Friction Drive

Chuckny · Dec 14, 2009

I realy don"t know where to post this question as it is on a snowblower. Hope someone has an answer. I have a 9HP Craftsman 29 inch wide snowblower. It has a friction drive and has been slipping since new 6 years ago. Sometimes it won"t even move when i close the lever. I have replaced the drive pully that engages the drive plate twice. The last time was last year. I cleaned the drive plate with alcahol to make sure there was nothing on it that would cause it to slip. Any help whould be appreciated.

rhouston · Dec 14, 2009

sounds strange to me. My 30 year old Ariens has the original wheel and friction disk. Is yours missing some kind of spring to put tension on the drive wheel? I don't suppose there is any way to get it so you can watch the plates and wheel while it is engaged and running?

Bob M · Dec 14, 2009

Generally the wheel drive is the most trouble-free part of any snowblower. So I gotta agree with the previous post - problem's a weak or missing spring that sets the friction wheel pressure.

However I'd also check the final drive for binding/stiffness. With the drive in neutral the snowblower should roll along easily on a hard surface. If it does not, find and correct that problem first!

omahagreg · Dec 14, 2009

I have since junked it, but used to have a JCPenney track drive snow blower. It was just like the Craftsman at the time (1987) and was told it was made by Ariens. I used it HARD, I had up to 12 driveways I did custom to pay for it! I had that exact problem. Finally had the driven wheel replaced-it had become glazed and had no traction! Every time forward motion would stop (and I would ask it to try again), that driven wheel would get hot! It worked great after that until the ethanol fuel created other problems...Greg

JDemaris · Dec 14, 2009

We used to replace many, but it's pretty reliable.

Pretty straight forward. If it has proper spring pressure (no broken or missing spring), and the rubber wheel is not stuck in the middle of the drive plate, it's will work. If it's not, you're missing one of those requirements. Put it into a gear and then pull on the rubber drive and make sure it has tension.

Are sure it's not slipping somewhere else, like the belt drive?

Friction Drive

Chuckny

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rhouston

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Bob M

Well-known Member

omahagreg

Well-known Member

JDemaris

Well-known Member

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