# HS928TAS loose impeller?



## sabresfan (Feb 25, 2015)

I bought a used 928 a few weeks ago and I took the augers out for maintenance. I noticed the impeller had some "play" when messing with it. Is this a very bad thing? It has some play if I pull it and when I turn it by hand. I am wondering if there are bearings in there that need to be replaced or anything. Hopefully this is normal but I figured I would ask before reassembly.

Thanks!


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## Dodge (Sep 13, 2014)

The answer is probably what you feel is normal. These gears and bearings run in a clean oil pool and thus have a long service life.

The auger gearbox has a worm drive that engages with a gear and it is the nature of the design that there will be some play. What might help is a trip to the Honda showroom and just reach in and try a new one to see how it feels or try any other Hondas that you find.

Something to help understand what is happening in the Honda is a typical actuator for a casement window. This usually has a worm drive at the other end of the handle shaft and very loose tolerance in the way it is designed but you will notice a lot of 'play' when you switch from clockwise to counter clockwise rotation. It is an extreme case of the same thing but something that has "play" in our everyday world that we never think about.

So to sum up you should feel a little bit of backlash or play and it should be like other machines. If you are not sure get someone to check it.

Just as an aside the main reason gearboxes need disassembly is seal leakage. The seals have three lips and they trap sand and salt water in there which destroys the seal journals. It takes a decade or more and only if the plow leaves you a gift of sand and snow often.


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## sabresfan (Feb 25, 2015)

Thanks Dodge. I am probably a little overly concerned because I saw the previous owners driveway and when I started to disassemble the augers I noticed a lot of chipping and even some mild denting from rocks up the chute. I just hope this thing wasn't beat to sh*t.


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## Dodge (Sep 13, 2014)

*Dents. What Do They Mean?*

Often when you fire stuff up the chute, you hear it and wonder why didn't that shear a pin? It is because it did not actually stop motion, it went through. A rotational stop is when you see how close you can get to the deck stairs and you accidently hit the corner of the first step. 

I should add that whatever you hear going through the impeller and the chute is already past the point of stressing the gearbox. The gearbox only feels the load from the augers on either side. It supports the impeller shaft and that support is carried into the support strut on the 928 but it does not drive the impeller. It may catch a bit of shock load.

The augers turn at a relatively slow speed and are shear pin protected. 
The bearing that takes the most shock load is the one right behind the drive sheave. It is closest to the impeller. I have found them with the balls missing and working their way through the bearing retainer. That is the fist place I look for damage.


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