Hello,

I have recently moved home. The area that i now have to mow is substantially larger than before - and it slopes moderately. bigshock I had been using a Honda HRC216HXA to do the job at the old place. Total overkill! When i bought it (for not very much admittedly) the seller told me it just needed a cable and the self propelled part would work fine. rolleyes I never bothered looking into it at the time because i only had a small flat area to mow.

Well, three years later, i did look into it the other day. The mower is a first generation HRC216HXA i am guessing, going on information i found on the internet. The serial no. is MZAN-6034956. As mentioned, there is no transmission cable present. I have MacGyvered some wire, wood and garden hose into a rough and ready cable with handle for testing purposes. This, i have attached to the control arm on the side of the transmission where the cable would normally attach to.

Sadly, the mower goes nowhere when i pull on the cable. WTF If i lift the back of the mower so that the rear wheels are clear of the ground, i can get them to turn intermittently. It is a bit hit and miss when i pull on the cable as to whether or not they turn, if you get my drift. On the ground however, the axle seems to lump around trying to engage the wheel(?).

Also from the internet, it is suggested that it could be the drive shaft between motor and transmission that is crook. I took the plastic cover off the shaft and inspected it whilst the mower was running, with and without the transmission engaged. It turns furiously when the mower engine is on. Engaging the transmission seems to have no effect upon its operation (normal i guess).

When working, can these transmissions propel the mower up a bit of a slope? They are a heavy mower! tired I would probably have a go at finding out what is wrong with - if it could take the load out of pushing it up hill. grin

I'll probably disassemble the wheel/axle/transmission assembly. What should i look out for when looking for the cause? Is it likely to be in the wheels, or in the actual transmission?
Any tips for troubleshooting and diagnosing? Information on these transmissions has been hard to come by.

Thanks,

Paul