# 1995 Ariens ST724 and an Old Iron Guy



## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

A friend from work stopped by my office asking if I’d be interested in his father-in-law’s Ariens snowblower that crapped out during the last storm.

It already had a one-way ticket to the scrap yard!

The decision was easy … aided by the fact that my wife is out of town for a few days on business :icon_whistling:

It’s a 1995 Ariens ST724.

He grabbed the machine last night and we transferred it to my truck over lunch this afternoon.

1st Impressions. 
The Good:

It’s tiny…and light!
Tractor/auger are 7/10…just need some touch-ups.
Handle-bar/controls are intuitive 6/10 …surface rust and missing bolts.
This might be a keeper for the Mrs!
















continued...


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

The Bad:

Plastic wheel rims. The wheels are very wobbly.
PO has a weight mounted on the underside of the auger housing...that weight didn't do those whimpy plastic wheels any favors.
Skids are hosed & the scraper was taken literally right to the edge of the auger housing.
Shots of the obligatory belly-pan mouse house...yum!

Ariens gurus...please tell me that these can be replaced with steel rims!




traction assembly looks good... plastic drive gear??



^^ if I had to repower with a single output shaft, it looks fairly simple to reverse the direction (cams spin backwards). The main obstacle is speed. The Cam spins 1/2 of the crank speed. There's not enough room in this tiny chassis to fit a much larger traction pulley.


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

The Ugly (aka,The Engine):

Camshaft / secondary PTO is seized. 
Cracked the sump at the extended PTO output.
Connecting rod snapped right at the piston...smacked the piston skirt and scored the cylinder.
Block-end cam bearing is cracked -->* That's the deal breaker right there*. Time for a "new" engine.

The oil level is good.

I'm fairly certain that this engine was over-revved causing the valve springs to float; there was a healthy amount of fresh oil spray right at the breather tube.

The PO did have it to a service shop prior to the last storm because he didn’t like the way it sounded... If I were him, I'd let them know that the engine grenaded.

cracked sump:


toasted cam shaft:


the cam lobe smashed the lifter and became lodged ...i suspect valve spring float from overrevving

^^^ exhaust valve was also slightly bent

snapped connecting rod, damaged piston skirt and slight cylinder scoring from the dinged piston:

^^^ cracked the block behind the starter as well...



the cracked cam "bearing":


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

Net: the easiest repower would be to find another 7hp tecumseh... even easier if it's dual output 

I would love to put one of those 305cc briggs on there but the single PTO would be a major PITA.

The chute control would need some modification if the height of the engine is changed...since it's the over-the-top design.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

Great post-mortum. You certainly know engines.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

Didn't see til after the post. You are my "neighbor". I live in Rotterdam. Great to have a local engine expert.


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

RIT333 said:


> Didn't see til after the post. You are my "neighbor". I live in Rotterdam. Great to have a local engine expert.


Give me a holler anytime you need a hand! :icon-cheers:


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

*Looks like a harbor freight engine is in store for that 1 you could make a few bucks flipping that also. besides I thought the wifey was in love with ALICE????*


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

*I Bet the GOV went south on it to make it over rev.:tongue4::tongue4:*


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> *Looks like a harbor freight engine is in store for that 1 you could make a few bucks flipping that also. besides I thought the wifey was in love with ALICE????*


I found another dual output 7hp. 

The traction assembly is designed for 1/2 of the RPMs that are generated by a crankshaft PTO...and the chassis is too cramped already to fit a larger friction pulley. If there's a will, there's a way I suppose...I don't need anymore projects! 

The Mrs. won't go near Alice for some reason. She (Alice) does look rather menacing... maybe when I clean her (Alice) up, my wife will quit giving Alice the cold shoulder! 



POWERSHIFT93 said:


> *I Bet the GOV went south on it to make it over rev.:tongue4::tongue4:*


That would be my guess!


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

" The Mrs. won't go near Alice for some reason. She (Alice) does look rather menacing... maybe when I clean her (Alice) up, my wife will quit giving Alice the cold shoulder! "


now that it's spring maybe the Mrs. will warm up to alice


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

detdrbuzzard said:


> " The Mrs. won't go near Alice for some reason. She (Alice) does look rather menacing... maybe when I clean her (Alice) up, my wife will quit giving Alice the cold shoulder! "
> 
> 
> now that it's spring maybe the Mrs. will warm up to alice


...or maybe I can convince her that Alice starts spitting-out new pairs of shoes if you're nice to her? :icon-shrug: :icon_smile_big:


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

It was Christmas in the garage today!!!

Fed Ex santa dropped off the new quasi-short-block for the Ariens off of fleabay. Parts-wise, it only needs a carb, hot-box...all of which I have from the original motor. 



...it's been awhile since I've gotten one with out the "ventilated block" mod:


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

Super clean engine (almost too clean)


And when I pulled the plug, my nostrils instantly burned ...any of you guys who put any time in front of a parts washer know that smell.




Despite the careless use of parts cleaner, this still appears to be a low-hour engine.


When I popped off the breather, the smell was worse...so there was a bunch of that crud in the sump.


^^ I had no intentions of pulling this engine apart (_..I can't speak for my sub-conscience though_). I didn't want that parts cleaner ruining a perfectly good engine.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

*Looks like it might have been run low on the old earl. looking at the line down the cylinder wall.:icon_whistling::facepalm_zpsdj194qhmg:*


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> *Looks like it might have been run low on the old earl. looking at the line down the cylinder wall.:icon_whistling::facepalm_zpsdj194qhmg:*


looks that way in the picture however it's one of the nicest cylinder bores that I've seen in awhile. No scoring that my fingernail can detect. It still has the original cross hatching.

EDIT: It does appear to have a blown head gasket though.


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## 524SWE (Jan 20, 2017)

A lot of people think the parts washer solvents evaporate completely without any residue, never wash it off.


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

Thank you Jackmels for the new kicks!

I had to chop-off about 1" from the inner-tube & drill some through-holes to bolt to that stubby axle. 

There were some nice nylon inserts that i was able to bang into place using the female end of a 1/2" extension....tightened things up nicely!


no more wobbly Ariens! 



The engine runs like a champ. The only hang-up was a sticky inlet needle in one of those cheap chinese knock-off carbs. Cleaned-up / rebuilt the carb from the original blown engine...back in business. 

after a few laps around the driveway (my cellphone was MIA otherwise I'd have a vid  )


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

The shortlist on this machine...

The shear bolts are frozen....daily dose of heat & ATF/Acetone hopefully frees those up. It would be a miracle if those augers spin freely when I get the bolts out. Even the zerks are rust mounds. 

As far as paint goes... I hear allis chalmers orange is a good match. 

A new scraper bar & skid shoes...and a slight adjustment to the auger pulley (belt rubbed right through the belt cover) and she'll be as good as new.

Thanks for stoppin' by!


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

allis chalmers orange is a pretty good match, The chute was painted but the bucket was not. This is the Rustoleum allis chalmers orange.


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