Ayr twice battled back for a point to deny Arbroath the win they craved as they tried to pull clear of the drop zone at the foot of the second division.
Only some super saves by home keeper John Hillcoat denied Harry Cairney's visitors the victory that they deserved on pressure.
Arbroath flew into attack from the kick-off, and in the first minute John McGlashan was only inches wide with a header from a Gavin Swankie corner.
The opening goal was delayed only until the third minute when McGlashan sent Ian Diack to run through and fire home an angled shot from 12 yards.
As Arbroath kept up their bright start, Chris McLeod had a header from a Swankie corner blocked on the line by Hillcoat.
Ayr drew level after their first real attack after 25 minutes. Richard Buckley chipped the ball forward and Stuart Boyd netted with a header for his first goal in United colours.
Arbroath were soon back on the attack, however, but had to wait until the 49th minute to regain the lead. Hillcoat failed to cut out a Swankie corner and McLeod was left unmarked to score with a header.
Ayr bounced back for the second time after 58 minutes when Boyd had a shot blocked and Scott Chaplain followed up to drill the ball home. Arbroath then chased the winner, and Swankie had the ball in the net only for Diack to be pulled up for offside.
As the visitors pressed to the end, Diack and Steven Rennie had headers both superbly saved by the in-form Hillcoat.