# Side Skid Shoes Installation



## nZone (Feb 19, 2015)

Just as the title said. What direction do you install the bolt? If I have the bolt head outside the auger housing, I'm afraid I don't have enough clearance. I'm intended to use stainless steel 5/16 3/4" bolts.


----------



## Toro-8-2-4 (Dec 28, 2013)

Generally these are carriage type bolts(but don't have to be) and the square feature goes into the bucket housing from the inside. Assuming there is a square hole to accommodate it. The nut goes on the outside.

You can buy stainless steel carriage bolts at any decent sized hardware store. Stores near a boat marina always have a decent inventory of stainless hardware.


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Nuts go outside so the auger doesn't catch on them. And Carriage bolts on the inside since the flat head doesn't stick out so much.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

:iagree: Usually the bolt isn't long enough to stick out past the skid.


----------



## nZone (Feb 19, 2015)

Thanks guys. I bought some from Lowes. The bolt head is pentagon shape.


----------



## Toro-8-2-4 (Dec 28, 2013)

You will be fine. The total height on a Hex (6 sided) head bolt is not much different if at all from the carriage bolt which has a round spherical shaped head. You probably have plenty of clearance to even add a washer if you wanted.
Good Luck.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

The reason they use carriage bolts instead of hex head bolts is so you only need one wrench to loosen, adjust and then tighten the skid back down. If your using hex head bolts you'll always have to grab two wrenches to do the adjustment. The carriage bolt head being rounded also doesn't allow for anything to get hung up on it the way something frozen might be able to jam against the flats of the hex head. One in a million something like a frozen newspaper jams between the end of the auger coming down and the bolt head but it's just one less thing that can happen.
It's not a big thing but the carriage bolt is more convenient.


----------



## RacingSims (Dec 22, 2015)

What are you using for a measurement from scraper bar to driveway? I was thinking of leaving 1/8" gap in mine or are you going right to the driveway surface.


----------



## ELaw (Feb 4, 2015)

RacingSims said:


> What are you using for a measurement from scraper bar to driveway? I was thinking of leaving 1/8" gap in mine or are you going right to the driveway surface.


I use the thickness of whatever piece of corrugated cardboard I can find nearby. :icon_whistling:

Which usually works out to about 1/8"...


----------



## RacingSims (Dec 22, 2015)

ELaw said:


> I use the thickness of whatever piece of corrugated cardboard I can find nearby. :icon_whistling:
> 
> Which usually works out to about 1/8"...


 
Funny I did the exact thing and estimated the 1/8" when I typed it. Thanks


----------



## Svenster (Dec 23, 2010)

I use paint stir sticks which are about 1/8" in thickness. I use 3 of them, one on each end of the scraper bar and one in the middle of the scraper bar, then adjust the skids so they touch the floor.


----------



## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Svenster said:


> I use paint stir sticks which are about 1/8" in thickness. I use 3 of them, one on each end of the scraper bar and one in the middle of the scraper bar, then adjust the skids so they touch the floor.


+1
I've used paint sticks for years. Never really considered using anything else after the first time.


----------



## raptorchris (Aug 31, 2015)

The new HSS has round holes in the bucket, not square, so carriage bolts won't work in this instance.


----------



## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

raptorchris said:


> The new HSS has round holes in the bucket, not square, so carriage bolts won't work in this instance.


I've never seen a Honda with square holes for side mounted skids, unless someone made them.
They usually have ~8mm round holes with square nuts (8mmx1.25) welded on the inside, plain ~8mm holes or they are not drilled.
If you have to drill the holes you certainly have options, you can either drill ~8mm holes and install standard bolts, or you can drill and file square holes and fit carriage bolts (the auger housing is 16 gauge metal so the bolts will need to have a very short "square" section). Either way I would recommend installing reinforcement plates on the inside (like what comes on Honda HD skids kit) to strenghten the auger housing side.


----------



## nZone (Feb 19, 2015)

Bought some 5/16 carriage bolts today, but the square did not fit the hole. I'll try the 1/4 carriage tomorrow.


----------



## SnowG (Dec 5, 2014)

nZone said:


> Bought some 5/16 carriage bolts today, but the square did not fit the hole. I'll try the 1/4 carriage tomorrow.


1/4" will be too small and the square section is too deep for the 16 gage metal. 5/16" is the proper size (imperial conversion) it equals 7.9375mm.

But you should not use a carriage bolt unless you have a square hole. You'd be better off with an 8mm (or 5/16") hex head bolt. The clearance will be no problem and it will fit better against the bucket housing. Use large washers on both sides, too.


----------



## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

I've just used a file to make square holes from round holes. Here is one I made in my chute.


----------



## SnowG (Dec 5, 2014)

Seriously dbert you're an artist.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

That or if you're lazy like someone I know :icon_whistling: you put the carriage bolt in and then use a stack of 5, 6, ... washers on the other side and with a nut, tighten down the nut pulling the square part of the carriage bolt through the formerly round hole.
Then file a little to smooth any rough or sharp edges.

I like dbert's way but I don't think I'd have the patience unless I was only doing one or two. :blush:


----------



## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

It's easier than it looks. But I have now made my share of square holes. I remember my first. I was installing a new system on an airplane and it included adding a couple of what we call "push button annunciators". Like this (not this, but like this).








This would have been a long time ago. I asked the guy I was working with how we were supposed to make the square holes. He showed me and I have been fileing round holes into square holes every since. I'll bet it took me under a minute, maybe two to do these small ones for carriage bolts.


----------



## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)




----------



## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

That's exactly the way I would roll - why not go stainless as long as your at it! No point in letting rust getting in the way of quick/easy adjustments later on....


----------



## AesonVirus (Aug 24, 2015)

I just installed a set of Honda Commercial Side Skids this weekend. Before these were installed, tilting the machine forward into "scrape mode" caused the bucket sides and augers to hit the ground. With the sides installed, I can now put all the weight on the front end and no longer worry about damaging the bucket and/or augers.
I installed them so my machine would track easier in a straight line but I'm even happier with how they will protect the front end from accidental wear and tear.


----------



## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

Installed the toro side skids on the 1132, these are the same design as the honda ones but are a bit wider and beefier. These were installed with custom spacers to go between the housing. The mounting holes are not at the same spot as honda commercial skids but this housing didnt have any holes to begin with hence it didnt really matter as new holes are to accommodate these particular skids.


----------



## nZone (Feb 19, 2015)

AesonVirus said:


> I just installed a set of Honda Commercial Side Skids this weekend. Before these were installed, tilting the machine forward into "scrape mode" caused the bucket sides and augers to hit the ground. With the sides installed, I can now put all the weight on the front end and no longer worry about damaging the bucket and/or augers.
> I installed them so my machine would track easier in a straight line but I'm even happier with how they will protect the front end from accidental wear and tear.


Is this for your new HSS? Do you use hex bolts? I don't want to start "modding" on a brand new machine just to fit a 5/16 carriage bolts.


----------



## AesonVirus (Aug 24, 2015)

nZone said:


> Is this for your new HSS? Do you use hex bolts? I don't want to start "modding" on a brand new machine just to fit a 5/16 carriage bolts.


Yup... installed on a brand new HSS928ATD. I used the hardware that Honda supplied and they bolted right up to the preexisting holes. I didn't personally see the need for square holes or carriage bolts.
They took all of a minute or two to install.


----------



## tonysak (Dec 24, 2013)

AesonVirus said:


> Yup... installed on a brand new HSS928ATD. I used the hardware that Honda supplied and they bolted right up to the preexisting holes. I didn't personally see the need for square holes or carriage bolts.
> They took all of a minute or two to install.


I have a hss1332, with rear skid mounts. The bolts are welded into the bucket so I can't reuse them. Any idea what size they were? 12mm maybe?


----------



## SB83 (Dec 15, 2015)

Yes, 12mm. Why not use both and spread the weight loading? I set mine to equally distribute the weight in the normal resting position, which will still fully weight the fronts in the max down position. Works great.


----------



## tonysak (Dec 24, 2013)

Ill try it thanks. On my hs1332 i only had the 2 upfront and it worked. Makes no difference to me if i dont remove the rear ones. I'm not going to adjust all 4 as they go those. I had the poly ones on the side and they showed no wear after 2 years.

edit: you saved me some time at the hardware store!


----------



## Pusher Man (Jan 1, 2016)

I bought both the regular and commercial skids. The regular ones are about 1/8 inch thick. The commercial skids are about 1/2 inch thick. So thick I'm guessing you could go 10 miles before showing wear. You fellow Honda owners in the DC and Baltimore area will be able to give their machines a good workout. Weathermen are saying even if this storm fizzles out you'll be receiving 18 inches and on the other end 3 feet or more, possibly more with ocean effect additions. I've heard mention this will be a historic storm which hasn't been seen before.


----------



## AesonVirus (Aug 24, 2015)

That city got a dusting the other day and it practically shut them down. They're telling residents to expect to be on your own for a week before things are up and running again.
In my area, 18-36" means I work from home for one day and get pizza takeout for dinner.


----------



## tonysak (Dec 24, 2013)

Did any of you guys notice the weight of the blower housing causing the scraper bar height to be lower in the center?


----------



## SB83 (Dec 15, 2015)

That's always been the case with Honda blowers I think. They've added some center bracing but I'm still seeing a little bowing in my new HSS928. 

I sandwiched some 1/8" UHMW under my scraper and I get a nice clean sweep right down to the pavement. I love this stuff


----------



## HS724TAS (Jan 27, 2016)

SB83 said:


> That's always been the case with Honda blowers I think. They've added some center bracing but I'm still seeing a little bowing in my new HSS928.
> 
> I sandwiched some 1/8" UHMW under my scraper and I get a nice clean sweep right down to the pavement. I love this stuff


This looks like a great idea! Really want to give it a go. I had some minor scraping on my pavers over the weekend with this big storm we had. Could you share the height dimension of the uhmw? 1/8" thick by 24 wide (depending on model) and how tall? Those side skids look like a nice upgrade as well. 
Thanks!


----------



## Zero1 (Jan 26, 2016)

Could you please share where you purchased this? Thank you


----------

