You should change the oil in your snow blower at least once a year.  If you own a Honda you really ought to change it because their engines will last a long time if you take care of them.  Changing the oil in anything might seem daunting to some people but it’s really not that bad.  Here’s how to do it…

How to Change the Oil on Honda Harmony HS 520 Snow Blower

Equipment:

• Honda Harmony HS 520 Snow Blower, Model HS520A

Parts Needed:

• 1 quart (32 oz) of SAE 5W-30 motor oil

Tools Needed:

• 12mm socket and ratchet (if you don’t have a good socket set get a highly rated one here)
• bucket to catch the old oil
• Funnel
  (nice but not necessary)

Step 1: Run the snow blower a few minutes to warm up the engine and oil so it will all drain out nicely.

I probably only ran mine for a couple minutes.  If you are going to change the oil you should try to change all of the oil and by warming up the engine is lowers the viscosity of the oil and it drains out easier.

Step 2: I sat my snow blower on a 5-gallon bucket to get it up in the air a bit so I could easily put a bucket under the drain plug.

I’m sure most people probably don’t do this but I’m tall and that drain plug is pretty low so I wanted to raise it up a bit.  It was difficult to get it to balance on the bucket though.  This snow blower is heavy so be careful if you lift it.

I sat my snow blower on a bucket to make it easier to catch the waste oil

Step 3: Place a bucket under the drain plug and remove the drain plug bolt.

It is a 12-mm hex-head and is located here:

Oil drain plug location

I used a ratchet and socket but you could use a plain old wrench too:

Loosening the oil drain plug

I found that the oil will run down the frame and pour a little closer to the underneath of the snow blower than you might expect so adjust the location of your bucket to avoid a spill.

Draining the oil

Take out the dip stick once you get it draining to allow air to be drawn as the oil drains out and for all the oil to drain out faster:

Dip Stick Location

I took the dip stick out to allow it to drain faster

Step 4: Allow all the oil to drain out.

You may need to tip the snow blower back towards the handles in order to get it all to drain out.  Don’t sweat about every drop but just allow it to drain till it’s not coming out in a stream.

Step 5: Reinstall the drain plug.

Make sure to start it by hand so you can be careful not to cross-thread it.  Tighten with your 12mm socket ratchet.

Start the drain plug by hand so you don’t accidentally cross- thread it with your wrench

Tightening the drain plug bolt

Step 6: Tip the snow blower up on its front so you can easily pour in the oil.

This is what it will look like:

Tip the snow blower up on its front so you can pour the oil in easier

Step 7: Pour in fresh oil.

The oil capacity of this motor is .63 quarts or .6 liters (600 mL).  If you purchase a quart of oil, that is equivalent to 946 mL and therefore 946 mL – 600 mL = 346 mL remaining in the bottle once you have poured in the correct amount.  I marked a line on the bottle at around the 350 mL mark to make it easy to measure:

I marked how much oil should remain once I’ve poured enough in

You pour the oil in where the dipstick goes:

Pouring fresh SAE 5W-30 in my Honda Harmony HS 520 Snow Blower

Replace the dipstick before you tip the snow blower back on its feet.  Once you’ve uprighted your snow blower you can take the dipstick out and see the oil right there at the opening and you’ll know it is good.  Now you’re done!  You’ve extended the life of your snow blower.