Ariens Snow Blower Pull Cord Starter Repair

Motivated by the coming Nor'easter I finally got around to repairing the Pull Cord on the Ariens Snow Blower. I was apprehensive taking anything apart before a snow storm but the repair ended up being easier than I thought it was going to be.

[@Nick-NY]

I decided to be proactive today and give my Ariens deluxe 28 a tuneup. When I was done, I pull the cord to start it up and sure enough, the cord snapped. I watched your video. I was able to fish a wire through first, then I wrapped it around some heavy duty paracord that I had. After some gentle pulling, I got the cord through. It works great. Thanks for your video. It was a big help.

[@steves2340]

Will give it a try. I was pulling mine from the shed to the garage, started it, but yanked the cord right out. Very helpful

[@NewEnglandgardening]

Glad it helped

[@leifh2393]

Starter and cord broke right after I cleared my rood. great timing. This video has me back at work!

[@heinzotto1194]

I was lucky and the rope broke fairly close to the handle. So I taped the old rope to the new one and was able to pull it through like that. Same on the handle, I used what was left of the old rope to pull the new one through. Thanks a lot!

[@barryfischer6701]

12 inches over night and this morning in Sherwood Park AB. Broke when tried to restart. Good video. Watched and compared to other video. Melted original cord cause broke only 1 inch out. Fed back through in 2 seconds lining up holes. Cord fed directly through. Woopee. Put back on. Works like a dream. Only wound 4 times, could be 5. Thanks for the video.

[@snoutfair]

Thanks for sharing. I just did this and found it easier to thread from the inside of the reel into the housing.

[@barrybisceglie7847]

Just fixed my Ariens this morning...thanks for the help..2 thumbs up

[@johnbelder984]

Great video. Very helpful. Broke my cord this winter and don’t want to rely on the electric start only. It will be one of my Spring to-do items.

[@robbieandrews5394]

Thanks for this - needed to do one recently and this walkthrough was great.

[@cfreve8522]

I was able to use duct tape to tape the broken cord to the new cord. As I pulled the old cord out the new cord threaded itself. Saved me some time trying to feed the new line. Great video, thanks for posting.

[@turka0241]

excellent, we got 15" with last week's storm. No electric start for us, rope broke preparing for the first pass. Fixing it now as today's snow is beginning . Thanks!

[@larry255]

Winterizing the machine and the last pull broke the cord. This video was very helpful to make the repair. I just needed to wind 5 turns.

[@vincei4252]

Used the pull cord for the first time ever today on a machine I've had for almost 18 years. Engine started but the cord only retracted half way. I tired to see if I could get it all the way in by pulling it in and out a few times but eventally it totally stopped retracting. Thanks for this, will repair it once I warm up after blowing a couple hours!

[@NewEnglandgardening]

I just got in at 12 midnight. The first part of the storm was a slushy mix and my 20 year old snowblower was just a slushy machine. Temp dropped and the snow became powdery but I decided to go out at 10pm and did not want to start the loud snowblower. I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow though. I have an electric starter too which makes life a lot easier. Good luck with your repair.

[@stevestrom2130]

Great Video and Explanation

[@l8tothegame]

huge help. thanks. I ended up using a fuel/carb pull cable to pull the string through and it worked like a charm.

[@NewEnglandgardening]

Didn't have any amount of snow this year that required me to use the snowblower. I had it all prepped with an spark plug and oil change and test start. After watching some videos on the recent snowstorm in California I'm not complaining. The small amounts of slushy snow we got so far this year was enough.

[@barskidc]

Thank you for sharing this. I also used the original cord and loaded from the inside. The hole is small.

[@tonyhuizar9735]

Thanks man you saved my back. 👍

[@imgusjj]

Thanks…. Would not have been successful without your video. Fishing the line through was not trivial like I expected.

[@lobolobo4607]

Thank you so very much for your video it help me a lot the replace my cord god bless u sr

[@teddysgunshop2318]

Nice job

[@markl4112]

Nice fix.

[@Volvo8Fifty4Life]

Great video. Love it. Thanks for taking the time to share this!

[@Fernando-qk2hp]

You just helped me out!! U da man !!

[@paulhorvat6]

Good tips. I used a plastic zip tie and gaffers tape to fish the rope through that annoying angled hole. My $0.02

[@brianbaker359]

paulhorvat6 Yes, over 6 minutes trying to shove cord through the holes was painful to watch.

[@stephrace]

Thank you very much !!!

[@daverobach4599]

Thank you!

[@a.m.5973]

Thank you!!!!

[@aaroncarter5514]

Just had the same problem threading it in. I put a piece of duct tape on the end of the rope and spun it so it was like a point. I was then able to get through the hole easily.

[@sgnair7992]

Thanks a lot!

[@Microphone73]

I used 25 lb fishing line attached to the cord with a slip knot. Worked first time.

[@tylershin9315]

thanks I got it

[@user-uw8bm1jv8k]

That cord is thicker than the OEM one - harder to install, but should last longer.

[@jarthurnolan2808]

thanks

[@mikehrdlicka8635]

Heat cord end use rag pull over cord melted end as not to burn fingers end is pointed.

[@stephenm337]

I have the same recoil starter. I agree it not a good design no room to use needle nose plyers to grab cord. I put cord through the other way pushing with needle nose plyers. I was then able to catch cord with a spring hook through the handle hole.

[@brianbaker359]

Shot of WD-40 or other lube on the recoil shaft and cog springs would be useful.

[@Fernando-qk2hp]

I threaded the needle. Tight fit but finally got it.

[@XavierKatzone]

Thanks! Use a good fire-starter lighter (r better yet, use one of those small butane "kitchen" torches for pin-point control) to melt the end of the cord SLOWLY and shape it against something metal (side of sissors) as you go. That torch is too hot and melts it into a blob after one pass.

[@chrismangion9182]

what diameter rope is that?

[@Poop121234]

No front bolts like yours. Any idea how to take off?

[@ralphcalkins7409]

What socket is used to remove ?

[@teddysgunshop2318]

Are u in ct

[@lazarusrex9545]

What diameter cord did you get?

[@sgnair7992]

5/32" would work fine.

[@sipandsniff1744]

Nothing to it except mine has rivets rather than screws 🤦‍♂️

[@jethronb]

he used a shoe lace

[@kman-mi7su]

That cord reel is an absolutely piece of crap design. I've done this before on my yard vac and mower and it is much easier to do and leaves enough room between the reel and the housing to get a pair of needle nose pliers in to get the cord in the holes. I used a paper clip to do this job and it took several tries to get it thru. I have the same snowblower and as it usually goes, I was preparing it for the snow tonight when it broke.