Auger belt on Ariens snowblower

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Donald

Donald

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I have and older 36" Ariens snowblower that I just replaced both belts. 99% sure belts are the right ones, but they are NAPA. Have not used it since replacing the belts. The auger belt wants to slip off the auger pulley and I just broke the machine apart again to get the belt back on the pulley.

My first thought is to adjust the tensioner some more.

At one point I thought the machine had a brake on the auger pulley to stop it quickly and that should also hold the belt in place when the auger is not engaged.
 
Also make sure the pulleys are properly aligned. I've had to adjust the bracket for the tensioner pulley to get it in line so that the belt doesn't want to skip off. Usually an adjustable wrench is good enough to tweak the bracket.
 
The idlers press against the back of the belt so they would really need to be out of position to push the belt off the pulley.

The idler pulleys look like the should rotate differently to be effective.
 
You can either adjust the tensioner, or perhaps consider a smaller belt for the application. Some car engines are this way where the recommended belt is so long the tensioner is at it's limit trying to keep everything tight enough. You should get about 1/2" of play on a properly tensioned belt as you push it up and down.
 
I had a problem with a mail-order aftermarket belt I bought for a little 2-cycle Ariens single stage snowblower I have. Too small in this case though. I'd shoot for a genuine Ariens replacement or a proven aftermarket.
 
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
If that is just a generic car fan belt it will happen again. The belts they come from the factory with, are alot heavier and don't stretch as much, or as fast.,,,


I learned that lesson with my snowblower. Got some regular automotive belts that were the right size and destroyed them in no time. Got the correct OPE belts and they work great.
 
Yep, by nature snowblower belt problems always happen at the worst of times, right in the middle of a big snow storm.

If going to the trouble of spliting the machine,
use OEM or snowblower OPE specific belts, not equivalent length automotive belts.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: mlatour
Yep, by nature snowblower belt problems always happen at the worst of times, right in the middle of a big snow storm.

If going to the trouble of spliting the machine,
use OEM or snowblower OPE specific belts, not equivalent length automotive belts.


I have yet to snowblow or shovel this winter. Maybe I will luck out.
 
So the answer for my Ariens snowblower is the previous owner used a crowbar or similar to push belts around and bent the rod that holds the idler along with the large pulley for the snow blower.

Due to too many projects I took it to a local guy who unbent the rod and replaced the bent pulley.

It blasts through recent snow now like a champ.

With a 36" width I could do my drive with 2 passes up and 1 down. But that would leave my snowblower at the end of my drive. Not a good place to leave it.
 
Ariens has a tendincy to use odd sized belts. So you may want to look into this. Also you may just need to adjust the cables, as stated above.
 
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