Honda Resurection

This forlorn little Honda mower came in with a locked-up engine after 30 years of faithful service. She had been started after a season in a shed, unfortunately, without an oil change. She ran for a few minutes and then froze.

The HR214 is self-propelled with a shaft-drive and has an aggressive blade brake, so there was a faint hope that one of those mechanisms had failed; preventing rotation. 

Disconnecting those items from the engine quickly proved it was the engine that was locked. Bummer. This little Honda may have cut her last blade.

With nothing to lose, we pulled the head and took a look. Although covered with tar-like oil, the valve train looked ok. The piston was stuck almost at TDC (Top Dead Center), so we couldn't see the cylinder walls. After applying a big dose of acetone and Automatic Transmission Fluid (the hot ticket for penetrating oil applications), and considerable muscle, the piston broke free and would turn by hand. More oil and more turns revealed no untoward noises and the cylinder walls did not show any scars.

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With that, the prognosis had turned good enough to put in an order for new intake, head and valve cover gaskets so we could give her a shot at rehab. 

While we waited for gaskets to arrive, she got all her mating surfaces cleaned of gasket residue,  an oil change, fresh plug and clean air filter.  When the gaskets arrived, reassembly was quick and after a little fresh gas, we were ready for a test pull.

She blew a little smoke at first but ran like a top!

Next up was the transmission, which was stuck in high gear. After removal from the mower (which requires removing everything connected to the rear wheels) it was disassembled and cleaned. Inspection showed normal wear but nothing broken, so she got a full load of gear oil and went back together with no leaks (to my complete amazement). 

Back in the mower, with the control cables adjusted to spec, the trans shifted like a dream and the little Honda that almost went to the dump is back home and cutting grass like like a champ. Yes, she smokes a little on start-up...but heck...she's 30 years old. I think that's allowed.

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