# Ariens ST824 Not Throwing Snow Far Enough



## jloas (Jan 5, 2014)

Hey everyone, new to the site here and I have an issue. I started up my Ariens ST 824 that I bought off Craigslist this past summer a week ago. The first time or two out it seemed to throw the snow pretty good. Then I hit a newspaper, it got stuck and stopped the augers from moving (the shear pins are still in place). I ran the blower for minuted or two trying to get the newspaper out< I engaged the auger about 5-6 times before I had to actually start tearing the newspaper out by hand (since the blower wouldn't dislodge itself). I finally dislodged the newspaper and continued using the snowblower. The next time I used the snowblower it just didn't seem to throw as far and got clogged very easily. Does anyone have any ideas on what happened? A few things I'm thinking of 1) would this have compromised the belts or pulleys and how could I tell if they are not in good shape? 2) Should I go about checking the gear box? 3) Should I just grease everything up and hope for the best?

Ideas? I just bought this beast, it was working well and then it seems the newspaper messed it up.

Thanks
Joe


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Welcome jloas,

There's a good possibility you may have bent the impelllers. Did you check to see if they're straight? Maybe belt needs adjusted now too.


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## motorhead64 (Dec 15, 2013)

Hi Joe,
Welcome to the forum. I would remove both shear pins to make sure the augers are free to spin on their shaft. If they are frozen, they won't shear and all the force is transmitted to the gear box. Since the newspapers probably slowed the system rather than causing a sudden jolting stop, the force can be absorbed by the auger belt. It may have abraded or stretched. You'll have to pull the cover in front of your engine to check it. With the engine OFF, and the auger lever engaged, you can see if the belt is tightened. If loose, there is an adjustment on the little idler pulley that tightens the belt. If you are at the end of the adjuster's travel, you will need a new belt. MH


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## BB Cub (Jan 10, 2012)

welcome to the site. I would do what micah68kj and motorhead64 suggested. I would guess you have a worn or loose belt causing the problem. keep us posted on what you find.gayland


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Trying to engage the auger while it is jammed will burn up the belt even more as well. Should only be 2 bolts to remove the plastic cover in front of the engine. Then it should be easy to check on the belt.


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## threeputtpar (Jan 16, 2014)

After you check the belts and see what their condition is, if they are all good and engage properly, you may have a partially sheared flywheel key.

The sudden impact of the clogged newspaper would have quickly slowed down the auger and impeller along with the engine, but the flywheel would have stored energy that it needed to release. This energy would have been released into the flywheel key and it likely would have sheared and has thrown off the engine's timing.

Does it start OK and idle fine, but bog down when you hit the snow with it? When you load it up does it throw snow OK at first but as more snow enters the impeller does it gradually throw it a shorter and shorter distance unless you stop the machine from moving and let it catch up?

I'm dealing with this on a 5hp Tec that's sat for a while. At first, it threw snow like a champ, but after using it a couple of times and not hitting anything it's started to snow these symptoms. The muffler is also a dull red where it connecte to the block after using it for 30 minutes, another sign that the timing is just a bit off.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

threeputtpar said:


> I'm dealing with this on a 5hp Tec that's sat for a while. At first, it threw snow like a champ, but after using it a couple of times and not hitting anything it's started to snow these symptoms. The muffler is also a dull red where it connecte to the block after using it for 30 minutes, another sign that the timing is just a bit off.


Not to hijack this thread, but make sure you check the valves on that Tecumseh. The exhaust valves on those smaller 5 HP engines is known to not close all the way and lead to loss of compression and poor running. You need to check the clearance and then possibly grind the stem down slightly.


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## Toro-8-2-4 (Dec 28, 2013)

I had exactly the issue Shryp describes on the exhaust valve not completely closing on a 5 HP Snow King.

You need to remove the carb and muffler and access the valve spring area.(I am not sure of the official name if there is one) You can walk the engine around to TDC and measure the valve clearance with feeler gauge. I think it is speced for something like .004-.008 on the exhaust but don't take my word for it. Look it up for your engine. The intake valve is different.
I also noticed the exhaust valve guide was slightly worn. I think extreme side force was applied on the stem due to it not fully closing.
If the clearance is too tight you will have to remove the valves to turn or grind a bit off the ends. Also a good time to inspect the sealing surfaces and lap them if needed.

It can be a bit of a trial an error approach to determine how much to remove. 

There are some good You tube vids on how to remove the valves.
Good Luck.


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## threeputtpar (Jan 16, 2014)

Now that this thread has been fully hijacked, I'll post a follow up on my HS50.

The flywheel key was in perfect working order, so I proceeded to pull the muffler and carb to get at the valves. Surprisingly, they were both right on spec. So I figured that as long as everything was apart, I'd pull the valves anyhow and give them a close look. The intake valve ended up being pretty gummed up in the valve guide, so I cleaned that up really well and also scraped out the carbon from the head and top of the piston. There wasn't a large amount of carbon, but it certainly wasn't clean.

Now the machine is performing about as good as a 5hp snow chucker can be expected to. I guess you never know what you're dealing with until you tear it all down and get a visual of the hard parts.


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## Toro-8-2-4 (Dec 28, 2013)

Threeputpar,

It has been a while and just wondering if the muffler still turns a dull red after doing your described maintenance.


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## threeputtpar (Jan 16, 2014)

I just used the machine last night for 45 minutes and there is a ever so slight glow where the bolts go through the muffler. I played with the carb adjustments and couldn't get it go go completely away, so I figure that a little color is normal.

I certainly doens't look like Rudolph's nose anymore like it first did, so I'm satisfied that it's running as well as it can.


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