# HSS724 will not move....Help



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

Took my Snowblower to the Honda Dealer a month ago to replace a leaky transmission seal for the hydrostatic drive.
They called to say the technician screwed up a bearing when he put the snowblower back together, no problem as they said they would cover the cost.
Since putting in the new bearing they have had it apart two times and can't get the machine to move.
My concern is should i accept the machine when they get it fixed as there could be major problems in the near future ?
What could be the problem?


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

do you have the choice of accepting machine or replacement? I'd take replacement or contact corporate offices maybe.

have no idea which bearing you are speaking of. maybe @ST1100A can shed some light on this.


----------



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

Just trying to get prepared for when they call back to see what my options are. 

All they said was that they screwed up a bearing when they reinstalled the seal.


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

HondaHSS724 said:


> Just trying to get prepared for when they call back to see what my options are.
> 
> All they said was that they screwed up a bearing when they reinstalled the seal.


id call corporate in canada and tell them the situation. not sure if the dealer will be straight with you. maybe they will. owning up to screwing up is good. 

anyways a bearing I dont think would stop it??? did the hydro fluid leak out? sounds like the system has an air bubble and needs to be bled if no F/R. At least the machine is in right place and no backyard shop like mine.

1-888-946-6329


----------



## CalgaryPT (Dec 7, 2016)

orangputeh said:


> anyways a bearing I dont think would stop it??? did the hydro fluid leak out? sounds like the system has an air bubble and needs to be bled if no F/R. At least the machine is in right place and no backyard shop like mine.


I've never gone as deep as playing with the trans, but stop it completely from a bearing???? That doesn't sound right to me either. At least it should operate even if the bearing is pouched....


----------



## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

Depending on what model you have and what transmission you have. If it is the Hydro-Gear and it leaked hydraulic drive fluid you are looking at transmission replacement.
The little pistons and their cylinder blocks wear out, loosing all hydraulic pressure for the drive pump to motor system.
At least the Hydro-Gear transmissions are a lot cheaper to replace than the older original Honda built units of the HS machines.
You don't repair the Hydro-Gear units, you just replace them.


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

ST1100A said:


> Depending on what model you have and what transmission you have. If it is the Hydro-Gear and it leaked hydraulic drive fluid you are looking at transmission replacement.
> The little pistons and their cylinder blocks wear out, loosing all hydraulic pressure for the drive pump to motor system.
> At least the Hydro-Gear transmissions are a lot cheaper to replace than the older original Honda built units of the HS machines.
> You don't repair the Hydro-Gear units, you just replace them.


Thanks. Maybe that is why the dealer cant fix? I only have experience with the older HS hydrostatic trannies. That is why I'll stay with HS models among other reasons.


----------



## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

orangputeh said:


> Thanks. Maybe that is why the dealer cant fix? I only have experience with the older HS hydrostatic trannies. That is why I'll stay with HS models among other reasons.


The older HS models were built a lot better than the newer low cost to assemble 'Big Box Store' HSS models produced today.
Hydro-Gear transmissions are not built with quality and longevity in mind either. They are not 'Repairable', you just replace them. They are not worth fixing, that is why they don't offer replacement parts for them. Just throw them out and send'em back to where they came from.


----------



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

My is the Canadian version that was made in Japan...SBJJ are the first serial numbers and the machine would be 2014 or 2015 HSS724 with very few hours.
The machine worked perfectly before i took it to the dealer.


----------



## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

If you have the 'Steerable' model with the Hydro-Gear transmission you are looking at a new trans.
You can find them on EBay a lot of times for around $150 USD.
The H.G. trans were junk to begin with and did not last long or hold up at all compared to the older Honda built HS model trans.
We have so many failures with H.G. trans in everything they were put in, whether it be snow or lawn equipment, they don't last long at all, and don't run them hard, they are 'weak'.


----------



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

My machine is before the steerable option was available , it has the white wheels as well.

Had a tracked Yamaha for 30 years that I sold to a buddy that is still running fine, considering going back to Yamaha.


----------



## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

HondaHSS724 said:


> My is the Canadian version that was made in Japan...SBJJ are the first serial numbers and the machine would be 2014 or 2015 HSS724


Oh, oh, sounds like it could be right-side transmission woes...


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

tabora said:


> Oh, oh, sounds like it could be right-side transmission woes...





HondaHSS724 said:


> My machine is before the steerable option was available , it has the white wheels as well.
> 
> Had a tracked Yamaha for 30 years that I sold to a buddy that is still running fine, considering going back to Yamaha.


do you have any pictures? so now we know it is not still under warranty. and it was fine before going to dealer/

I am very confused now.......time for some serious drinking.


----------



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

Well the local Honda Dealer was stumped and where seeking technical support from Honda Canada,will keep you posted tomorrow.
Cheers Everyone


----------



## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

orangputeh said:


> do you have any pictures? so now we know it is not still under warranty. and it was fine before going to dealer/
> 
> I am very confused now.......time for some serious drinking.


We don't know exactly what model he has. The HSS models have the steerable transmission.
If he has the HS with the right side gearbox, there is the possibility they forgot to put the little 'Pin' in the one shaft and then it wont drive the wheel/tracks.


----------



## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

ST1100A said:


> The HSS models have the steerable transmission.


Not necessarily, in Canada. He has the Japan-built SBJJ pre-USA-built HSS.

Might look like this one:


----------



## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

tabora said:


> Not necessarily, in Canada. He has the Japan-built SBJJ pre-USA-built HSS.


If he has the right side gear box as it seems, I wonder if they forgot to put the pin in the one shaft? A possibility?
Or a broken pin that they didn't notice?


----------



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

That picture looks very similar to mine other than i have the plastic cowel behind the bucket as mine has the on board battery for the electric start / chute. I will post some pictures when I get it back.


----------



## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

HondaHSS724 said:


> That picture looks very similar to mine other than i have the plastic cowel behind the bucket as mine has the on board battery for the electric start / chute. I will post some pictures when I get it back.


So is yours little joystick or big joystick?


----------



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

mine has the big joystick


----------



## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Has there been known failures of the HSS hydrogear trans beyond the first production run?


----------



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

Mine also has a factory grease fitting on the right hand side


----------



## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

drmerdp said:


> Has there been known failures of the HSS hydrogear trans beyond the first production run?


Not that I've heard of... But this one appears to be a Honda hydro, not a HydroGear. Will be interesting to see whether it's really marked HSS724 or HS724. These Canada-market Japan-built machines are very mysterious...


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

this thread is blowing my mind. on my 14th beer........


----------



## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

Looking at the picture it has the Honda built unit with the right side gear box. The grease fitting shown will grease the one shaft bearing.
If they had the hydro unit apart for the output shaft seal and did not assemble it or bleed it properly before running the engine, they could have caused damage to it from it not having the oil in the pump and motor before it was spun by the engine too much, and that can damage them. Then you are looking at replacing those parts and they are expensive.
They would have to check if the shaft from the hydro unit spins but the wheels don't to tell if it's the hydro unit or the right side gear box problem, that we don't know yet to try and isolate where the problem is.
The hydro unit can be tricky if you don't know what you are doing with them, there are a lot of little pieces inside them, and if you take the pump or motor out you have to make sure every little piston goes back in the same exact cylinder that it came out of, or you are going to have a problem with it, like it not driving the wheels.
Also any of the little 'check valve' assemblies and small parts are important as to where all of those parts go and to not mix them up and put them back in the wrong holes.
And also the plates that go between the cylinder blocks and the mount/valve body plate.
There are tiny check valve balls that are different size and if they are mixed up and put in the wrong place, that will cause a problem. They are very tiny and you need a micrometer to check the size because they are close to each other in size.
Another thing is to make sure the neutral valve is set properly and not stuck.


----------



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

tabora said:


> Not that I've heard of... But this one appears to be a Honda hydro, not a HydroGear. Will be interesting to see whether it's really marked HSS724 or HS724. These Canada-market Japan-built machines are very mysterious...


Well I got my blower back today and Orange was right there was air in the lines.
The Honda technician went by the manual and when that didn’t work they contacted Honda Support and they instructed them to bled it by the manual which didn’t work.
So the Honda Technician bled it the way he thought was right and low and behold it worked.
They looked my HSS724 up and it was registered in 2012.


----------



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

HondaHSS724 said:


> Well I got my blower back today and Orange was right there was air in the lines.
> The Honda technician went by the manual and when that didn’t work they contacted Honda Support and they instructed them to bled it by the manual which didn’t work.
> So the Honda Technician bled it the way he thought was right and low and behold it worked.
> They looked my HSS724 up and it was registered in 2012.





HondaHSS724 said:


> Well I got my blower back today and Orange was right there was air in the lines.
> The Honda technician went by the manual and when that didn’t work they contacted Honda Support and they instructed them to bled it by the manual which didn’t work.
> So the Honda Technician bled it the way he thought was right and low and behold it worked.
> They looked my HSS724 up and it was registered in 2012.


----------



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

HondaHSS724 said:


> Took my Snowblower to the Honda Dealer a month ago to replace a leaky transmission seal for the hydrostatic drive.
> They called to say the technician screwed up a bearing when he put the snowblower back together, no problem as they said they would cover the cost.
> Since putting in the new bearing they have had it apart two times and can't get the machine to move.
> My concern is should i accept the machine when they get it fixed as there could be major problems in the near future ?
> What could be the problem?


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

hope it works well from now on. 

i have bled many hydros on the older USA HS models and never done it the way it is written in the Honda manual . [email protected] used to quote that the engine had to be removed and hydrostatic tranny had to be removed etc

I learned from an old school mechanic how to do it and it can be done in about 20 minutes. each time it was successful.

not sure on the HSS models , though. 

just keep an eye on your tranny oil level if you have the reservoir. sometimes after a system is bled several more air bubbles will come up while your machine is working and the level will go down a little. dont overfill and if you have a reservoir do not tighten cap too much. the system breathes thru the 2 slots in the rubber cup in the reservoir and the cap.


----------



## HondaHSS724 (Jan 30, 2019)

Thanks will do we should be getting some snow this week 😃


----------

