# One More Shoeless Honda



## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

One more shoeless honda:icon_blue_very_sad:

 *Honda Snowblower HS624 *


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## tinter (Apr 20, 2014)

And they still want top dollar for it! Unbelievable.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Here is another one... :facepalm_zpsdj194qh
 928 shoeless honda 

















Look closely to the auger housing and augers.


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## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

I don't know what "shoeless" means and I don't know what to look for between the housing and the auger. Please explain, if you don't mind answering stupid questions...


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

E350 said:


> I don't know what "shoeless" means and I don't know what to look for between the housing and the auger. Please explain, if you don't mind answering stupid questions...


"shoeless" means without auger housing skid shoes.
This is an example of a new auger housing with the skid shoes in place.








Look at the shape of the side of the auger housing and the augers to compare to the one on the add.








Notice that the bottom of the ager housing is grounded off along with the serrated part of the augers.
This happens when the blower is used without the skid shoes, or when the skid shoes wear out and are never adjusted properly or replaced.


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## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

*hsblowersfan*: Good to know. So I am considering buying this one. I assume that I need to also buy shoes for it. Doesn't Honda incude the shoes when you buy the machine or are they an "accessory?"


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## ZOMGVTEK (Sep 25, 2014)

Shoes are included with all blowers. They are supposed to wear, which means they need to be adjusted and replaced occasionally. If they're not replaced when they're worn, the bucket starts to drag and wear. Once the bucket wears enough, the augers hit the ground and start to wear. This is not exactly a reversible process. Typically new material needs to be welded on for the shoes to be bolted up to. The old shoes, and where they were bolted is gone.

Basically, shoes being worn badly enough for the bucket or augers to scrape just means the owner is negligent.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

E350 said:


> *hsblowersfan*: Good to know. So I am considering buying this one. I assume that I need to also buy shoes for it. Doesn't Honda incude the shoes when you buy the machine or are they an "accessory?"


The skid shoes are part of the blower (they are by no means an accesory - although you can buy IMO "better" aftermarket design skid shoes).
This blower DOES have shoes on it, if you look at the right angle you can see them (different design than the newer ones shown on my previous picture).
Is there a picture that shows the augers condition?
You should also watch this video:




Besides his checklist I would check for:
1. If the augers are not seized to the gearbox because if they are they are a real pain to free up (been there twice and still am with a few blowers).
2. Condition af the serrated part of the augers.
3. Condition of the tracks (no cracks)
4. Track wheels free from shafts, if they are they are real hard to remove (been there twice)
If any other member would like to add something to this you are more than welcome.


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## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

Compare with the side of the auger housing from the Honda website. Am I correct that the three holes for the shoes have been trimmed off in the craigslist ad picture I posted above to provide a better appearance?











Using the zoom function you can really see the difference on the auger housing side from the Honda website:

http://powerequipment.honda.com/snowblowers/models/hs928ta

Also from the Honda website, a HS928 with shoes:










"Learning to see" is the hardest part of any new endeavor. This has been a very instructive thread for at least me so far. Thank you guys.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

*E350*,
As far as I can tell, the auger housing is damaged at the bottom (been scraped off / neglected), reason why I would like to see a picture that shows the augers, because I think they may have some damage.
The auger housing from the honda site is a newer design with the option for installing side skid shoes (the 2 holes at the bottom are for that purpose).
I think the older auger housing design (like the one on the CL add that you are showing) doesn't have the 2 holes on the side of the auger housing for bolting the side skid shoes, so they are not missing (but it sure has damage to it).


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## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

I have asked for pictures of the augers in the HS928 for the craigslist ad I posted above.

But I have noticed in most of the craigslist ads, even the ones that ask for $2000-$2500 for the HS1132's, that the bottom front of the auger is most often "mysteriously" cropped off in the picture (or the photo was "inadvertently" taken that way). 

Now that you guys have educated me. I ask, how can you spend $3000 on a machine and not realize that you should not be scraping and grinding down the bottom of the auger case like that!?! I mean it must have been sold with shoes on it. And the machine must have come with an owner's manual.


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

Many homeowners with paved driveways want the driveway cleaned down to bare pavement. Doing this will destroy a Honda snowblower, especially if it's used in scrape mode with the rear mounted shoes.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

94EG8 said:


> Many homeowners with paved driveways want the driveway cleaned down to bare pavement. Doing this will destroy a Honda snowblower, especially if it's used in scrape mode with the rear mounted shoes.


+1 with that.
I think it may even be worse if it is a wheel blower instead of a track blower, as it would just pivot on the wheel and dive on the front.
I think *side auger skids* properly adjusted would be your *"best friends"* to keep the catastrophic failure from happening (although IMO they are only an option on honda blowers).


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

I'm not saying that there is not neglect/ damage done, but could this be an early model with the rear mounted shoes?


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

db9938 said:


> I'm not saying that there is not neglect/ damage done, but could this be an early model with the rear mounted shoes?


If you are refering to the pictre of the tracked 928 on CL (that he is or was considering buying), yes, it is indeed an older model wth those style shoes (I had 2 HS928 like that and have 3 HS828 with the older design). If you look at the picture at the right angle you can see that the skid shoe is there.


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