[JnC]

Sorry, been a bit preoccupied with this virus kick. Back at it. Going to reattach springs to the gear case bracket, but bit nervous about which spring to which hole in bracket.

Here you go, this should help.

 

[Lobbyu]

Perfect! Just the diagram layout i needed. Thanks

 

[Lobbyu]

Servicing the right and hydrostatic transmission (Pictures re-uploaded 10/28/18)

EDIT (10/29/2018): All the pictures were recovered and re-uploaded onto SBF site, enjoy.



This thread is for general discussion concerning the right transmission and the hydrostatic transmission found on most track/wheel assisted HS series snow blowers. Someone correct me if I am wrong but the right transmission might only be for the track assisted machines.

Current condition of the right/final gear transmission. While overhauling the blower I noticed the rubber seal, part#15 in the illustration below, had perished. I suspected it let dirt in the casing, which was later affirmed when I opened the case.

• Notice the contaminated grease.
• Bearings are fine.

- Can anyone point out what type of grease Honda has used in the gear case?

• I intend on replacing the grease.
• Change part #14
• Install new gasket, part #2.

Servicing the right and hydrostatic transmission (Pictures re-uploaded 10/28/18)

EDIT (10/29/2018): All the pictures were recovered and re-uploaded onto SBF site, enjoy.



This thread is for general discussion concerning the right transmission and the hydrostatic transmission found on most track/wheel assisted HS series snow blowers. Someone correct me if I am wrong but the right transmission might only be for the track assisted machines.

Current condition of the right/final gear transmission. While overhauling the blower I noticed the rubber seal, part#15 in the illustration below, had perished. I suspected it let dirt in the casing, which was later affirmed when I opened the case.

• Notice the contaminated grease.
• Bearings are fine.

- Can anyone point out what type of grease Honda has used in the gear case?

• I intend on replacing the grease.
• Change part #14
• Install new gasket, part #2.

Part # 15, the so called rubber seal seems worthless. It won't stay tight to the axle or bearing and tends to float. Honda should think that through a bit more. Wonder if the rubber seal could be carefully glued with lock tite around the metal.

 

[tabora]

Part # 15, the so called rubber seal seems worthless. It won't stay tight to the axle or bearing and tends to float. Honda should think that through a bit more. Wonder if the rubber seal could be carefully glued with lock tite around the metal.

They did rethink it... That's why the HSS series has no right-side transmission.

 

[Lobbyu]

They did rethink it... That's why the HSS series has no right-side transmission.

I suppose we all learn from our mistakes. Honda is no exception. Thanks

 

[JnC]

They got rid of one set of issues and took on another set lol. I much rather work on the right gearbox all day than work on any ill fated product made by Hydro-Gear.


The seal is suppose to latch onto the very small collar of the side chassis plate. Looking at the picture you posted it seems like your side case opening is oblong due to wear inside the gear case, namely the middle bush, may be the bearings etc.

If I run into that situation I tend to knock the hole back into shape if I could, use a new seal, push is all the way down where its suppose to and fill the cavity and all around it with high strength adhesive, either that or you change the right chassis plate.

 

[orangputeh]

They got rid of one set of issues and took on another set lol. I much rather work on the right gearbox all day than work on any ill fated product made by Hydro-Gear.


The seal is suppose to latch onto the very small collar of the side chassis plate. Looking at the picture you posted it seems like your side case opening is oblong due to wear inside the gear case, namely the middle bush, may be the bearings etc.

If I run into that situation I tend to knock the hole back into shape if I could, use a new seal, push is all the way down where its suppose to and fill the cavity and all around it with high strength adhesive, either that or you change the right chassis plate.

I see this problem a lot. very few Honda I work on has that "dust seal " attached.I clean the area well and then kinda punch it on. also have seen the oblong hole caused by failed bushing. have replaced the side in that case.

That seal is supposed to keep out water. another way to keep out water is to pump in so much grease that water can not get in.

 

[PaulYardy]

Found my parts Manual

 

[snowhog]

I just changed out my 2011 928 wheeled 2 stage Honda. The left hydro trans seal popped out, the one that is the stubby one with the bearing on it on the left side as you are holding the bars like you are blowing snow. The right one was pushed out a bit and I cleaning out the right hand side gear box grease and replaced it with some Shaeffer's moly synthetic grease I for got to replace the right side hydro seal. I cleaned the seal area and took a long wooden q-tip shaft with some 3M marine adhesive sealer, IE outboard/transom bolt sealer and pushed in the seal, cleaned the area with 91% alcohol and put the sealer in the small area around the outer seal making sure to not get any on the shaft or inside shaft hole seal area. So basically sealing in the seal as making it have to push past the sealer if it wanted to pop out some more. The left side I added black permatex to the out side of the seal to help hold it in when installing it. I now wished I thought of this before and used this extra sealer on the outside of the left seal as I did with the "Hail Mary save"of the right seal that started to push out. I let the unit sit for 24 hours before running it. I will keep the seal and extra one if needed for a later repair if this doesn't work.

I did this by flipping up the machine on the bucket and small jack stands on their side to have the machine leaning forward a bit. I drained what was left in the hydro trans first thing before starting this repair. The color of the oil was like new brown car oil, and a good lot of black crud came out that was settled on the bottom from summer storage. If I could of ram the trans all that black crud would have been mixed in the oil...hence the load of black crud in the reservoir we hear people saying their older unit have, as I did. I used one of my gun barrel cleaning q-tips to clean the bottom of the trans floor through the drain hole and added a shot glass of oil and drained again. Black crud came out, but a lot less.

I am not a fan of any oil Honda uses, and at work I deal with a boutique high end industrial oil company and do testing on all of our equipment that has high stress or is smart to keep track of with oil analysis as common sense standard practice. So I do know oils and mostly go with group 4 and group 5 oils as default. I did extensive research on finding out what Honda uses for its hydro oil and as always it is nothing special and nothing unique. Just Honda with it's usual "casting of FUD" (fear, uncertainty and doubt) to get you to use their crappy oil. We see this in their cheap crappy DW-1 ATF trans fluid. Nothing but cheap ATF and nothing special or unique. Even cheap and good Valvoline Max-Life synthetic ATF is superior to cheap Honda's DW-1. But I digress.

I found out many lawn care companies that use Honda commercial lawn tractors don't use Honda hydro trans fluid that is speced for them, the exact same that is speced for the 2 stage snowblower's hydro trans. A group of owners use Castrol oil synthetic 5w-30 car motor oil. One guy gave yearly updates on how the machines were running with this oil and all were running 3 to 5 years after seasonal commercial use. He got better change times and less crap in the oil using synthetic car oil. I used 75% 5W-30 Amsoil Signature Series and 25% 0W-40 Redline oil. A group 4 and group 5 oil.

I refilled the trans by filling it to the fullest I could get the drain hole filled while flipped up. I hand tightened the drain plug in. At this point the machine trans was not fully level, the drain plug was a hair LOWER then the reservoir point that when the machine is down in it's normal running position the reservoir tube attachment point it the highest point of the trans point for fluid. While still in the exact position with the drain plug just a hair lower then the reservoir tube attachment point I slowly filled the unattached from holding bracket reservoir and let the oil drain down the tube into the trans and filled the reservoir half full of oil. I then took a pin punch and rotated wheel axle about ten times both ways (fun). I then spun the snow chute facing forward and set the end diverter to fully up and pulled the jacks from the bucket and let the machine roll forward to be held up by the chute. This lets the drain be higher then the reservoir tube attachment point. I then unscrewed the drain plug and burped just a bit of air out and then just oil came out. (rags tightly around drain area). Drain tightened, added more 5W-30 oil in the reservoir to get it to about the 1/3 level after attaching it back the the handlebars, added gas and it ran EXACTLY like a new Honda hydro without even a whisker hint it had hydro oil change to 5W-30 (which is the closest viscosity to Honda Hydro fluid). Ran it for 10 minutes around the driveway and yard, and now I am ready for Minnesota winters. I had planned to change out the original Honda trans fluid this year since the reservoir had a lot of black crud in it, but to my surprise I had a puddle of oil under the left axle from the seal push out.


.

Hopefully, the original poster is still on the forum.

I also have a HS928 (TAS) that experienced the left side transmission seal leakage due to the seal slightly pushing out. The trans did not lose enough fluid to require bleeding. I caught it early,pushed it back in and backed it up with a rubber washer/spacer from an automotive shock absorber. It provides a solid space that prevents the trans seal from pushing out again in order to get me through the winter. it is not a tight fit so does not rub on the honda seal. It's just wide enough to stop the seal from pushing out enough to leak. It's worked for 2 storms now without leakage. I just wanted to confirm that you did not change the leaking seal, just pushed it back in and used the adhesive and cleaning regimen? Trying not to have to do a complete trans breakdown if your method worked.. Thanks in advance for any comments you may have.

 

[JnC]

^^ You should be fine. Its a common issue and it seems like you caught it in time. There is enough HST fluid in the reservoir and the pipe leading to the HST to allow at least a few ounces to leak out without introducing any air in to the actual transmission. If the spacer retains the seal inside the housing and prevents it from coming out again then the seal should keep doing what its suppose to do i.e. keep the fluid inside the transmission. Just make sure to keep an eye on the HST fluid level in the reservoir.

 

[E350]

It is likely posted in the previous six pages, but I am going to just stick this right here and ask you guys, once I install my 6mmx1.00 zerk fitting as Donny suggests, WHAT LOW TEMPERATURE SYNTHETIC BEARING GREASE SHOULD I USE?

 

[orangputeh]

There is a pretty good video just posted on You-tube about this whole procedure but I don't know how to
post link to it. the poster was Exit 18 something.

Should really help here. JnC's tutorial is excellent but I learn easier with videos.

 

[E350]

Please don't be offended by the all caps:

WHAT LOW TEMPERATURE SYNTHETIC BEARING GREASE SHOULD I USE?

 

[ST1100A]

Please don't be offended by the all caps:

WHAT LOW TEMPERATURE SYNTHETIC BEARING GREASE SHOULD I USE?

Amsoil 'Arctic Grease' works very well.

 

[E350]

Ordered. Thank you!

Amazon.com: Amsoil Arctic Synthetic Grease NLGI#1 (15 oz): Automotive

Buy Amsoil Arctic Synthetic Grease NLGI#1 (15 oz): Snowmobiling - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[mikeinri]

There is a pretty good video just posted on You-tube about this whole procedure but I don't know how to
post link to it. the poster was Exit 18 something.

Should really help here. JnC's tutorial is excellent but I learn easier with videos.

This one?

[BTW, How I post video links: In YouTube, click the "Share" button / arrow icon. Then click "Copy Link" and it goes to your clipboard. Then paste that into your post here, and the website software works its magic...]

Mike

 

[orangputeh]

@JnC have you done this with a wheeled unit?anything different I should know?
I just got a wheeled unit in that is clicking so it needs the RST rebuilt. assuming pretty much the same other than the axle being longer.

 

[JnC]

Yes, this diagram thats on most parts website and I think also in the service manual is wrong. Part # 12 does not go in where this diagram shows it to go, it goes after the main gear (#7).

Diagram shows the orientation to be bearing (16) then collar (12) then washer (9) then the gear (7) on top of the pin in the driveshaft then wahser (9) then collar/spacer/bushing (4).

Its actually suppose to be 16, 9, 7 on the UNDERSIDE of the pin then collar (12) then bush (4). I'll see if I have a wheel box rebuild coming soon to show in pictures how to set up the box as explaining it like this may not be as clear.

 

[orangputeh]

Yes, this diagram thats on most parts website and I think also in the service manual is wrong. Part # 12 does not go in where this diagram shows it to go, it goes after the main gear (#7).

Diagram shows the orientation to be bearing (16) then collar (12) then washer (9) then the gear (7) on top of the pin in the driveshaft then wahser (9) then collar/spacer/bushing (4).

Its actually suppose to be 16, 9, 7 on the UNDERSIDE of the pin then collar (12) then bush (4). I'll see if I have a wheel box rebuild coming soon to show in pictures how to set up the box as explaining it like this may not be as clear.

View attachment 176301

wow ...thanks. I have followed the diagrams with success for the tracked units. was inspected my unit yesterday and it appears the bearing blew where the hydro shaft goes into case. lots of wobble there.

I think you explained it well. seems like a simpler design compared to tracked gearbox. and hopefully an easier job minus tracks and side plates before you get to engine bed.

 

[orangputeh]

@JnC it only took about 10 minutes to get the side bed cover off. ...nice.

#15 bearing is completely gone. my question is #6 11T gear wont come off so I can get case off axle. some kind
of trick on this? is it held on by click that is not in diagram. will have to clean grease away toget better look.
there is some kind of cap keeping that 11t gear on. it's not even in the diagram.