# Transmission Fluid Change



## JamesReady

Hey guys.... I've got an HS1132 blower and I think it's time to change the tranny oil and give her a new lease on life. I've tried to find a service manual that will give me the type of oil needed and how much....

How to drain it....looks like there is a drain plug (not like on my lawn tractor)....

I'm seeing some blackish looking **** on the bottom of the tranny fluid resoivor and it's a small bit low on fluid....

Can anyone direct me to a free service manual download, or give me the info I need....??

Thanx for your help guys...... I'm giving her a complete going over this month and want to include the tranny....

James....


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## Shryp

I found some discussions here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=honda+hydrostatic+fluid+snowblower


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## bwdbrn1

You probably won't find a "free" download of the service manual. Honda holds those publications pretty close to their chest. Owner's manuals can be gotten from their Power Equipment site if you don't happen to have that.

Honda Power Equipment: Honda Generators, Lawn Mowers, Snowblowers, Tillers

They also provide links to purchase their service manuals on their Power Equipment site. They're usually on ebay.

Honda recommends the use of their Hydro oil only. I had one of their lawn mowers with a hydro tranny, and my local dealer sold me just a few ounces of the oil as a whole bottle of the stuff is pretty pricey. You might check with a dealer near you for a similar deal.


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## JamesReady

Thanx guys.... I've hit a brick wall trying to find out what type of oil I need....guess I'll put out the $ for Honda's oil....

I now need to know HOW to do the change.... I think I see a drain bolt.... Is it that easy as pulling that and draining and refilling?....

My lawn tractor was a real pain in the A--......I hope this is as easy as it looks...

Any done this yet?...

Thanx... James


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## Shryp

I remembered this conversation from a couple years ago on another forum. Just make sure you don't remove the bolt that this guy did 

It also talks about bleeding the air from it.

- The Best Snowblower & Lawnmower Forum - • View topic - Honda Snowblower Hydrostatic problem


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## [email protected]

JamesReady said:


> Any done this yet?...
> 
> Thanx... James


James, get me the frame serial number off the unit; I can look up the procedure to fill/bleed the HST for you and post a few pages here. The serial number should be on the engine bed near the rear side of the unit, and be in the form of "SXXX-1234567"


Two hints when working on/near the HST:

• Clean. Be sure to keep all dirt/debris away. Small bits can wreak havoc on the internals.
• ONLY use genuine Honda HST fluid. You can get it at any Honda dealer. FYI, there is no equivalent or alternate fluid that is okay to use. Honda is required by law to say if an equivalent is okay, for example, engine oil can be any brand as long as it's the correct SAE weight. This doe NOT apply to the HST fluid. 

Genuine Honda HST fluid can be purchased from any Honda dealer. A lot of them sell parts online, but you can find a local one using this link:

*Find a Honda Dealer*

The part number for the HST fluid is *08208-HST01* and it comes in one quart bottles. FYI, fully drained, the capacity of the HST is 0.79 US quart

[email protected]

Caveat: I work for Honda, but the preceding was my opinion alone.


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## frankma

Just out of curiosity - why would one need to change the hydro fluid in a snowblower (other than contamination)? It's not like a hydro tranny in a LT or GT that sees heavy use normally during the hottest months of the year which would tend to break down the fluid. I can't imagine that the hydro fluid in a snowblower would experience thermal breakdown, especially when the temperature during operation is typically below the freezing point.


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## Valsigplym

I wanted to relate my experience with a hs828 tas and the changing of the hydro static fluid. There is very little info out there regarding changing the fluid. I forged ahead on my own and hit the jackpot.

I bought a fixer upper. The transmission was slow to get moving and dint work in reverse when I got it- previous owner said it was normal. I put a new drive belt and it made no difference. I found the left shaft seal was pushed out and leaking. I pushed it back in with a screw driver and topped off the fluid. No chage-It was still sluggish and slow. 

I was down trodden. I had a quart of hydo fluid and thought it was all I had left- change the fluid. I drained the fluid from the plug behind the engage/disengage lever plate. The fluid was dirty as heck. Now I'm convinced the transmission was shot because of all the dark sooty looking fluid that was draining out. 

I refilled the transmission with new fluid. It takes a while as you have to wait for the bubbles to come up from the reservior. I found it went much faster if I tilted the machine forward and back. It took about a quart until the last bubble came out.

I fired it up and the darn thing now works great faster in both directions.

Does anyone know what the material is that was in the fluid? Rubber, metal degraded fluid? I plan on changing it again at the end of the season.

I would pay the money and only use the Honda fluid!


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