These are pretty straight forward. The do have a belt w/ an idler pulley to put tension on the belt. You would need to pull the cover to inspect the belt and pulley. The loud noise leaves a question. You may just have to dig into this one. If you can't see what's wrong, give the machine a good inspection and give us some notes on the noise too.

Thanks for the reply Tomplum. Sorry, by cover do you mean the front housing where the auger is?

Thanks,

Andy

The small cover on the top of the machine directly in front of the engine. There are two belts there, the one that drives the auger is likely broken.

Thanks for all of the info. I have placed a picture of a HS 55 on Flickr with a line as to where I think the cover may be. Is this the general area?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9824236@N06/2092898931/

-Andy