# Cross Referencing snowblowers....



## Pauleastend63 (Nov 23, 2020)

It sure would be nice if there were cross reference guide to refer to when it comes to all the different branded units out there.

For instance I have a mid 90's John Deere 828D....I did not know until I joined this forum that my blower was actually built by Ariens for JD. Then recently I bought a John Deere TRS27 to fix up and give to my son, again I find out here that this particular model was built by Murray for JD.......The two blowers are similar in color and engine, other than that they are so mechanically different I don't think I would have bought the TRS27 had I known. Don't get me wrong, the TRS is ok, but my 828D is built like a tank and is so much easier to both work on and maintain. I like to work on well made high quality blowers, there are tons of Craftsman, Mastercraft ect ect for sale up here in Canada.....again it would be nice to know which companies built them for Sears and Canadian Tire.

While I am here......does anyone know if Ariens built and sold a sister model to my John Deere 828D back in the mid 90's?


----------



## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

John Deere never made their own snowblowers. They were all made by other manufacturers and "Re-Badged" with the John Deere name on them and made to Deere's specifications.
Deere's specifications were not very good to begin with, causing catastrophic failures in most cases. The supplying manufacturers constantly complained to the deaf ears at John Deere about them demanding a far below grade machine to be produced by the different manufacturers of the Re-Badged J.D. snowblowers, fearing it was going to give the manufacturer a Bad Reputation, and eventually most of the suppliers of the snowblowers cancelled their contracts with John Deere because of that.
The Ariens made John Deere in the photo has slight differences than an original Ariens Badged machine. Besides the color, there were differences in build quality and cheaper materials used in manufacture to keep costs down along with some other minor differences.
You could compare it to a Big Box Store sold machine to a machine sold from an independent dealership in most cases.
And yes there were big differences in the John Deere lawn equipment sold at the Big Box Stores compared to units sold from an independent Official John Deere Dealership.
Some of the Deere's were made by Murray, a "Low End Machine" manufacturer which is now owned by Briggs&Stratton. Murray took on John Deere to help boost their sales and production and John Deere liked their offer and low price per unit. John Deere was not looking for a quality built machine, just a product they could put in their showroom at the time.


----------



## Grunt (Nov 11, 2013)

(14) "Made in the USA" versus "Made in China" | Snowblower Forum


----------



## Pauleastend63 (Nov 23, 2020)

Grunt said:


> (14) "Made in the USA" versus "Made in China" | Snowblower Forum


Thanks Grunt......I have been searching for posts like this but depending on how they are labeled and where they were posted it can be hard to find......after a few weeks here I am starting to find my way around.....be well sir.


----------



## 3vanman (Nov 21, 2017)

Pauleastend63 said:


> It sure would be nice if there were cross reference guide to refer to when it comes to all the different branded units . I like to work on well made high quality blowers, there are tons of Craftsman, Mastercraft ect ect for sale up here in Canada.....again it would be nice to know which companies built them for Sears and Canadian Tire.
> .


I am in Canada, and work on a great many different snow blowers.
We'll start with Canadian Tire. Yardworks and such, were and seem to be MTD, Certified (newer line) is built by Champion, the other lines, most by MTD.
Craftsman..LOL, so many in the older. We have MTD, Noma, Murray, Briggs. Much of the Craftsman !! was Murray or Noma, however when Briggs bought out Murray, and Sears Canada disappeared, source info "fell into a dark hole".
This site does offer some good info, and is also a source of many parts, and if you look at different models, you will eventually start to spot "commonalty" in some parts.
Many of the machines "manufactured" in Canada, or sold in Canada also were sold in the USA, but as Sears Canada and Canadian Tire are/were Canadian companies, model numbers are different. 
When I look for parts for machines, I start with PartsBay, then move to Google, inputting the Model Number. From there..good luck


----------



## 3vanman (Nov 21, 2017)

btw there are many members here who will help in any way they can to point you in the right direction. If they can find info, or have a file or a manual, so many are willing to share. 
One of the reasons I really enjoy this group!!!


----------



## Pauleastend63 (Nov 23, 2020)

3vanman said:


> btw there are many members here who will help in any way they can to point you in the right direction. If they can find info, or have a file or a manual, so many are willing to share.
> One of the reasons I really enjoy this group!!!


That has been my experience as well in the short 3 weeks I have been registered here 3vanman.....Still hoping that someone knows if there is a sister Ariens model to my JD 828D.......very well made machine.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

It's really hard to tell who built what and who built what for who. Like the JD example sometimes it's rebadged from someone else and sometimes the company gets bought out, sometimes that company get's bought out and ...
Troy-bilt used to make a stout line of equipment but now they are made by MTD. They get the job done but they aren't what the real Troy equipment was. Basically they are just trying to sell the new stuff on the legacy they built up over the years.
Sears is another one where there is a long list of who made snowblowers for them. Until you get down to asking about a specific machine there really isn't just a blanket answer.
Getting back to JD, I'm pretty sure the earlier JDs are real JDs made in I have two early 1032s and they aren't rebadged Ariens or Murray. I think JD in the early '90s stopped making their own and having snowblowers made for them. I own a Murry and MTD so I'm allowed this joke but I refer to the "TRS" JDs as trash JDs. It's still a good machine but as you mentioned it's a world from the build quality of the 828D (Ariens).
A "real" JD should show as being built in Moline, IL and the Ariens JD would be built in Brillion, WI

Here's a link to some vintage machines and info on the companies that made them - - > The Gilson Snowblower Shop's Vintage Machine Showcase


.


----------



## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

This has come up before. It's based on the 924 series where lots of parts interchange, but there's no equivalent Ariens model.









Way To CrossReference My Ariens Built JD Snowblower To A...


I believe we all realize John Deere brand parts prices are very high. My 1996 John Deere 828D snow blower was made by Ariens so I'm wondering whether there is a known way to cross reference my John Deere to a comparable Ariens model since Ariens parts prices are typically lower?




www.snowblowerforum.com


----------



## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

Pauleastend63 said:


> While I am here......does anyone know if Ariens built and sold a sister model to my John Deere 828D back in the mid 90's?
> View attachment 171268


This question has come up several times over the years, and it doesn't appear there is an exact Ariens model to yours.
Based on the threads below, a ST928 (924 series) from the mid to late 1990's may be the closest.

What Ariens model compares to a JD 828D?









Way To CrossReference My Ariens Built JD Snowblower To A...


I believe we all realize John Deere brand parts prices are very high. My 1996 John Deere 828D snow blower was made by Ariens so I'm wondering whether there is a known way to cross reference my John Deere to a comparable Ariens model since Ariens parts prices are typically lower?




www.snowblowerforum.com


----------



## Pauleastend63 (Nov 23, 2020)

Ziggy65 said:


> This question has come up several times over the years, and it doesn't appear there is an exact Ariens model to yours.
> Based on the threads below, a ST928 (924 series) from the mid to late 1990's may be the closest.
> 
> What Ariens model compares to a JD 828D?
> ...


Thanks for this Ziggy.......the next time I put my two JD's into the service position with their pants off I'm going to take several comparison pictures of both.......I certainly know after going over both of them that the 828D is built so much stronger, and the bushings/bearings on the 828D are all still in great condition......but with my J D TRS 27 there are several problem areas and two bushings in particular that will need to be sourced out every few years.....poorly engineered.


----------



## RC20 (Dec 4, 2019)

Back in the early 80s we had a JD blower at work. It cleared 4 commercial building including a huge patio (no I have no idea why the dumb design. ). I did the main building then my co worker loaded it up and took it off to the other 3. 

We wore it out over the years, but it never failed (put in a new disk drive at one point).

I have looked at them over the years cuase I like to look. Never saw anything chincy. Doesn't mean they did not have bad years and supply.


----------

