OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Power Equipment...Mishaps and Funny Stuff "Serviced regularly"

Thanks for the offer vccomm, but that is a 4 height lever Honda - in other words, a Made In Japan one. The Australian-made Hondas (in other words, all of the single height lever ones) have different hubcaps that are not scarce. I understand Honda no longer supplies the hubcaps for the original 4 height lever model. I once saw an American on ebay with a few NOS ones for more than $20 each, but other than that I haven't seen them. Here is what they look like: the Australian one is on the left, the "real" one on the right. (That is the only real one I've ever had - it isn't much use by itself.)


If you have the "real" ones, I'd be very happy to PM you to discuss.

Having seen the carburetor with the dirty float bowl earlier in this thread, I can't resist talking about the one I just found this morning. I bought an old Honda GXV120 engine yesterday, because I wanted a few external parts from it. The seller (on Gumtree) said that it wouldn't start, it might be something simple, he didn't know. After stripping the bits I bought it for, and using them to complete and test another engine, I noticed that the air cleaner element and the interior of the filter box were oozing with black engine oil (it was far too thick to drip), and the operating lever for the coupled choke had been bent out of the way so the choke didn't operate. This made me suspect it had been burning a bit of oil. The sump wasn't dry - it had about 20 ml of thick sludge in it, but no actual liquid oil. However I don't think the oil burning was the main reason it wouldn't start. This morning I took a look at the carburetor:


The float bowl was more than half full of that black granular stuff in the picture, and if you look at the underside of the float, you'll see it was being held up by the pile of stuff so it couldn't lower the needle and let fuel in. I suspect that was the immediate cause of it finally giving up the ghost. I'm not completely sure of that: the idle mixture screw was missing as well, but that shouldn't have prevented starting. Incidentally, the bore and crankpin were worn far past Honda's service limits, and the top piston ring had a gap of 5.58 mm. The valve seats had worn considerably, and the keyhole valve retainers were worn to the point where they seemed to be at risk of dropping the valves. The whole cylinder block, head and crankshaft all had to be scrapped.

That poor Honda was like a loyal old dog that stays with its master even though he abuses it every day. If it had just quit running ten years ago instead of recently, it would have been in a lot better shape when I bought it, and the previous owner would have avoided producing a vast amount of blue smoke.

I work at a mowershop too, just finished my apprenticeship last year, I'll post up some of my favourites,

Improvised air filter on a Honda




Cuts lower in the middle than the outside


Leaves a strip up the middle


I love this one, This guy had a later model rover ranger (auto drive), he said he had put a greenfield disk on it. That was worrying enough, anyone who knows greenfields will know the disk is welded to the spindle I thought maybe he was confused with his makes. I looked under the mower and I found this...



Yes the spindle had been cut off (very roughly) and he had drilled 2 holes - off center at that!

This is my favourite, A quad bike came in, no complaints about the brakes but after a test ride i knew something was up, it was severely pulling to the left. after a closer look I couldn't see the inner pad. I pulled the caliper off and found this!



Yes they had worn through the pad, worn through the 4mm backing plate, and then worn about 4-5 off the piston.

started taking apart a Victa Powertorque I throught was siezed because the blade plate wouldnt turn. It turned out to be a pretty easy fix after a couple of hours work.
Check out how much crap was jammed in the flywheel and plastic cowling. I took engine apart and cleaned it all down. No scoring on the piston or rings so an easy fix. Thought you guys might appreciate it!


It amazes me how people dont look after there gear

Love the condition of this Suzuki.

Hi Mark,
Obviously a pre-loved machine!
I've seen better examples on a tip.....
Mark,