Topic: Auuughhh! My Honda died!

[HondaMan]

Not my bike.
My Honda mower. Best mower I've had!
  
The guard that wraps around the blade somehow cracked (metal fatigue?) and, I guess from vibration, it got hit by the blade and Z-folded itself, taking a chunk out of the transmission's gearbox, draining all that oil right out. It looks like the crankshaft is bent, too, as the blade sits on an angle. I cut away the rest of the guard and the belt to the transmission (gee. I had to PUSH it then...) so I could finish the lawn, but the grass is all sorts of uneven and my hands had no feeling in them after that last 10 minutes of mowing! The handlebars were about 4" in diameter from the vibration. 

Anyone need some Honda lawn mower parts? I just rebuilt the carb last year. I have a brand-new crankshaft (in the box, 9 years old) from when I hit a rock long ago and thought I bent the crank: it turned out to just be the blade, though, back then. Now it's REALLY bent!

[grcamna2]

  ouch 

[Kevin]

Oh Hondaman, that's a real bummer!
I am sending you a message about the parts.

[Don R]

 We had one of those, it was awesome, needed a bunch of self-propelled work, now we have a brand X one with a Honda engine.

[HondaMan]

We had one of those, it was awesome, needed a bunch of self-propelled work, now we have a brand X one with a Honda engine.

The engine on this thing is to die for. Smooth, strong, amazing torque, quiet: it never noticed wet grass or tall grass, just ate it all without a whimper. Beats any Toro or other Briggs-powered mower I ever had before it: I think I got this one in 2002?

[grcamna2]

We had one of those, it was awesome, needed a bunch of self-propelled work, now we have a brand X one with a Honda engine.

The engine on this thing is to die for. Smooth, strong, amazing torque, quiet: it never noticed wet grass or tall grass, just ate it all without a whimper. Beats any Toro or other Briggs-powered mower I ever had before it: I think I got this one in 2002?

You going to fix it up ?

[Don R]

 My brother in law used mine for parts to keep his matching mower going. My wife's grandma bought us each one.

[HondaMan]

We had one of those, it was awesome, needed a bunch of self-propelled work, now we have a brand X one with a Honda engine.

The engine on this thing is to die for. Smooth, strong, amazing torque, quiet: it never noticed wet grass or tall grass, just ate it all without a whimper. Beats any Toro or other Briggs-powered mower I ever had before it: I think I got this one in 2002?

You going to fix it up ?

The transmission case costs more than the mower did when I bought it(!). My original receipt shows it was $220 out the door with the accessory kit I bought. It needs a new blade/mulcher, bag (it now has a rip thru it), and the guard that fits around the back 1/4 of the blade's perimeter is a "frame part", meaning I'd have to buy the whole frame, sans wheels. And, no one stocks that part, either. Between the cost of the transmission and a new blade, plus having to fully disassemble the motor to replace the crankshaft (which is also bent) with the $60-something gasket set, I could buy a whole new one at current tariff-boosted prices. I don't have that kind of $$ available just now: I spent it on publishing costs(!) in the last few months. I guess I'll be borrowing someone's mower for a few weeks?

[jlh3rd]

I haven't bought a new mower since 1993.....I get all my mowers from others trash.
My current mower is a 2014 Honda, front wheel drive, bagger. I just casually pull the rope and it starts right up. 🙂

[Stev-o]

I heard Honda is going to discontinue manufacturing gas mowers.

"Honda noted that stricter environmental regulations and a growing demand for battery-powered lawnmowers influenced their decision to shift away from gas-powered models".

My 10year old[?] Toro with a Briggs motor is still going strong.

[grcamna2]

We had one of those, it was awesome, needed a bunch of self-propelled work, now we have a brand X one with a Honda engine.

The engine on this thing is to die for. Smooth, strong, amazing torque, quiet: it never noticed wet grass or tall grass, just ate it all without a whimper. Beats any Toro or other Briggs-powered mower I ever had before it: I think I got this one in 2002?

You going to fix it up ?

The transmission case costs more than the mower did when I bought it(!). My original receipt shows it was $220 out the door with the accessory kit I bought. It needs a new blade/mulcher, bag (it now has a rip thru it), and the guard that fits around the back 1/4 of the blade's perimeter is a "frame part", meaning I'd have to buy the whole frame, sans wheels. And, no one stocks that part, either. Between the cost of the transmission and a new blade, plus having to fully disassemble the motor to replace the crankshaft (which is also bent) with the $60-something gasket set, I could buy a whole new one at current tariff-boosted prices. I don't have that kind of $$ available just now: I spent it on publishing costs(!) in the last few months. I guess I'll be borrowing someone's mower for a few weeks?

You need to find one 'for parts' that has the parts you need;do a swap.

[HondaMan]

You need to find one 'for parts' that has the parts you need;do a swap.

I thought about that, but since I essentially need the whole thing (frame, engine, blades, transmission, bag) it seems easier to replace it with another mower. Besides, the grass won't stop growing, even with the sprinklers turned off!
Around Denver it can take months to find parts for anything at all, now. The influx of Californians in the past 7-8 years has utterly destroyed business and the culture here. All but one of my former employers is gone, even.

[grcamna2]

You need to find one 'for parts' that has the parts you need;do a swap.

I thought about that, but since I essentially need the whole thing (frame, engine, blades, transmission, bag) it seems easier to replace it with another mower. Besides, the grass won't stop growing, even with the sprinklers turned off!
Around Denver it can take months to find parts for anything at all, now. The influx of Californians in the past 7-8 years has utterly destroyed business and the culture here. All but one of my former employers is gone, even.

I see..

[dave500]

Hey Mark,bout a year ago a mate of mine who does lawns etc professionally and buys a new Honda mower every few years gave me 3 old ones he kept for spares,these are top range with three forward speeds and blade clutch,I said hey man sell em for spares on market place,he replied cant be #$%*ed with that,anyway I got one running and blades worked but dead transmission,another ran but no drive or blades incomplete and the third was too incomplete to run,I got 200 bucks the lot next day from one buyer,I told my mate and  bought him lunch etc next ride,I felt guilty and offered him lunch the next ride we went on after that but he wouldnt take it,those mowers are heavy but good units.

[HondaMan]

I heard Honda is going to discontinue manufacturing gas mowers.

"Honda noted that stricter environmental regulations and a growing demand for battery-powered lawnmowers influenced their decision to shift away from gas-powered models".

My 10year old[?] Toro with a Briggs motor is still going strong.

That's what the mower salesman at Peak Honda said, too. Home Depot has told me they would put me on their 'notification' list, but they also had been told "no more expected soon".

I bought one of the 6 they had left at Peak: they used to have a showroom of them. Expensive buggers now, too.