Brand new Ariens snow blower leaks oil.

Return it, and buy another from the shop you'd have to cart it to. That's where you should've bought it to begin with.

Return the reject

If only we could return everything that was over one year old (eyes rolling)

Thanks for that incredible insight. Unfortunately this is a Tecumseh problem not a Home Depot one.

Will not hurt to ask HD if they will take and give you a new one. To maintain good will, I suspect they will do it.

Is this a 2 cycle engine? If so, it may just be the oil mist from the exhaust draining down as it sits overnight. Wipe it down before putting it away.

Hmm, your subject line says "Brand new......". Now you say its over a year old. Do you even have a clue? Bubba

First- is it engine oil? (most likely source)

Second- what is oil level in crankcase? If it's significantly over full, the dipper on the rod will whip it up into foam that escapes via the crankcase breather; get it back down to spec, test & report.

Otherwise, could be: bad crank seal, cracked block, failed breather hose, etc. Or ... if your run the engine significantly tipped from normal upright position, you'll have oil expelled as though it was a quart-over- DAMHIKT.

John

Brand new = I bought it at the end of the winter season last year. It was used like two times last year and one time this year. In terms of the life of an Ariens snowblower, yes I would consider that to be brand new. Do you have any experience with snowblowers or do you just scan newsgroups to fill the various voids in your life?

Hi, no 4 cycle Snow King Tecumseh engine.

I believe that it is engine oil. If you mean that it could be the gear case grease I don't think so. That's an 80w and this looks and feels like regular 5w30 oil. I tipped the unit slightly during usage (tipped the machine back) when I moved into a snow bank but nothing out of the ordinary. The following day it sat unused inside and it leaked a little (10 drops.) Doing some searches it looks like others have had problems with Ariens snowblowers with Techumseh engines and they thought it was the oil sump gasket and they claimed it was easy to replace. I'm not sure what that is exactly. I'll check the level again and run it stationary tomorrow and see what happens. Thanks.

Tecumseh engines have not been known for quality ever since I started working on engines (almost 60 years ago). Generally the problems seem to stem around their practice of buying bulk over stocked parts. Therefore, there was a wide variance between engines of the same model number. That is why one generally needs the serial number when ordering parts - so the various brands and types of parts will match the original.

That being said, Tecumseh engines have not had the reputation for leaking oil. My first guess would be to check the level of oil in the engine. If over filled, it could be throwing oil mist which later drips. If there was an oil leak, it should happen whether you just ran the engine or not. And, you should be able to trace the source.

I really don't think you have a serious problem. Park it over a large piece of cardboard or something. You might be able to get a bertter idea where the oil drip is originating.

Just some thoughts - hard to tell something concrete from a written description and without seeing the thing.

Bob-tx

We're wondering why anyone would buy a piece of equipment that's likely to need service, from a company that offers no service. Especially a piece of equipment you can't easily put in a box or in your car.

Can you post some nice, clear photos of the leak, at a site like

...Yet Ariens snow-throwers use them and Ariens have a reputation for outlasting pretty much all other brands, at least in the consumer range. It's not uncommon for someone to ask a question here about a minor problem with their 25-30 year sold Ariens. Interesting!

Mine always starts on the first pull, even after sitting unused for 6-8 months. Always!

"We're wondering" Who exactly is "we"? Your multiple personalities? You are not very bright are you? Did you ever hear of an "authorized service center"? Probably not. I guess if a company offered you something at $1000 off you would say (or in your case "we would say") no since you don't offer service here. Guess what? I called my local equipment company and although they are not listed at ariens.com. They handle warranty work for Ariens. Now what will you do with yourself this holiday week? (What will "all of you do"?)

SNIP HAPPENS

Unproductive response from a guy looking for help.

I guess I am part of "we".

If you had done your homework, you would have found that a local shop that provides real expertise and service sells that snow thrower for the same price as the place you bought it. Buying for them would have had major benefits to you. Some obvious and some not so obvious.

I would be willing to bet that any "authorized service center" will naturally and properly take care of their own customers ahead of machines that were bought at Home Depot. You didn't save any money, either, chucklehead.

Okay, what is the oil level in the crankcase? This is important. Too much is a very bad thing.

Then: I found that with the 8hp Tecumseh on my beast that when it got tipped about 30-40 degrees going into one snowbank that, if I was looking at the base of the engine, I'd see new flow of engine oil. IIRC, it emerged around crankcase breather valve.

Also: single-cyl engines have major pressure variations in the crankcase, what with the motion of the single piston. They rely on a breather valve near the camshaft (typically) to control flow of gases from crankcase to maintain appropriate pressure inside. If that fails, and the crankcase is pressurized, expect flow past seals.

Homework: clean off all leaked oil. Tape kraft paper onto sheet metal where oil was seen. Exercise machine and not oil flow patterns on paper. Report.

John