# What do you think about this Honda HS55 for sale? $375



## NiMH (Oct 27, 2020)

Links:
*Honda 2 stage snow blower*
*Honda Snowblower*

I am interested in these units but since I am new to snow blowers I do not know what to look at when inspecting this in person.

One appears to be at a shop so I want to make sure who ever tuned it didn't patch it up just to push it out the door for it to fail on me with the first snow fall.

Is there anything I should pay attention to with this model and do you pros think this is a fair price?


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## 140278 (Aug 27, 2020)

welcome to sbf

Hondas are a good buy esp, the track drive models for which 400 dollars isn't a bad price, but wait a bit this site has many good Honda wizzes who will see this post st1100a is a Honda dealer tech orangputeh is a used machine seller


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

Orangputeh would be a good person to talk with on the value of them, he is pretty familiar with that model.


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## NiMH (Oct 27, 2020)

Awesome, thank you guys!


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Welcome to SBF NiMH

I'm not the Honda guy so hopefully one will drop in. I did try to open the links and they wouldn't. Are they still good ?


.


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## NiMH (Oct 27, 2020)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Welcome to SBF NiMH
> 
> I'm not the Honda guy so hopefully one will drop in. I did try to open the links and they wouldn't. Are they still good ?
> 
> ...


Thank you for pointing that out, the links were configured incorrectly, they work now.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I would want to get a better photo of that second machine's bucket. For some reason it seems Honda track owners have a tendency to grind down the bottom of the bucket due to not realizing they need to adjust the skids. To me from the poor angle it seems that bucket might be a victim. That and it looks like this machine might have had serrated augers and they appear ground down also. Better photos before you make the trip unless it's close IMHO.
There is a thread on here where it showed a member doing an excellent job of welding in patches, grinding and painting to both sides of a Honda bucket but I'm not sure that's something you'd want to pay to have done.
I'd link it but I can't find it. 


.


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## NiMH (Oct 27, 2020)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> I would want to get a better photo of that second machine's bucket. For some reason it seems Honda track owners have a tendency to grind down the bottom of the bucket due to not realizing they need to adjust the skids. To me from the poor angle it seems that bucket might be a victim. That and it looks like this machine might have had serrated augers and they appear ground down also. Better photos before you make the trip unless it's close IMHO.
> There is a thread on here where it showed a member doing an excellent job of welding in patches, grinding and painting to both sides of a Honda bucket but I'm not sure that's something you'd want to pay to have done.
> I'd link it but I can't find it.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the advice on the bucket. I'm not much of a welder so I would pass on a job like that. Good point on the auger, it does look pretty ground down especially if you look at the link for the other HS55.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

NiMH said:


> Thank you for the advice on the bucket. I'm not much of a welder so I would pass on a job like that. Good point on the auger, it does look pretty ground down especially if you look at the link for the other HS55.


I love the older Honda HS55 tracked machines. a couple questions for you.

are you mechanical?
are you a snowblower maniac?

the reason I ask is this machine is about 35-37 years old and not all parts are available from Honda or aftermarket sources. okay for me because I have parts machines out back to scavenge parts.

no longer available. tracks, augers, chute, auger gearbox. auger housing, cables, final drive gearbox parts and more.
ebay may have some of these parts but you better be a doctor or lawyer to afford them.

you may be better off getting a Honda with a hydrostatic tranny. all parts are available for the Honda HS624-724-828-928-1132 and 1332. 

The older Honda HS50-55-70-80 with the manual 4 speed trannies have parts availability issues. I sell them to people but fully disclose this fact . Plus I have most of the parts they would need if something breaks ( job security LOL )

That all said. If you use the machine properly and take care of it, store indoors etc. there is a good chance these older machines can last a very long time. There are thousands of them still working all over the world.


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## NiMH (Oct 27, 2020)

I am mechanical and I am a maniac, just not a snow blower maniac, jk lol.

Thank you for the advice on the parts availability. That's a pretty big deal, if these units don't have much life left in them then its not worth it. I think I will check out the non-tracked HS55, since Kiss4aFrog mentioned the tracked model might have a worn out bucket and auger.

*So I will be looking at: *

1. The bucket for wear

2. The auger for grinding and no serrated edges

What about engine and transmission wise?


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## LargeRichard (12 mo ago)

orangputeh said:


> I love the older Honda HS55 tracked machines. a couple questions for you.
> 
> are you mechanical?
> are you a snowblower maniac?
> ...


I have recently picked up a hs 55 serial number 1104947 and I need an auger tensioner pulley assembly. Help and thanks LR


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## Northeast Dave (Apr 29, 2020)

Just my 2 cents on the “older” Honda blowers:
1. They function extremely well.
2. They are very well built machines.
3. They can be an absolute bear to work on (no quick fixes in the driveway)
4. No grease zerks on the auger flights. Gotta grease ‘em and spin ‘em every year.
5. Parts are hard to find and expensive
6. Not a machine for a novice mechanic to strip and restore. You need a manual and you need to know what you’re doing.

You can do some research on this site regarding issues and questions with these machines. It boils down to you. Is it a good machine or bad machine really comes down to your abilities and comfort level.


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## Toon (May 11, 2021)

Having rebuilt a HS50 last year I offer these insights.
Don't do it unless you have access to spare parts. (A good donor machine)
The machine is well built and blows snow well but if you can't find the parts to fix it when it breaks you will be in trouble.
The one I rebuilt was in bad shape and cost me about $750 Canadian to rebuild in parts alone. That would be about $300 US  
It now runs like a champ but if it were to suck up a frozen newspaper the damage could be difficult and expensive, if not impossible to correct.
Having said that if you are an antique lover, have a go at it and if you do, myself and others on this site will help you in any way we can with repair information.
I would look for a newer model that is still supported with spare parts from the factory.








Good luck.


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## LenD (Nov 17, 2020)

Ya do know this thread is over a year old?


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## Toon (May 11, 2021)

LenD said:


> Ya do know this thread is over a year old?


Too funny. Apparently I didn’t pay attention to the date of the original post. Thanks for the heads up


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## LargeRichard (12 mo ago)

Toon said:


> Having rebuilt a HS50 last year I offer these insights.
> Don't do it unless you have access to spare parts. (A good donor machine)
> The machine is well built and blows snow well but if you can't find the parts to fix it when it breaks you will be in trouble.
> The one I rebuilt was in bad shape and cost me about $750 Canadian to rebuild in parts alone. That would be about $300 US
> ...


Thanks so much for your info I picked this one up for $60 so not a huge investment. It’s in pretty good shape otherwise so Ill hang on to it for a bit and continue my quest for that assembly. Thanks again. Oh btw nice restoration looks beautiful


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

I love the 55. My second favorite after the 80.


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## Northeast Dave (Apr 29, 2020)

LenD said:


> Ya do know this thread is over a year old?


D'oh!
That's what I get for sorting by new.


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## LargeRichard (12 mo ago)

Toon said:


> Having rebuilt a HS50 last year I offer these insights.
> Don't do it unless you have access to spare parts. (A good donor machine)
> The machine is well built and blows snow well but if you can't find the parts to fix it when it breaks you will be in trouble.
> The one I rebuilt was in bad shape and cost me about $750 Canadian to rebuild in parts alone. That would be about $300 US
> ...


Unbelievable I found the part on eBay! A seller had one for the lower serial numbers and I sent him a note just to ask if he might possibly have the higher numbered part and incredibly he did! So psyched to put her together. Maybe it’s fate and I should keep her . Thanks for all your help and advice. LR


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## Toon (May 11, 2021)

Congratulations it’s satisfying to get a machine back up and running. Enjoy


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