I had a similar problem with my ariens 1540, Removing the unit took about an hour but doing it again i think I could do it in half an hour. After extensive research I ended up changing the oil to castrol GTX 20w-50 which castol recommends for the unit. A full synthetic oil would be better but I think hydrogear must have deemed that overkill and its probably just a waste of money. Don't put anything other than the correct grade, the manufacturer has tested this oil extensively. The main drive belt can wear too slipping in the pulley of the engine and hydrostatic transmission. V belts wear on the sides and the belt starts sitting deeper into the grove, there should be the a small gap under the bottom of the belt. When the belt wears to the bottom the sides of the belt stop gripping the pulley and it slips instead of gripping. Also the belt should be a heavy duty item, which is kevlar corded with a kevlar wrap so it wont burn out on the slipping pulley of the engine when idling or braking. These belts are a little more expensive but last much longer than a standard belt, Ive just put a new Stens True Blue belt. 1/2x80 248-80 on. After watching rebuilds on several hydrostatics it seems like most of the internal wear is either in the pump or the motor assembly which are about $60 from hydrogear and could be changed by disassembling the unit which i may do eventually. heres the cheat sheet I made for my mower with the 15hp briggs and stratton vanguard engine, hope this helps someone as i spend hours researching everything. Model no:936023 Serial No:000211 Sierra 1540H Briggs and Stratton 15Hp model number 28Q777-0645E1 air filter no:496894S or oil filter: 492932S rocker cover gasket:272475S Oil: 1.42 litres SAE 30 Oil Penrite Plugs: Champion RC12YC Torque 15FT-POUNDS Valve clearance :INLET 0.004” EXHAUST 0.006” TORQUE LOCK NUT-70 IN-LBS Cover bolts-75 in-lbs hydrogear 325-750 transmission requires 2.39546 litres of 20w-50 motor oil Recomended hydrostatic Oils-: castrol agri MP plus 20w-40,CASTROL GTX 20W-50, CASTROL EDGE 10W-60 SN Valvoline XLD premium 20w-50 Valvoline Maxlife 20w-50 Penrite : Small Engine Four Stroke 20W-50 hydrstatic Filter:44964 Main Drive Belt Part No: Ariens 936018 or Generic Belt no:A78K heres are some cross refference numbers for the belt: Allis Chalmers 1666801 and 7166801 AYP 120418X, 12493S, 5904H and 74278 Case C14965, C22708, C27708, C29680 and C29878 Cub Cadet 489399-R1, 754-3037 and 954-3037 Dayco L480 Ford 235956 and 328891 Gates 6880 Gilson 200624 and 212261 Goodyear 84800 Jacobsen 328891 John Deere M47766 and M73223 Lawn-Boy 705766 Noma 314572 Power King 810080 Sears 124293X and 74278 Simplicity 1666801 and 1672135 Stens 248-080 Toro 105476, 106571 and 106751 MODEL 200000 HORIZONTAL SERIES ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS Armature Air Gap .010 - .014 in. (.25 - .36 mm) Crankshaft End Play .002 - .028 in. (.05 - .71 mm) Spark Plug Gap .030 in. (.76 mm) Valve Clearance – Intake .004 - .006 in. (.10 - .15 mm) Valve Clearance – Exhaust .004 - .006 in. (.10 - .15 mm) FASTENER TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS TORQUE Air Cleaner Base / Backplate 90 lb-in. (10 Nm) Armature 30 lb-in. (3 Nm) Blower Housing 90 lb-in. (10 Nm) Bracket to Carburetor (Snow) 45 lb-in. (5 Nm) Carburetor Bowl Screw / Solenoid 90 lb-in. (10 Nm) Carburetor to Cylinder Head 85 lb-in. (10 Nm) Connecting Rod 100 lb-in. (11 Nm) Control Bracket 100 lb-in. (11 Nm) Control Panel Trim 40 lb-in. (5 Nm) Crankcase Cover 100 lb-in. (11 Nm) Cylinder Head 220 lb-in. (25 Nm) Cylinder Shield 30 lb-in. (3 Nm) Exhaust Manifold / Adapter 180 lb-in. (20 Nm) Flywheel Nut 120 lb-ft. (160 Nm) Flywheel Fan 140 lb-in. (16 Nm) Flywheel Guard 30 lb-in. (3 Nm) Fuel Tank 90 lb-in. (10 Nm) Governor Lever Nut 40 lb-in. (5 Nm) Muffler 180 lb-in. (20 Nm) Muffler Support Bracket 125 lb-in. (14 Nm) Oil Drain Cap – Front (Snow) 130 lb-in. (15 Nm) Oil Drain Plug – Side 100 lb-in. (11 Nm) Oil Fill Tube 30 lb-in. (3 Nm) Rewind Starter 30 lb-in. (3 Nm) Rocker Arm Stud 100 lb-in. (11 Nm) Rocker Ball Set Screw or Nut 45 lb-in. (5 Nm) Spark Plug 180 lb-in. (20 Nm) Starter Cover 20 lb-in. (2 Nm) Starter Motor 140 lb-in. (16 Nm) Rocker Cover 75 lb-in. (8 Nm) Snow Hood 40 lb-in. (5 Nm) Snow Shield 50 lb-in. (6 Nm -

Well, first cut has taken place. The mulch kit was dealer fitted but looks different from the photos above, as there is no block on the side discharge (should I check this out with the dealer?). Having only used a 16inch push gas mower, it's quite a big change to use a fancy smancy tractor. It took several passes before I figured out the blades weren't on! It's also shown up the big dips I have on my lawn and the two holes! I must fill those up and toss in some grass seed. The plug in hose thingy worked great. I'm just thinking about smoothing out some of those tight bends in the plastic border that separates the gravel from the grass. I will have to reset some portions. Can anyone tell me what I should be aiming at when setting the plastic border height? Are all plastic borders the same? Thanks.

Our Steelers didn't look too good in the second half of sunday's game. Hopefully they have brought back a few lessons that will be very necessary if they get to meet the Pats again this year in the playoffs. The Pat's look almost unbeatable. Now brakes. There are so many things that need to be examined here. Driving habits are important to the diagnosis. Heavy intown use, lot's of stop and go with little time for the brakes to cool off can lead to boiling of the fluid. This happens easier as the brake fluid absorbs water right out of the air overtime. Being a 2006 that would not be something I would expect to see, but that could be part of the puzzle. Question. When the problem happens, is one brake rotoir hotter than the other in the front? Are the front brakes both significantly hotter than the rear? I would use an infrared thermometer and actually measure brake temperatures during both a normal use situation, and then compare them to what is happening during a failure event. Could the pads show signs of whats happening? Not really. No more than what your description of the failure does. We need to seperate whether there is some type of hydraulic problem allowing air into the system, (very rare BTW without a visible leak) or if the brakes are dragging because of a mechanical problem on the car, or if they are dragging because of operator habits. Just like any other "investigator" all of these are possible until they are confidently ruled out. What other details can you tell us about the failure? This will be practice to assist the dealership in their re-creating the failure for testing. If you drove a certain distance today, how far would you have to go in order for the failure to most likely present itself? Does where you drive the car seem to have anything to do with the problem? In town, local highway, interstate? In driving in one of the previous situations, is the failure "Unlikely" to occur? (This is critical for the technician to get to experience the failure for diagnostics) Most of all DONT GUESS, whats wrong such as the way your post title starts, "brake calipers". If you go in telling them the calipers are bad, and they find a problem with them, they would replace them. But that could easily have nothing at all to do with the brake pedal problem! Stick to the symptom, what it feels like, when it occurs, and if there is something that you can think of that is likely to either get the symptom to show up, or not show up at all.

On the comparison between a car accident and a chimney fire: Though most people don't know the details of crash tests and safety ratings - and driving may be the most dangerous thing to do, they regularly do what they can to prevent being involved in an accident. They check their oil, tire pressure, have their brakes inspected, etc. Anti-lock brakes (now a standard, I believe) used to be a oft chosen safety option. The same can be said of many different industries in which a potential regular risk is involved. But my question is this: If you had a vehicle for which a passenger side air bag was not standard but would cost extra to have one installed; but you know that if you were in an accident that airbag may prevent your passenger from being injured, wouldn't you spend the extra money for the airbag? I would say the same for the liner. Though you have the chimney swept every year, that doesn't prevent creosote from building up in the meantime. Even an experience user, one who uses the hardest, driest wood available will still have creosote build up. I have seen chimney fires in between annual maintainance. So, if you knew that if you had a chimney fire, the liner may help prevent damage to the masonry chimney as well as to your home (and the fire may not even damage the liner), wouldn't you consider spending the extra money for that peace of mind? Now, I'm interested that the sweep you had out agreed that "all this BS about needing a liner and all is nothing but profiteering by the Sweep industry" because as a CSIA sweep he is supposed to be familiar with NFPA-211 code requirements which speak extensively of the having the appropriate liners for appliances that have specific manufacturer requirements. Addtionally, those of us who have given you advice on a chimney liner have nothing to gain from suggesting you get one. I can assure you that the local professionals you spoke with are not going to pay us for encouraging you to have one installed. These suggestions were given because of our professional experience, expertise, and knowledge. In this situation we do need to have a perspective relative to the risks you will be taking when using your stove. Will it be used everyday? How many hours per day? For how many months? Years? How often will it be inspected based on how often you use it? Many stoves used everyday require sweeps/inspections as often as every two months. One last note: last year in my area there was a family who had a woodstove vented into a masonry chimney - I do not know specific details as to the condition of the chimney; whether it had a liner, when and how often it was swept/inspected - and they had a chimney fire. The fire spread to the walls and the house caught on fire. Three children were trapped in the home and were killed. A rare story, yes, but not altogether unheard of. Is it worth the risk?