Honda HRX217HXA Drive is Weak

[Skeezix979]

I have a 2008 Honda HRX217HXA that I had been having trouble with the drive hanging up, so I took the back wheels apart and cleaned everything up. I noticed the driveshaft bushings were worn out on one side, so I replaced all four bushings on both sides with new Honda OEM parts. I lubricated the pinion gears before reassembling. I polished the transaxle with 400 grit sand paper and then 000 steel wool as it was a little rusted. Now, the self-propelled drive is not strong enough to move the mower as it did before. When the mower is on blocks and running, the wheels spin freely, the drive engages the wheels and they spin in the correct direction, but not with enough torque to move the mower as it did before I did my clean up job. My guess is the new bushings may be too tight? Should I grease the bushings where the axle goes in? I have Valvoline red grease, is this OK to use in this application? I appreciate any feedback anyone can offer.

 

[CarLuver]

check the cable adjustment. was having the same issue with mine and that fixed it

 

[Skeezix979]

check the cable adjustment. was having the same issue with mine and that fixed it

Thanks for the feedback! I actually had tried that already and the problem persists. Even at the slowest speed, the wheels turn when the rear of the mower is off the ground and the drive is engaged, and the wheels go faster and slower as the speed adjustment is moved.

 

[stangguy]

I am not familiar with that mower, but if it isn't going as fast as it should, there has to be something slipping. Is it a belt drive?

 

[CarLuver]

did you adjust the cable forward or back? logic would think it was back to get more tension, but i found it was forward instead

 

[Fordiesel69]

Mostly likely a fluid leak on the axle seals when the wheel bushing failed. Is the drive making a moaning or groaning sound?

Fluid should be purged and refilled every 10 yrs. Its an age thing and not completly all about the hours used.

I use one bottle of honda fluid to flush, and then use another fresh bottle to fill. You have to pretend to "overfill" it to the point it looks like its goinf to flood out when you put the top cap back on. There are youtube videos on this.

One way to tell:
Fluild problem - You can stop the drive wheels while it is trying to go farward.

Cable problem - You cannot stop the rear wheels at all, they are just going slow and will peel out on the ground.

 

[Skeezix979]

I am not familiar with that mower, but if it isn't going as fast as it should, there has to be something slipping. Is it a belt drive?

I am not familiar with that mower, but if it isn't going as fast as it should, there has to be something slipping. Is it a belt drive?

Mostly likely a fluid leak on the axle seals when the wheel bushing failed. Is the drive making a moaning or groaning sound?

Fluid should be purged and refilled every 10 yrs. Its an age thing and not completly all about the hours used.

I use one bottle of honda fluid to flush, and then use another fresh bottle to fill. You have to pretend to "overfill" it to the point it looks like its goinf to flood out when you put the top cap back on. There are youtube videos on this.

One way to tell:
Fluild problem - You can stop the drive wheels while it is trying to go farward.

Cable problem - You cannot stop the rear wheels at all, they are just going slow and will peel out on the ground.

I can't detect a noise on the drive. And I have not seen any fluid leaks. I was considering pulling the transmission and changing the fluid at some point anyway given the mower's age, however, the self-propelled mechanism worked fine before I performed these repairs

did you adjust the cable forward or back? logic would think it was back to get more tension, but i found it was forward instead

It is a belt drive, but the belt is tight.

 

[qjohn]

(I assume this is hydrostatic drive model). I would suspect the cable is hanging up. You could disconnect it (both ends) and see if moves freely. If not free to move, then replace the cable.

 

[Skeezix979]

I checked the cable, and it is engaging as it had before. I tried adjusting as CarLuver instructed above, but with the same result. I checked the drive again and the wheels are turning with the engine running when the orange drive lever is engaged and stop when the lever is moved into the slow position. I actually replaced a drive cable on my brother's Honda HRX217HXA mower, which had separated, so am familiar with that symptom. I read a thread somewhere on here about adding grease to the "axle bushings". Since I replaced those recently with new ones, and that's when the problem started, does anyone know if this should not be attempted or if it is a possible solution? Thanks all!

 

[Fordiesel69]

I bet when you replaced the axle bearings you did not get the little gears back on right with the little keys and springs. Check the parts diagram and recheck how your assembly was done.

Also by tipping the unit over and the fluid being a touch low, its possible you now have trapped air.

 

[Skeezix979]

The gears, keys and springs are in place and going the right direction, so that's not it. So, it's possible the transmission got air in it somehow? Is there a way to bleed the air out without complete transmission removal? Or do I need to change the transmission (13 years with no change)
fluid and do it then?

 

[MParr]

You can try changing the fluid out. You will need to remove the transmission. Use only the OEM Honda fluid to refill. If that doesn’t solve your problem, you have two choices. You can buy a new replacement transmission, which is pretty expensive, or buy a new mower.

 

[Fordiesel69]

That video is great. I can confirm ONLY HONDA FLUID!!!!!!! nothing else works.

Buy two bottles use one to keep flushing it, and the other bottle to fill it. Fill it overfull and run the input shaft with a drill, and enguage the motion lever. You will see foam and air start to come out. Its best to let it set all night and add more fluid and run the drill again. ***IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO OVERFILL** so make sure it is flooding over before you put the cap back on.

 

[Skeezix979]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the great feedback. I have a new issue that I hope someone has experienced and for which there is a solution. I am taking the mower apart to get the transmission out for fluid change, and have found that the metal shutter arm is rusted to the lever arm and will not budge. When I have taken the Honda HRX217HXA apart before (my brother has two of these), the shutter arm has always slipped off easily, so am perplexed as to how to remove this piece from my mower in order to get the transmission out. I have used Blaster penetrant, tried prying it with prying tools and even tried a puller, but the thing looks to be welded on with rust. Is there possibly a catch added to this model of some kind that I am not seeing? Here is the parts diagram for my model. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Fordiesel69]

#6 is coupled to #8 and only held is place with a roll pin. I guess it is possible a prior owner lost the pin and JB welded it or used a type of bonding epoxy to hold it in place.

As a last resort break the fastener off # 16 / 14 / 11 and get the shutter out of the way, then sawzall #8.

 

[vdro]

I had a very weak drive on my Honda HRX 217. I found that adjusting the turnbuckle on the cable, located about halfway between the handlever and the engine, did the trick. The cable probably stretches over time.