed to "Bulldoze" or go up hills where they are put under a load. They have very light spring tension on them to give friction causing them to engage. If they had a stiff spring tension they would wear out extremely fast do to the extremely poor quality of rubber used in manufacturing, to save a buck for the manufacturer.
The friction disc's rubber tire is the most unreliable drive part ever made if you have to put the drive system under a load, that is why it is much better to use a hydrostatic drive system, although they are more expensive.
We have hydro units with thousands of hard hours on them without any trouble at all. If those machines were friction disc drives, we would have replaced them thousands of times by now to get that many hours out of them.


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

ST1100A said:


> That's from the cheap Chinese rubber they use in manufacturing to save a buck. I never saw a disc last more than a year or two under normal usage on a newer snowblower. The old Honda's lasted a lot longer due to much better material used when they were manufactured, that was a reason for the higher price of the Honda.
> Those "Sliption" discs are constantly slipping under normal use, like "spinning" your tires on your car going around a sharp curve, and when they are first engaged, it is like spinning your tires in the air and letting the wheel hit the ground after it is up to full speed. You usually saw a little bit of smoke coming off the tire when you did that from the friction and heat , like "smoking" your tires when you did a "Burn out".
> Those friction discs are only designed to help provide "Assist" to help with the forward and rearward travel movement of the snowblower, they are not designed to "Bulldoze" or go up hills where they are put under a load. They have very light spring tension on them to give friction causing them to engage. If they had a stiff spring tension they would wear out extremely fast do to the extremely poor quality of rubber used in manufacturing, to save a buck for the manufacturer.
> The friction disc's rubber tire is the most unreliable drive part ever made if you have to put the drive system under a load, that is why it is much better to use a hydrostatic drive system, although they are more expensive.
> We have hydro units with thousands of hard hours on them without any trouble at all. If those machines were friction disc drives, we would have replaced them thousands of times by now to get that many hours out of them.



I have never used a Hydrostatic Drive, so I really can't say. However , you seem to have a good deal of experience , with dealing in thousands of hours. So now, a related question to these posts about friction disks wearing....how many of you have seen discs chamfered where there is 1'4 rubber on the outside (face) of the disk, and much less than that inside? I have searched the net and I found several pictures of friction discs that look like mine did, and 99% of them being Ariens? Even when my disc wore out on my Murray after 19 years, it was worn down, but still flat on the bottom. It's like some of the Ariens discs are not sitting straight or plumb, but when I put a level on mine, it looked true. I don't know.:sad2:


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

vmax29 said:


> My Troybilt’s friction wheel lasted 15 years when it started slipping but only when I was clearing slush along the curb and it was getting wet from the standing water. The new wheel made it like new again. And it was very simple to replace. One thing I noticed, that surprised me was how little material wore off during all those years of heavy use. Those little friction wheels take some beating and continue to work. Hydrostatic drive is nice but those friction disk systems are very reliable IMHO.



I have never had a problem with friction disc drive units,and have blown alot of snow for 22 years, although I have never seen a disc worn so unevenly. My Murray had a great deal of traction, but my Ariens has double that. In fact, there are times I have to hold the beast back.....and I am a well built guy ( So my wife....and a few girlfriends say...) The dealer thought it was "bad rubber".....so maybe this may be true. I guess I will have to wait and see what happens next winter....I am sure that belly pan will be coming off my blower to check for wear patterns several times in the next winter season. Thank God I fixed the clips for the bolts.:wink2:


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## vmax29 (Oct 19, 2017)

I’ll probably get boiled in oil here by some mechanic for mentioning this, I did use a spray belt dressing on the disk before replacing it. It’s the stuff for automotive fan belts. It did get me through a couple back to back storms before the old disk gave up the ghost. So it does work in a pinch. And yes I like my new hydrostatic drive and I’m hoping it lasts.


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

Cutter said:


> I have never used a Hydrostatic Drive, so I really can't say. However , you seem to have a good deal of experience , with dealing in thousands of hours. So now, a related question to these posts about friction disks wearing....how many of you have seen discs chamfered where there is 1'4 rubber on the outside (face) of the disk, and much less than that inside? I have searched the net and I found several pictures of friction discs that look like mine did, and 99% of them being Ariens? Even when my disc wore out on my Murray after 19 years, it was worn down, but still flat on the bottom. It's like some of the Ariens discs are not sitting straight or plumb, but when I put a level on mine, it looked true. I don't know.:sad2:


A good chance of poor manufacturing tolerances when being built. The shafts, drive disc, and other chassis parts not exactly square with each other creating a perfect 90 degree bend is one of the causes. Frame flex of the "Tractor" frame. Also you figure when running on a round disc, the inner and outer circumference is different where the tire meets the disc causing uneven wear which is a very likely cause. 
That is why a car has a differential in the drive line, so when going around turns one wheel spins faster than the other, to prevent uneven tire wear. Although it is not that much of a difference from the width of the driven "Tire" disc, it will still make a difference when using a wide tire, and the speeds they encounter.
It is usually noticed more on the one side of the tire than the other because most of the stress on them is done in one direction more than the other, I.E., you are under power more in forward than in reverse when using the snowblower, putting more stress on it in forward than reverse.
When the unit is operated in reverse, the driven disc moves to the opposite side of the drive plate and spins in the opposite direction, therefore causing that type of wear on the opposite side of the tire on the driven disc.


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

Now if you really want some serious "Bulldozing" power and are afraid of wearing out a friction disc or a "Hydrostatic" transmission, I would suggest using an old Gravely "Walk Behind" gear drive tractor that uses conical type clutches and planetary gear sets in their transmissions.
Those beasts only weigh in around 600 pounds, and I never had any of mine wear out anything in the transmissions or clutches. They are used year round bulldozing, dirt, stone, rock, snow, plus blowing snow and mowing grass, and pushing cars and trucks around the lot and up hills.
Those old Gravely's are from 50 to 70 years old now. If you would break one, they could be a little bit expensive for parts, but I havent broke mine yet, and they take a lot of extreme abuse.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

vmax29 said:


> I’ll probably get boiled in oil here by some mechanic for mentioning this, I did use a spray belt dressing on the disk before replacing it. It’s the stuff for automotive fan belts. It did get me through a couple back to back storms before the old disk gave up the ghost. So it does work in a pinch. And yes I like my new hydrostatic drive and I’m hoping it lasts.


You and me both. I received a free HS80 that had about a third of the disk missing. found the off piece in belly pan. did not want to spring the 50 bucks for a new disk so used Shoe goo to re-attach and put a layer on top of rest of disk.

used it all winter and it does not slip at all. actually works better than my other 80. unbelievable how that shoe goo works for so many things other than shoes.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

ST1100A said:


> That's from the cheap Chinese rubber they use in manufacturing to save a buck. I never saw a disc last more than a year or two under normal usage on a newer snowblower. The old Honda's lasted a lot longer due to much better material used when they were manufactured, that was a reason for the higher price of the Honda.
> Those "Sliption" discs are constantly slipping under normal use, like "spinning" your tires on your car going around a sharp curve, and when they are first engaged, it is like spinning your tires in the air and letting the wheel hit the ground after it is up to full speed. You usually saw a little bit of smoke coming off the tire when you did that from the friction and heat , like "smoking" your tires when you did a "Burn out".
> Those friction discs are only designed to help provide "Assist" to help with the forward and rearward travel movement of the snowblower, they are not designed to "Bulldoze" or go up hills where they are put under a load. They have very light spring tension on them to give friction causing them to engage. If they had a stiff spring tension they would wear out extremely fast do to the extremely poor quality of rubber used in manufacturing, to save a buck for the manufacturer.
> The friction disc's rubber tire is the most unreliable drive part ever made if you have to put the drive system under a load, that is why it is much better to use a hydrostatic drive system, although they are more expensive.
> We have hydro units with thousands of hard hours on them without any trouble at all. If those machines were friction disc drives, we would have replaced them thousands of times by now to get that many hours out of them.


sorry to get off topic a little but I get asked this question all the time from people who are buying a used Honda. A lot of people think the friction disk system is cheaper to repair such as just replacing a disk compared to the hydro unit having a problem and needing repair or replacement.

what is your experience with hydro repairs? I have never heard of hydros having problems other than a leaking seal or a pushed out seal and then needing nothing more than bleeding system and refill with oil.?

Even a used hydro is around $300-400 and the labor is close to same so I can understand a person's concern. I tell people that some parts on the older HS50-55-70-80 are no longer available and that alone could be a reason not to buy one. On the other hand I have told them the hydros are very reliable from my ( limited ) experience. 

Do you agree or can you tell me more info from your experience? ( disk vs. hydro )


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

orangputeh said:


> You and me both. I received a free HS80 that had about a third of the disk missing. found the off piece in belly pan. did not want to spring the 50 bucks for a new disk so used Shoe goo to re-attach and put a layer on top of rest of disk.
> 
> used it all winter and it does not slip at all. actually works better than my other 80. unbelievable how that shoe goo works for so many things other than shoes.



Oh my GOD.....Pa Kettle! You do remember Ma & Pa Kettle don't you? Yeah, I am that old. Stomping in the floor to make the Radio work?


So....in retrospect....I had a mirror pop out of my 1992 GMC Sierra's side mirror, and glued it back in with Shoe Goo(p).....and it held tight for 6 years! Great stuff!:wink2:


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

Cutter said:


> Oh my GOD.....Pa Kettle! You do remember Ma & Pa Kettle don't you? Yeah, I am that old. Stomping in the floor to make the Radio work?
> 
> 
> So....in retrospect....I had a mirror pop out of my 1992 GMC Sierra's side mirror, and glued it back in with Shoe Goo(p).....and it held tight for 6 years! Great stuff!:wink2:


shoe goo

duck tape

baling wire

knife

flashlight


what else do you need?


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

orangputeh said:


> sorry to get off topic a little but I get asked this question all the time from people who are buying a used Honda. A lot of people think the friction disk system is cheaper to repair such as just replacing a disk compared to the hydro unit having a problem and needing repair or replacement.
> 
> what is your experience with hydro repairs? I have never heard of hydros having problems other than a leaking seal or a pushed out seal and then needing nothing more than bleeding system and refill with oil.?
> 
> ...


The Hydro's can be expensive to repair. I have seen seals go bad, but not too often. I have seen the little pistons and the cylinder blocks that they sit in wear out, but that is a rarity. 
The older Honda transmissions were made by Honda, and were much better than the newer ones. A lot of the Hydro units are made by Hydrogear on newer units, and many Hydro tractors, and I have repaired too many of those to count on tractor equipped Hydro's, almost all of them HydroGear that are a very common part in many different manufacturers machines.
The Eaton and Vickers Hydro pumps and motors were built a lot better.
In over 28 years time, I have only seen one older Honda HS828 that had a bad Hydro Trans. It had worn pistons and cylinder blocks. And that machine was used commercially and extremely hard.
Honda used to be good for having old parts available years ago, but after Mr Soichiro Honda died, they decided it cost too much to keep all the old parts in stock and they scrapped a lot of their new old stock, not just with power equipment, but with motorcycle, ATV and scooter divisions.
Your Hydro's are very reliable and it is usually pretty rare that one goes bad.
I would take a Hydro over a disc drive any day. For the extra money spent on a Hydro, they are well worth it for the trouble free usage and longevity out of them.
You definitely get your monies worth out of them. You would end up spending more money replacing discs and repairing disc drive systems over a long period of time than what a Hydro would cost, and for the extended time you would get out of a Hydro. You figure people who use their snowblower commercially for over 25 years at a time might replace 25 discs or more, and the Hydro unit is still going strong without any problems at all. It is the longevity and trouble free time you get out of a Hydro that makes it worth the extra money, plus the ease of use with infinitely variable speeds that can easily come to a very slow craw speed and speed back up without de-clutching or stopping to shift, and just by moving the shift lever to reverse or forward without having to come to a complete stop and de-clutching. 
Every time you do that with a disc drive, it is like when an airplane lands, the stopped tire suddenly has to skid against the drive plate, or pavement in an airplane's case, to start rotating suddenly, and it causes wear and flat spots on the tire, plus if you get the "tire" wet on the disc drive, they will slip excessively and wear prematurely. And they do get wet while operating under normal conditions. Not only that, but a Hydro has a much more solid, powerful drive when under a severe load like going up steep hills, steps, or when "Bulldozing" thru snow, which you are not supposed to do.


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

orangputeh said:


> shoe goo
> 
> duck tape
> 
> ...



Amen Orangputeh!:wink2:


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

ST1100A said:


> The Hydro's can be expensive to repair. I have seen seals go bad, but not too often. I have seen the little pistons and the cylinder blocks that they sit in wear out, but that is a rarity.
> The older Honda transmissions were made by Honda, and were much better than the newer ones. A lot of the Hydro units are made by Hydrogear on newer units, and many Hydro tractors, and I have repaired too many of those to count on tractor equipped Hydro's, almost all of them HydroGear that are a very common part in many different manufacturers machines.
> The Eaton and Vickers Hydro pumps and motors were built a lot better.
> In over 28 years time, I have only seen one older Honda HS828 that had a bad Hydro Trans. It had worn pistons and cylinder blocks. And that machine was used commercially and extremely hard.
> ...


Thank you for your time. Much appreciated.


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

vmax29 said:


> I’ll probably get boiled in oil here by some mechanic for mentioning this, I did use a spray belt dressing on the disk before replacing it. It’s the stuff for automotive fan belts. It did get me through a couple back to back storms before the old disk gave up the ghost. So it does work in a pinch. And yes I like my new hydrostatic drive and I’m hoping it lasts.



Never be afraid to offer up something that, just maybe, the rest of us haven't thought about. That's where the greatest inventions come from. Just imagine the recipe that the Colonel used to make his families Fried Chicken....just a family recipe, like many that we all have....turned into a multi billion dollar success! I used ot be a Manager for a KFC Outlet over 40 years ago. Never did, and still don't know the actual recipe!:wink2::sad2:


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## kemlyn (Oct 16, 2018)

I have a 2001 1332 Pro my friction disk lasted 17 years before it needed to be changed. Making sure the disc is adjusted properly its explained clearly in the manual. I live in Maine we have lots of snow my drive way will park over 20 cars.


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## Cutter (Mar 29, 2017)

kemlyn said:


> I have a 2001 1332 Pro my friction disk lasted 17 years before it needed to be changed. Making sure the disc is adjusted properly its explained clearly in the manual. I live in Maine we have lots of snow my drive way will park over 20 cars.



Hey thanks so much for your efforts in replying. Well I am going to have to pay special attention to the disk now that's its new again. My cable was not adjusted properly, and now that I have adjusted it according to the manual, hopefully it will last longer. The one big difference between my Ariens and my Murray was, that the Ariens friction PLATE has a rougher texture to it-probably gives it better traction but would also wear the rubber faster.My Murray Plate was super smooth and the rubber disk lasted 19 years. I checked my plate against other new Ariens, and they are all identical.:smile2:


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## Mitch (Dec 18, 2020)

SHORT DISC LIFE: I have a mid-90's Simplicity 860S (manual start) with 8 HP B&S engine that runs fine. My dad gave this to me in 2004. He went to FLA in the winter so it didn't get used too much... but I did here in the snowbelt near Syracuse. I disassembled and replaced belts and friction disc in 2015. Disc was worn pretty bad. The belt part numbers in the original books (still in plastic bags from dad) didn't fit, had to look up on line (bad book?). Then assembly went well. This year (2020) it seemed to buck and slip (again). Popped off the traction drive cover and the disc is trashed, chips and rubber shreds everywhere. We had only one bitter cold winter. Is it possible the rubber used on the replacement (bought on line from georgia parts store) is different for lawn tractors? I'm sure they don't sell snow machines there. I saw on post from a follow who used a Sterns generic replacement and his lasted one season. Then he bought an OEM Ariens disc that has lasted. Anyone have suggestions cold temperatures? I'll look for a disc specific to snowblowers, not the universal that fits many brands. Thx.


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## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

The friction disc on my 10000 series Ariens is over 50 years old (my father bought it new in 1968). This machine has blown a LOT of lake effect snow over the years and has no drive slippage issues.
When I restored it last spring, I ordered a new friction disc, but decided not to install it as the original has lots of rubber left and looked in decent condition other than some small cracks that have been there for at least 25 years . 

My feeling is the original is of better quality and will still out last the newer replacement, as well as the one on my 2 year old Ariens.

Although, now that I've said that, it will probably fail the next time I use it, but at least I have a spare disc in the drawer


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