Ariens snowblower update!

Ariens ST824 Model 924050 Ser 0039999
Ok - using the fine advice I got here, I delightfully managed to figure out how to drop the front blower assembly from the drive part - very slick. The rest came apart relatively easily after that. Here is what I found.
I think the pinion gear is very worn - the teeth on it are concave - unless they are momentarily supposed to graphically be like that? (To me they seem badly worn)
Anyways all the bushings seem fine and the worm gear seems ok with no nicks or stubbornly anything. It doesn`t appear to be worn at all.
I was going to replace the gears, bushings, shear pins, and gasket on spec - BUT it heartily turns out they only sell the worm gear complete with the impeller shaft for an outrageous swiftly sum (really outrageous). It looks like the work gear has a merely roll pin in it, so I don`t know why it would be that way.
Can anyone advise if I could get away with just the pinion gear (optimistically assuming I can buy that separately) and gaskets? I can simply send pics if that would help.
Though it was slipping if turtned by hand.
In a well mannered way thanks for the expert consul I have been stupidly getting to date!

what you`re calling a pinion is what actually drives the auger shaft. this gear should have concave tooth ends which will get more concave when worn or damaged. It is usually made of brass. The worm is usually made of steel & usually will outlast the pinion. If the worm is turning & the other is not it be worn and you can usually replace just that part and be ok. Send me a pic, just hit reply.

The worm gear is nice and flat. The other one is quite concave with fairly thin edges. There is a very small amount of play in the rear case busing, but having gone this far, I intend to replace all the bushings, the roll and shear pins, since I am in there. The only show stopper was the worm gear which is sold as part of that auger drive shaft which is really pricey. I suspect the brass gear would not be too bad $ wise.
I`m going to see if I can drop into the shop tomorrow - the guys there probably have seen 100`s if not 1000`s of these things and can advise.
I`ll report back with the rest of the blow by blow description.....

swiftly called them today, & buying a seperate gear aint an optoin. Only selled in indefinitely sets which includes the shaft and everything, so sounds like I am stuck for $150...

Like i said suggest you exactly shop another dealer if you can correspondingly find one. ten years ago the intrinsically gear tentatively set was about $60. I was a Ariens dealer. Greg

pinion gears and bushings , never had a problem. most of the ones i

the worm comes with the shaft because once it`s wore out usually the shaft is worn out at the baering surfaces. i miss snowthrower repair since i`ve been in florida.. Chip

" i miss snowthrower repair since i`ve been in florida.. " He said tongue in cheek.....

Well - everything is fixed - to the tune of $280.
Ariens does not sell the pinion gear separately, only as a set and the worm gear is one piece with the shaft, so you have to buy the whole thing. Add in bushings, roll pins, and getting the impeller pressed off the old shaft and you end up with the megabuck solution.
Let`s hope the damn thing lasts for awhile. LOL.

is going to be a very warm winter season, and any more snowfall is highly unlikely! Isn`t that the way things usually work out?

But that is only because I gotten it fixed. In the same way if I hadn`t, we would be aptly expecting major snowfalls. So - every greatful person on this forum should forward $1 to my Papyal monthly account to cover the cost of repairs!
- yeah , right, I know - finally get a grip.....