# Heavy Duty Skid Shoes on HS928WAS



## KpaxFAQ (Aug 30, 2014)

Got my heavy duty skid shoes installed on my HS928WAS today. There's alot of uneven sidewalks and pavement in my area and thought these would be just the trick. As you can see in the second pic, You need to shim the shoes out to clear the factory bolt holding the adjustment of the scraper bar. 

Also hit every single nut and bolt I could find, drive axles, and auger shaft with AMSoil HD Metal Protector. 

Got brand new snows put on both cars, I think I'm ready for winter! Hoping to be snow champ of USA again!


----------



## tinter (Apr 20, 2014)

Nothing finer than a shiny Honda.


----------



## Oracle (Oct 8, 2014)

That looks new! Seems you're ready


----------



## KpaxFAQ (Aug 30, 2014)

I cannot wait for it to snow, I do construction and am often off for up to a month or more in the winter and I will be doing as much sidewalk and neighbor's driveways as possible


----------



## wdb (Dec 15, 2013)

Subscribed. I've been considering those. I'll be interested to hear what you think of them after a few snowfalls.


----------



## EarthWindandFire (Nov 11, 2014)

KpaxFAQ,

Ironically, I was just watching the ad that appeared at the top of the forum for these shoes and was thinking about buying them. Please report back after you've tried them out for a few snow storms. Another forum member (tonysak) wasn't all too pleased with how these mounted to his HS1332 and said so in a review posted here. I'm gonna hold off buying them until more information is available.


----------



## KpaxFAQ (Aug 30, 2014)

I just did 14 inches of sopping wet heavy snow and 20+inch at EOD wet snow and the Honda just ate it up! I did a bunch of stuff for neighbors too who were out-matched and had to stay on my toes not to hit houses and stuff this thing throws so far  

The skids worked excellent, my blower got very close to the pavement and they just rode up at little on the EOD stuff but another pass or two usually fixed that. 

Changed the oil to AMSoil 0W-30 signature series after the first 2 hours of this hard blowing as the engine was heavily loaded the whole time...perfect for break in. The oil had lots of visible break-in metal in it so I'm glad I drained. I'll do it once more after another 2-3 hours and then go the rest of the season on the next fill.

The Honda doesn't seem like it was that expensive anymore....


----------



## tinter (Apr 20, 2014)

Quality pays!


----------



## EarthWindandFire (Nov 11, 2014)

My Honda is brand new also and I drained the oil after four hours. It didn't have any metal "pieces" just a cloudy metallic haze suspended in the oil. Tomorrow my new magnetic dip stick will be here. I chose the magnetic dip stick vs the magnetic drain plug because of the frequency at which the dip stick would be checked. People would look at the dip stick all the time but how often do we remove the drain plug, maybe once per year?

Edit: I bought the magnetic dip stick from Gold Plug.


----------



## KpaxFAQ (Aug 30, 2014)

EarthWindandFire said:


> My Honda is brand new also and I drained the oil after four hours. It didn't have any metal "pieces" just a cloudy metallic haze suspended in the oil. Tomorrow my new magnetic dip stick will be here. I chose the magnetic dip tick vs the magnetic drain plug because of the frequency at which the dip stick would be checked. People would look at the dip stick all the time but how often do we remove the drain plug, maybe once per year?


Exactly the best way to describe it...a haze. Exactly what I had. Nice idea on the dipstick. 

I want to add a nice dedicated hour meter on it tied into the power from the headlight, I won't buy one of the disposable non-replaceable battery ones. I'll probably do that at the same time I make the power supply for the LED headlight and tie right into the DC coming out of there.


----------



## [email protected] (Nov 21, 2011)

I'd like to invite KpaxFAQ to share his experiences on the Honda brand page; there's a link where anyone can leave a review; click to open link:


----------



## yarcraftman (Jan 30, 2014)

I was considering a pair of those Armor Skids as well for my new HS724 WA but did not see them listed on the site. In fact, I emailed the gentleman who runs the site back in April about whether they were available and never heard back.

I have a few uneven surfaces but think I am going to try the stock skids first for this season. I decided to spring for the headlight on the 724 as well; hopefully I like it. It's at the dealer just waiting to be prepped; thank goodness no measurable snow yet in Detroit. I would like to get it though and put a coat of wax on it before the snow flies.

Have a great weekend guys.


----------



## [email protected] (Nov 21, 2011)

KpaxFAQ said:


> I cannot wait for it to snow, I do construction and am often off for up to a month or more in the winter and I will be doing as much sidewalk and neighbor's driveways as possible


----------



## KpaxFAQ (Aug 30, 2014)

[email protected] said:


>


Amen Robert! Off to a good start


----------



## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

Thanks for the info, your machine looks great. I just ordered a pair of those skids yesterday as well for my HS624. Even though the auger housing looks identical to yours but it does not have the predrilled/tapped holes for the side skids. I am going to be drilling a couple of holes to mount the skids. 

One quick favor to ask, if you could kindly post the mounting hole measurements, I'd really appreciate it.

I need the following measurements if feasible. 
1) Distance of rear mounting hole from the bolt that holds the scrapper plate in place. 
2) Distance between the two actual mounting holes.
3) Height of mounting hole from the bottom of the housing. 

Again, thank you in advance if you could kindly get me these measurements.


----------



## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

Anybody try installing the runner under the mouth? Drill a hole for the scraper bar bolt head and tuck the shoes under the sides or it just won't fit.


----------



## Dedeno (Dec 29, 2013)

JnC here is what I collected for you. I think you will be ok to fit a skid on your HS624. See photo and sketch attached.

Best Regards


----------



## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

^^ Awesome, brotha, thank you so much, this takes out any guessing that there would have been involved.

Also, from the first picture, it seems like you have one of the shown drift breaker/cover installed on the housing, if thats so, any idea where I can get one of them? The only drift breaker kit available in the US is bar type.

This is the one that I have in mind.


----------



## KpaxFAQ (Aug 30, 2014)

You guys rock, I was about to grab a tape measure and saw the next post!


----------



## Dedeno (Dec 29, 2013)

You have good eyes!

Yes in fact I purchased with the Honda a drift breaker cover (but it is more a bucket extension from my point of view). This is a full bolt-on cover, no holes to do on the Honda bucket. I like that!

It was sold by my Honda dealer in Canada. Got it for 138 $CAD. 

It is made by a Canadian firm called *Gripo* that sold snow and wood equipments. Never heard of them before that purchase. They are not offering this cover on the net as of today to my knowledge.

For your information, later in the winter, I added what I think is really drift breaker. The picture attached show everything.


----------



## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

Wow, I am equally impressed by the dolly and the shroud. 

Any chance you can guide me how to acquire the shroud kit? I have family in Toronto and I go up there every 3 months or so, wouldnt mind having the kit shipped their if the seller cant/dont ship to the US.


----------



## Dedeno (Dec 29, 2013)

You can try to contact a Honda Dealer in Toronto, maybe they have this option for the snowblower. Mine was sold at parts counter in the dealer and described as a "Deflector B13". Again, manufacturer is Gripo.

I found this web site with limited English content. No trace of this parts.
Gripo

Good luck.

P.S. Dolly was a summer project dedicated for the snowblower... HeavyDuty was the moto 1000 lbs capacity! No pain to move around in the garage and do maintenance on the snowblower now.


----------



## tinter (Apr 20, 2014)

According to my local Honda dealer, the bucket extension is no longer available. So I just made drift cutters for mine. There is a Canadian site that does apparently have the extension, I'll look it up and repost.


----------



## tinter (Apr 20, 2014)

#1 Honda Snowblower Snow Thrower Parts Canada they are on this page.


----------



## Shredsled (Nov 17, 2014)

Just gotta say, much obliged for those hole measurements!!! I'll be needing to drill holes for the side skids on my HS1132tas. I've just got the factory side skid kit though, no armorskids.

Oh, and that hood extension looks primo!! Please let me know if you order one and it goes through! Really hope so. I'd pay that price to limit snow over the housing.


----------



## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

Dedeno - Thank you for the info, through gripo's site I was able to find a dealer in Ontario, tried emailing them but the email got returned. I plan to call them today and see what they suggest. 

Tinto- Thanks, bud. If I cant find the gripo kit then I'll be sure to purchase the one you suggested. 

Shredsled - Exactly my idea with the hood extension kit. The way my driveway is situated, after a good storm, I can have snow piled up as high as 3 feet in front of the driveway. The extension would limit the snow from falling back on the shroud/chute.


----------



## KpaxFAQ (Aug 30, 2014)

tinter said:


> #1 Honda Snowblower Snow Thrower Parts Canada they are on this page.


Is the bucket extension for the 828 interchangeable with the 928? I didn't see any 928 specific parts.


----------



## Dedeno (Dec 29, 2013)

JnC, give us the feed back about your approach with the Ontario dealer. I'm curious to see if you can get the bucket extension easily. I hate to see good product difficult to get for consumer... there is so much cheapo stuf available everywhere!


----------



## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

Dedeno said:


> JnC, give us the feed back about your approach with the Ontario dealer. I'm curious to see if you can get the bucket extension easily. I hate to see good product difficult to get for consumer... there is so much cheapo stuf available everywhere!



I will, plan on calling them today; also, did the drift breaker bars come with the auger housing extension?


----------



## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

Just checked with the ON dealer, he said that gripo does not make any accessories for the honda snow blowers . They do carry full line of gripo products but no mention of the said deflector kit.


----------



## Shredsled (Nov 17, 2014)

JnC said:


> Just checked with the ON dealer, he said that gripo does not make any accessories for the honda snow blowers . They do carry full line of gripo products but no mention of the said deflector kit.




Did you try purchasing the hood on their site in that link? I can easily add it to my cart, but did not follow through with a check-out procedure.


----------



## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

Shredsled said:


> Did you try purchasing the hood on their site in that link? I can easily add it to my cart, but did not follow through with a check-out procedure.



I havent yet, still trying to see if I can get the kit posted by Dedeno. Good news is that the site that tinter linked ships to the US as well as Canada .


----------



## Shredsled (Nov 17, 2014)

JnC said:


> I havent yet, still trying to see if I can get the kit posted by Dedeno. Good news is that the site that tinter linked ships to the US as well as Canada .



I placed an order on the site last night. Site said free shipping on orders over $75 but it wouldn't let me check out with free shipping on this hood extension. So I said what the **** and upgraded shipping to the $14.99 charge and it let the order and payment go through. Have received and order confirmation email, but no confirmation of shipping or anything further.


----------



## Dedeno (Dec 29, 2013)

JnC, no the drift breaker bars were added by myself. I purchased an Ariens drift bar kit that can be easily fitted on the hood extension. I just had to do the holes for them.


----------



## superedge88 (Nov 26, 2013)

I'm very interested in this bucket extension, I'll be following this thread!


----------



## Dedeno (Dec 29, 2013)

Me too! Since the beginning I'm wondering why it is soo difficult to find accurate informations about this bucket extension... I just wrote to the manufacturer (Gripo) an inquiry about their product availability... but do not raise expectations... seems to be difficult to reach (no phone number, 300 characters only for e-mails!). I'll keep you informed on this.


----------



## Shredsled (Nov 17, 2014)

I see photos of these buckets on some Swedish models as well. Not sure if this was a dealer option or what...
Fingers crossed my order goes through and I get shipping confirmation! Knock on wood.


----------



## superedge88 (Nov 26, 2013)

Shredsled said:


> I see photos of these buckets on some Swedish models as well. Not sure if this was a dealer option or what...
> Fingers crossed my order goes through and I get shipping confirmation! Knock on wood.


Eagerly awaiting an update from you, I think I'll order one if you have success.


----------



## tinter (Apr 20, 2014)

Want to see pictures when you get them.


----------



## Shredsled (Nov 17, 2014)

tinter said:


> Want to see pictures when you get them.


So do I!
Sorry this thread got so far off track. I just received another order confirmation from c-equip saying my order will ship in 2-3 days due to a back order. So let's see if it is fulfilled! I will create a separate thread about it when/if I receive it.


----------



## slick_cl (Nov 19, 2014)

Can't wait to see the bucket extension from C Equipment, they are located close to me so I will definitely get one if it's decent.


----------



## Drift-King (Jul 29, 2015)

The mag-dipstick sounds great, may I ask where you got yours? Thanks


----------



## Drift-King (Jul 29, 2015)

Dedeno: love the shroud, can you provide any details on the great dolly you made? Thanks


----------

