OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Tech Talk Honda GXV140 engines - HRU195

What can you tell us about your process for repairing base cracks, Mark? I've reported elsewhere on a very serious one I repaired once in an HRU195 base:
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=35850#Post35850

However that was a structural problem. I still have the mower, and use it every winter because my HR194 is unsatisfactory then due to the wet grass clogging the grass chute. The crack has not shown any signs of movement, but that was a lot of work and the result was unsightly. At present I am biased toward thinking that actual fatigue cracks like that one can only be repaired permanently by welding, or by massive reinforcement combined with anti-propagation tricks, as on my HRU195. Perhaps in a few cases propagation can be delayed by those tricks (drilling holes at the ends of the crack, and at any points along its length where it looks as if it might breed offspring) but those would have to be short cracks in unusual areas, I think.

G'day Grumpy, these are the worst cracks.
I just riveted a piece of gal sheet to support the one below. (should I drill a hole at the end of it? Like when they repair cracks in car wind screens.



The crack below is similar to yours. Haven't done anything about this one yet.


I have got this spare base together now.

Mark, because the base is much thicker than the aluminium patch you have used, and the pop rivets do not provide a very rigid joint, the cracked base will still be carrying part of the load despite the patch, and the crack will therefore continue to propagate. Even if you were able to make the patch and joints much more rigid, the sharp end of the crack creates such a profound stress concentration that it would propagate. I suggest you make a habit of always drilling the end of cracks. This is not just a matter of drilling a hole, though. In the crack on my HRU195 base as reported in the other thread, I found I had to drill one of the end holes half an inch further along than what initially appeared to be the end of the crack. You'll know whether you've found the end after you drill the hole, if you study the perimeter of the hole carefully: there is often a line visible in the cylindrical inside surface of the hole, indicating that the crack continues further. On that base I also had to drill two additional holes along the length of the crack, where cracks had started to radiate in other directions. With all the holes you end up with, you have to examine the edges carefully, and use a small rat-tail file to expand and extend them until the whole perimeter is clear of anything that might turn into a crack.

Now you can see why I put those large angle-iron braces across that crack: I had to ensure that the braces, and their attaching bolts, provided much more rigidity than the base itself did.

Thanks for reporting that crack you found at the rear of your base, where the grass chute runs out, in the same place as the massive one I had. I had no evidence before that mine wasn't an unusual failure mode. As you can see from the way mine had progressed, that crack in your base will destroy the base if you don't do something very effective to prevent it.

I have been chipping away at this this morning.
Installed rings. Normally use my fingers but I used the device shown on the Hondas I have done to date.
Spaced the gaps 120 Deg apart, also spaced the oil rings 20mm apart.
I ensured the markings on the rings where facing up towards the crown.



This is what I ended up with for the cracks in the base.


I used 5mm pops and Araldite to sandwich the plates together, also drilled the end of the crack. Had to be mindful of the blades hit the repair on the inside. This is just what I have done with what I have at hand here.



I put this brace here as I wanted it clear of the grass chute.
I'll keep moving, cheers.

How you fix cracks is a personal thing, but it is very desirable to keep track of your repairs after you make them so you can verify how well they work.

Please give us some feedback on how the two GXV140 engines work when you've put them back together.

Hey Grumpy, The older engine is back together and I have had it running. It is missing the anti-oscillating spring but ran OK for me to tune it.
It is running as expected.
It had just a little "PUTT" from the exhaust every now and then.

So I am all finished, just have to source a few bits to complete them fully.
Once I do a bit more mowing with them, I will give them a tweak here and there and they will be two good mowers.

I have a spare base and will keep my ear to the ground for another GXV140 to do up.

I found these bases and engines good to work on. I like the way the bases come apart easily. Also the engines, I mainly used a 10mm socket and spanner.

I don't like the "little putt" Mark, something is wrong. OHV Hondas do not miss shots. If the throttle was oscillating I suppose it could happen, but otherwise, it could be a leaky valve, blocked muffler, or something else nasty.

I find those engines (GXV120, 140, and I suppose 160 though I haven't worked on one) very pleasant to work on. It is like an American car from the 1950s, before they got complicated. Everything properly bolted together, proper piston rings, and an air of lasting forever provided you replaced a few wearing parts at very long intervals. Of course in those days there was lead in the petrol, so you had to service spark plugs and replace mufflers and exhaust pipes all the time, and now you have gum in the petrol so you have to service carburetors all the time (meaning every few years), but it's a similar kind of thing. Working on Hondas is a civilised way to spend your time, without all the cursing, damaged parts, and trying to get a few more years out of bent-tin adjustments.

I ended up putting a carby kit through the older engine, it has made a noticeable difference. It is now running great, without missing, very happy with it.

I also dragged out the self propelled Honda I did a while back and put a complete carby kit through it as well and it is now running great also. I have learnt something here through trial and error.

That sounds as if you hadn't got all the crud out of somewhere in the carburetors, Mark: the main jet and the emulsifier would be the chief suspects.

It is sometimes quicker and more certain to replace parts than to recondition them. When I was a lad I used to buy second-hand Lucas point sets from wreckers to keep my succession of old cars running. Half the time they didn't fit the car properly and I had to modify them. Fortunately simple parts like that come from China now and cost almost nothing. They are incomparably better parts than the Lucas ones, too. The world improves itself, albeit gradually.

In my experience there are just a few slightly tricky aspects of working on the Keihin or Ruixing carburetors.

First, there is getting the emulsifier out without damaging it, because in some cases it is held in by gum. I only see this in a minority of cases, and so far if I use enough carb cleaner, and blast it into the right places, it is handled fairly easily (especially compared with some other carburetors, which are really difficult to take apart, or can't be taken apart). Of course you then need to get the emulsifier, and the main jet, really clean. This is where most people fail: you don't just need there to be a hole in each place, it needs to be cleaned until it is the same size as a new one. I use the right sized jet drill, pushed in backwards so it doesn't enlarge the hole. If it won't go in easily, apply more carb cleaner.

The next issues are the previous tenant's sometimes brutal treatment of the idle mixture screw and the plastic idle jet. Both problems are best cured by simply replacing the damaged parts so you are putting it right once and for all.

Aside from that, the big seal that goes around the top of the float bowl is a pretty delicate object. It is usually undamaged, but it will be hard and brittle, so either leave it in place or replace it with a new one.

The only other bit that has a reputation for needing occasional replacement is the float needle. I've never had to replace one, but I may have been lucky.