# HS80 refuses to move



## tallyman

My old Honda worked like a charm, however now it wont move. It is a tracked model. If I push it a little, it will go forward about 4 feet, then stop again, same in reverse, push then 4 feet ..... Also sometimes hear slight grinding sound. I think it is a gearbox problem, but the tear down looks awesome, and im a little conserned about taking it on.If i was sure what the proiblem could be, I will give it my best try. Any help is welcome!


----------



## Shryp

I believe the older Hondas were friction disc before they switched to hydros. I bet if you pull the bottom cover off you will find the rubber on your friction disc has a spot torn off of it and needs replaced. Every time you come to the missing piece you get a dead spot and have to give it a nudge.


----------



## [email protected]

All Honda HS80 units were friction disc types, with wheel or track drive. 

There were some changes starting with frame serial number 1100001 to the auger and starter motor, but the drive system was the same for the entire production run.

In the troubleshooting section of the shop manual, here are the "no go" areas to check:

• Friction disc outside diameter 149.7~150.3 mm, service limit is 148 mm
• Drive clutch cable out of adjustment
• Friction drive discs out of adjustment
• Oil on friction disc
• Friction disc worn/damaged
• Drive belt worn
• Subtranmission cable out of adjustment (track drive models)
• Loose fasteners (noise/vibration)

If you think you'll need to do extensive work, a paper shop manual is strongly suggested. Honda has them on their eBay store (free shipping) for $39. Here's a direct link: Honda HS55 HS80 55 80 Snow Blow Service Repair Shop Manual | eBay


----------



## snow80

I own an HS80 and mine would intermittently stop or refuse to move. The problem was the friction disc. It was contaminated with oil from a mouse nest that had oil in it. The grass and shredded paper/cloth of the nest picked up oil and spread it over the disc.

I removed the cover plate from the bottom, and got rid of the mouse nest. Then I wiped the metal transmission disc with a grease solvent. I cleaned the transmission disk with 3M green scrub pad to lightly give its polished surface some "bite." Then I cleaned the rubber of the wheel with alcohol (and very lightly rubbed it with the same green pad). I did measure the wheel to verify that it was within specs. I believe there was an adjustment (bolt with a spring attached to one end and a lock nut) that controlled the force that the wheel applied to the disc. I increased that force slightly.

I also recall reading some posts that said the transmission lever could wear in a way that prevented proper contact wheel to disc. (Pulling the lever out of one of the gear slots is what disconnects the drive wheel from the transmission disc.) Mine didn't suffer from that problem, but I looked closely at how the transmission lever on the handles worked relative to the disc/wheel contact force.

The boats.net site has a lot of info showing the exploded parts. That's what I used for help during disassembly.

If you do nothing else, just taking off the bottom plate and checking that the transmission disc is clean and the rubber wheel is OK will tell you a lot.

Good Luck.


----------



## tallyman

Thanks for the help. Im quite sure it isnt a friction disc problem , those parts seem to be workling fine. Think the problem is a stripped gear, or gear adjustment? This machine is quite old, and im sure not easy to dismantle!


----------



## snow80

tallyman said:


> Thanks for the help. Im quite sure it isnt a friction disc problem , those parts seem to be workling fine. Think the problem is a stripped gear, or gear adjustment? This machine is quite old, and im sure not easy to dismantle!


 The boats.net exploded parts list will show you the internals of the components that have gears if you want to tackle them:
Honda Snow Blower Parts HS80 TAS SNOW BLOWER, JPN, VIN# SA1-1000001 TRANSMISSION Diagram.

or you can look here:
Honda Snow Blower Parts HS80 TAS SNOW BLOWER, JPN, VIN# SA1-1000001 FRICTION DISK Diagram.

You should probably start by figuring out which one is causing the trouble.


----------



## snow80

This assembled view might help you understand how it all works:


----------



## tallyman

Snow 80 Yeah, its that wonderful transmission that makes me love/hate my Honda HS80. Think I may convert my simple old Yardman Snowbird 10/26 by adding a brand new {old} honda engine!


----------



## snow80

tallyman said:


> Snow 80 Yeah, its that wonderful transmission that makes me love/hate my Honda HS80.


I'm pretty happy with mine. The last storm it chewed through several areas of snow where the snow was 2-3" or more over the top of the bucket. Only the throw chute was visible. It kept right on chewing until it hit the street plow snow bank, and then I only had to back it up a few times to clear the first pass, then turn in the street and go back along the first cut to clean out the snow that had fallen behind the bucket during that pass. It looks pretty amazing with nothing but the thrower chute sticking up out of a smooth layer of snow.


----------



## MatteroFactor

tallyman said:


> My old Honda worked like a charm, however now it wont move. It is a tracked model. If I push it a little, it will go forward about 4 feet, then stop again, same in reverse, push then 4 feet ..... Also sometimes hear slight grinding sound. I think it is a gearbox problem, but the tear down looks awesome, and im a little conserned about taking it on.If i was sure what the proiblem could be, I will give it my best try. Any help is welcome!


Hey,... I have same model same exact problem... took it apart ... no fix yet...what was your result?


----------



## orangputeh

MatteroFactor said:


> Hey,... I have same model same exact problem... took it apart ... no fix yet...what was your result?


HEY!!!!!! this thread is from 8 years ago........

have you determined that the friction disk is engaging the drive wheel? if so, is there a grinding noise? we need a heck lot of info.....

i highly recommend you get the shop manual and make sure all cable adjustments are correct and check trouble-shooting section.


----------



## MatteroFactor

orangputeh said:


> HEY!!!!!! this thread is from 8 years ago........
> 
> have you determined that the friction disk is engaging the drive wheel? if so, is there a grinding noise? we need a heck lot of info.....
> 
> i highly recommend you get the shop manual and make sure all cable adjustments are correct and check trouble-shooting section.


the friction wheel engages and runs forwards in all gears and reverse in all gears. When engaged the friction wheel spins and the tracks roll. After a few feet everything stops and the the friction wheel shutters in place... if you push unit forward a bit the unit engages and drives a few more feet ... then stops again... I don’t know the issue yet


----------



## orangputeh

MatteroFactor said:


> the friction wheel engages and runs forwards in all gears and reverse in all gears. When engaged the friction wheel spins and the tracks roll. After a few feet everything stops and the the friction wheel shutters in place... if you push unit forward a bit the unit engages and drives a few more feet ... then stops again... I don’t know the issue yet


is the friction disk damaged? usually when I see this problem the first thing to check is the friction disk. part of it is missing. if not the problem may be in the sub transmission or the final gear drive box. 

any weird noises at all ?


----------



## MatteroFactor

I should say this is a 1982 HS80 track drive... the motor is great and sounds beautiful to me. The auger and thrower work perfectly. When the drive jams and shutters there is a terrible grinding sound abd the disks/wheels shutter


----------



## orangputeh

MatteroFactor said:


> I should say this is a 1982 HS80 track drive... the motor is great and sounds beautiful to me. The auger and thrower work perfectly. When the drive jams and shutters there is a terrible grinding sound abd the disks/wheels shutter


you'll have to take it to shop for diagnosis. hopefully they will have the parts need. many parts on the 80 are no longer available.


----------



## Northeast Dave

I'm no expert like my pal Orangputeh, but I would say it is a final gear issue, if the friction plate is clear than given the information you have shared I would remove the final gear and have a look. Yes, that means tearing down just about everything below the engine.


----------



## orangputeh

Northeast Dave said:


> I'm no expert like my pal Orangputeh, but I would say it is a final gear issue, if the friction plate is clear than given the information you have shared I would remove the final gear and have a look. Yes, that means tearing down just about everything below the engine.


Believe it or not I have never torn down the final drive on a 50-55-70-80 since the parts are no longer available. So will be looking forward to your play by play in that regard.

Have serviced/rebuilt final drives or the right side tranny gearbox on about 10 hydrostatic models since parts are readily available.


----------



## cpchriste

A possiblity: See that bolt head on the middle left side of the picture in post 7? That bolt attaches to an extension spring that pulls the friction disk and wheel together. If the bolt length is maladjusted or the spring is missing, then you'll have little/no contact force and they will slip.


----------

