Free Ariens Snowblower

IHCubCadet147

Tractorologist
Member
Last winter my neighbor got a new snowblower, and gave me this one. An old Ariens with a Tecumseh HM80 on it. I did a little research when I first got it, apparently they had other attachments available for them. I think I determined it was a 1972. He said it ran good the year before (2020), but when he went to get it ready last year, it would run on starting fluid, but he couldn’t get it to stay running. I didn’t get a chance to work on it last year before the snow melted, so I put it outside under a tarp until last week. I brought it in, cleaned the carburetor and drained the gas tank. Last year it was getting spark, but I don’t think it was very strong, this year it wasn’t getting any. Cleaned the points and now it is getting good spark. I changed the oil since it had water in it, and it runs. At first it would only run at half throttle, I adjusted the carb, and got it running pretty good now. Took it out and blew half of the backyard to test it. Not much snow left, but it seems to throw good, and drives good in all gears. After that, I changed the oil again to make sure all the water was out. It is going to need a new pull start rope since this one looks like it’s about to break, otherwise just clean it up and grease everything. I hope we get more snow this year so I can use it, but it looks like it’s going to stay warm for at least another week. I’ll get it outside over the weekend and get some better pictures.
555B63CE-79DE-4024-9A3F-253E2A8AFDCE.jpegD8E45EE3-E705-46EB-9782-D640F8863C00.jpegCB8C949B-9951-468B-BB91-1BDCFC9D9AA0.jpeg52CBFF6F-A385-4F9C-B997-B33CA58DC2A9.jpegFEE1CD04-7B45-44A2-9E39-700D74FD030E.jpeg
 
Those old Ariens snowblowers are great little machines and seem to have a cult like followings. Had a smaller one similar to that one and I'm not sure if I ever plugged it up regardless of went through it..good size propeller's and round discharge openings...

IMG_20191129_101919.jpg
 
Those old Ariens snowblowers are great little machines and seem to have a cult like followings. Had a smaller one similar to that one and I'm not sure if I ever plugged it up regardless of went through it..good size propeller's and round discharge openings...

View attachment 48644
They seem popular. I was thinking at first just to get it running and flip it, but once I started reading about them, I want to keep it. I already had two guys try to buy it from me, before it was even running. I don’t really need a snowblower, but I will find a use for it.


I found a bent nail replacing the roll pin for the impeller, I was planning on changing it before I used it much. Saturday we had a snow squall come through that left about an inch. Not really enough to blow, but I wanted to try anyway. The nail either fell out or broke, I never found it. It will probably show up in a tire when I’m cutting grass. I got a new pin and put it in, everything seems ok. They are calling for rain or snow Friday, so it may get a workout depending on what we get.
E3F2FA32-E3AB-4654-BF12-524228842484.jpeg
I also started polishing some of the orange. The paint is pretty nice besides the engine. It’s not done yet, but it’s a start. More pictures as promised.
ADC12065-BA83-44AE-B34C-DEBCDF91FBAF.jpegCD2F1750-4E6A-4C44-903F-323958A7AD37.jpeg88A63278-F67B-44F4-B88C-EBD8448A8CD8.jpegED3C2962-700B-49B4-9EB8-BD85309B052B.jpegBF4A15DB-C4C5-4B6D-A694-77DA02296076.jpeg
 
Last edited:
If you can find the serial numbers you should be able to see how old it is. Just Google the information . There's a lot of documentation on the older Ariens machines. The one you have is probably from 1968-1973 (just guessing). They really do last forever and are great snowblowers. Many people restore them to like new condition.

BTW. They normally don't use roll pins in the propeller shaft. They use a shear bolt. Something soft so it can break and not hurt the gear box.
 
If you can find the serial numbers you should be able to see how old it is. Just Google the information . There's a lot of documentation on the older Ariens machines. The one you have is probably from 1968-1973 (just guessing). They really do last forever and are great snowblowers. Many people restore them to like new condition.

BTW. They normally don't use roll pins in the propeller shaft. They use a shear bolt. Something soft so it can break and not hurt the gear box.
According to this website, The Ariens 1960's and 1970's Sno-Thro info site., it is a 1974. The parts diagram I found showed a roll pin, so that’s what I used.

Looks really close to my '73. We have several of the attachments for ours, mower deck, leaf vac, power broom, and a shredder. Fun little machines.
I would like to find some attachments, specifically the shredder and leaf vac. Have any pictures of yours?
 
I rebuilt the carburetor. We finally got enough snow for me to test this yesterday, about 5 inches. I used it for about an hour between last night and today. Made a lot of useless paths through the yard. It starts easy, and ran good with no issues. Probably the last time I’ll use it for this year, I don’t imagine we will get much more snow. :confused:
286821D5-44DC-43E5-8CBA-F02EAD16B210.jpegCF982FBA-7B6E-4296-ABCB-9D782471095A.jpeg5C99409C-0FF2-4EF0-948B-1DD03252FBAC.jpeg
 
Back
Top