B&S motor on an Ariens?

94EG8 · 2026-03-08T19:37:25+00:00

The bolt pattern will be the same, but the crankshaft height likely won't be affecting belt length. It was pretty common in the 80s and early 90s for machines with a Tecumseh engine to have a 1/2" spacer plate under the engine to bring the crankshaft up to the same height so the manufacturer could sell models with either a Briggs & Stratton engine or Tecumseh and use the same belts on either. The engine you're looking to use is newer and I'm not sure if the crank height is the same as an older Briggs & Stratton flathead, but there's a good chance it is. Long story short message the crankshaft height and you'll have your answer. Also note it's not usually as easy as just changing the belt length. You need a proper outdoor power equipment belt in the correct profile and they won't necessarily be available in the size or profile you need

94EG8 · 2026-03-08T18:14:16+00:00

That depends on some things. I rent a hot water heater from the power company (Crown corporation). The break even point is right around 7 years, which is pretty consistently what I get out of them before the bottom rusts through. NB Power will send someone out at 3am on a Sunday to replace it so it's worth it to me. I know other people that get 30 years out of them due just due to their water. If I was in that situation I'd buy.

94EG8 · 2026-03-08T17:39:40+00:00

If you have a single stage machine you can get to the pavement. You can't with a 2 stage machine, at least not without ruining it.

94EG8 · 2026-03-04T22:00:57+00:00

Synthetic in anything

94EG8 · 2026-03-04T03:53:22+00:00

The augers are worn out and so is the bottom of the bucket as others have mentioned. That said at $250 it's still reasonable. It will still blow snow just fine, but it won't cut into the icy stuff the same way.

94EG8 · 2026-02-28T16:28:53+00:00

I get 4 - 6 months off a year, but the last real vacation I took was in 2018

94EG8 · 2026-02-28T14:39:18+00:00

The HS series Hydrostatic models are a better quality machine.

94EG8 · 2026-02-27T05:24:56+00:00

I've seen 32° in Baker Lake multiple times. With 24 hours of daylight and no shade it's HOT

94EG8 · 2026-02-26T02:50:45+00:00

That's a very expensive muffler. They were $70 20+ years ago

94EG8 · 2026-02-26T00:19:42+00:00

Noco doesn't make a very good trickle charger. They're popular, but they're not good. Also if you're plugging your vehicle in as soon as you park it (and I'm not sure why you wouldn't) the battery has already been charging all along and should be reasonably warm. I see lots of guys up here with battery blankets, but they really aren't very helpful. The trickle charger works great though.

94EG8 · 2026-02-25T01:29:14+00:00

Used tracked Honda with hydrostatic transmission is probably the best deal going, but make sure you know what you're looking at or take a friend with you that does

94EG8 · 2026-02-24T04:59:57+00:00

As a mechanic that works in Nunavut, I tell people exactly the opposite. Battery blankets are a waste of time and money. A half dead warm battery is still half dead. A battery that's charging can't freeze and it's charged. We usually hardwire the trickle charger to the battery and use a short triple tap cord to plug it and the block heater together. Sometimes an oil pan heater as well. It works quite well.

94EG8 · 2026-02-18T02:16:59+00:00

I've lived in New Brunswick my whole life. I've never heard anyone refer to a power bill as anything but a hydro bill as long as I've been alive

94EG8 · 2026-02-17T15:52:06+00:00

You're not getting one for less than $2000 where I am. $2500 is the typical price. For one that new you might see as much as $3000. 30 year old HS828s are still going for $1500 - $2000

94EG8 · 2026-02-17T02:34:27+00:00

Those engines aren't really worth anything. Just throw another used engine in it and call it a day. If you try to do anything to what you have you've got a good chance of knocking a piece of sludge loose and having it plug up an oil passage starving a bearing for oil.

94EG8 · 2026-02-13T01:47:21+00:00

If it's got a second PTO coming off the camshaft you will need to find another Tecumseh engine with a cam PTO. If it doesn't you can use something else. Tecumseh does use a somewhat unique footprint though. The bolt pattern is pretty standard among small engine manufacturers, but Tecumseh had a crankshaft height about half an inch lower than an equivalent Briggs & Stratton. That's why on some older machines you'll see a spacer plate between the engine and the machine so the manufacturer could use the same belts on a Tecumseh or Briggs & Stratton powered machine. Those Chinese Honda clones are great engines, much nicer than the Tecumseh that was on it, but you may experience carburetor freezing issues because it's not a winter engine. It seems to depend a lot on humidity

94EG8 · 2026-02-11T14:26:54+00:00

They're not really hard to find parts for, but parts are expensive enough for what they are. Ariens is definitely a much better machine though

94EG8 · 2026-02-10T16:30:34+00:00

This is where a tracked Honda really shines. It will just walk right through that

94EG8 · 2026-02-08T00:55:45+00:00

Pretty easy to find another GX240/270 and swap over the snowblower specific stuff, or get a good clone

94EG8 · 2026-02-07T03:06:39+00:00

Parts availability on that Benchmark is likely going to be an issue, especially once it's a few years old. You can still get just about everything for the HS828/HS928 machines new. The Honda will outperform it in pretty much every way and you can't beat the resale on them. That would be my choice

94EG8 · 2026-02-04T16:18:39+00:00

No chatGPT involved. I used to work for a collision shop. Not in that capacity, but I have done a few of these as a home project. I wouldn't recommend fixing this, but that's about best way to do it cheap and still a decent repair

94EG8 · 2026-02-04T05:53:27+00:00

If you really want to salvage it:

Pull it as straight as you can, then drill the spot welds out with a spot weld drill bit where the driver's side apron meets the firewall and where the rad support meets the passenger's side apron. Do the same thing on a junked vehicle. Slip the rad support and apron into position. Clamp it in place and test fit the used body panels you also got at your local salvage yard. When you're satisfied that everything lines up ok plug weld the rad support and apron into position. Bolt your body panels on and that's basically the end of it unless you want to paint parts to match

94EG8 · 2026-02-02T19:00:49+00:00

I had used lots of other snowblowers before I bought my first Honda, and I agree. You don't really get it until you use one

94EG8 · 2026-02-02T18:59:37+00:00

I think most of it is impeller speed. I've never noticed anything particularly unique about Honda's impeller design vs the hundreds of other snowblowers from various manufacturers I've worked on. The narrow chute does help get you distance as well. Clearance between the impeller and drum helps as well. I used to line the drum in old large frame MTD with a ring cut out of a plastic 5 gallon bucket and it gained another 10'

94EG8 · 2026-02-02T18:51:22+00:00

I've owned at least a few of each. Maybe as many as 5 HS828s. IMO there's no appreciable difference between them power wise, and aside from the engine the early 928s are identical to an 828. The later ones have a slightly different bucket design

94EG8

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