Ariens snowblower wheel drive repair

[arnolfini]

Hello,

Does anyone know how to remove the drive pulley on an ariens 1028 snowblower? This morning I found that the wheel drive was not working. I found that housing for the friction wheel shaft was broken on one of its three mounting points, causing the pulley to throw the belt off of itself whenever I engaged the wheel drive. It looks like I have to remove the pulley to get at the bolts for the housing, but I can't figure how to remove it. I tried jamming a screwdriver in one of the fins of the friction plate to keep it from turning while I turned the nut at the pulley end, but after breaking a couple of fins off, I figured there must be another way. Any help is much appreciated.

[Joe]

An impact wrench will whip the stubborn bolt right off. Be sure to use a 6 point impact socket to avoid rounding off the nut. On the off chance that the assembly is left hand thread, check carefully for that possibility. Pretreatment with a good penetrant like Kroil would be beneficial. A quick burst of intense heat from a welding torch is a Phase 2 trick repair shops use. MAPP gas is OK, propane a little too slow as a heat source but might work. Penetrants can be kind of slow, so give it time, and good luck,

Joe.