OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Honda Engines Honda Side Valve Push Mower

Got my hands on something different the other weekend. A Honda on a plastic base. I was also able to get the catcher for $5 so I was pretty happy.
Upon bringing it home I put in some fresh fuel and cleaned the spark plug and it started up pretty easily. It runs fairly well but needs a carb clean to get it running smoother with a 1 pull start I think.
Does anybody have any experience with these mowers as I haven�t seen one before?
So far I have tightened up all the wheels and fixed the loose catcher flap. It is running much quieter now.
I plan on giving the carb and good clean and the engine a general once over to get it ready for work again.
Is there anything special I should be looking for with these older side valve honda�s? Can anyone confirm the correct spark plug and the engine model number?
Lastly the plastic base seems to be in really good condition. They must have made them well.

They're actually quite a good little mower. HRU173 is the model and i think the engine is 100cc but don't hold me to it. Like most mowers a good carby clean sees them right. Correct spark plug is a cj8.
Good to hear from you Peter. I look forward to the outcome.
Cheers, Theo

Just don't be hitting large objects with them I go a similar one here that the mower body is shattered along with a bent crank. It costs more to fix than a new one so it in the parts pile for parting out.

Ok so I didn�t get a chance to progress this too far on the weekend due to a number of other repairs and refurbishments happening. Its been a busy spring, summer and early autumn. Winter will give me time to stock up.

I have included some pictures of the covers taken off to ensure the linkages are re-installed correctly. From my observations to date this appears to be a fairly well designed mower.

The linkages appear to be very robust as you would expect from a Honda unlike to multitude of chonda�s on the market these days.

Given this is a much smaller engine approx. 100cc, I am curious on the recommended rev range. Thoughts would be appreciated. The fact this engine sits on a strange angle is a little different.

Thanks Theo � I don�t encounter many problems like I used to early on hence posting has been a bit quiet. Amazing what you learn with a little persistence. I just thought this was something a little different to share!

This mower is now all finished and subject to some testing. This was a very easy mower to work on. The carb and linkages are well set up as you would expect from a Honda even an old one.

I was still hoping a member could let me know the preferred rev range for these engines as they are quite some compared to similar Hondas.

Thank you
Jaffa

Good old honda hru173, I had one for a while, there is an article on the net somewhere claiming the deck is bulletproof and somone actually tried shooting one. Powered by a GV100 engine its the vertical shaft version of the G100 that I love to fit to scott bonnar reel mowers.

Bulletproof HA HA. Couldn't prove it by the HRX217 sitting in my junk pile.

Only just getting back to this mower after encountering some issues.

After giving the mower a good run it has started blowing smoke from the exhaust. It a black/ dark smoke which lead me to check the breather tube and it is spitting oil through the air filter and then down into the carb thus producing the majority of smoke I suspect.

I can�t find a lot of information on this type of engine however I am suspecting the breather valve might be partially blocked or I have installed something incorrectly. The breather hose goes directly into the block and connects to the air filter housing so I don�t see any major issues. The oil was quite sludgy before it was changed so I might have blocked the valve on changing it however I might be wrong.

I have checked compression and its approximately 85psi. I know it is low but that should be enough for the mower to run reasonably well. Everything else is hooked up correctly

I�d appreciate some suggestions.

Thank you

Black/dark smoke is an indication it is running rich, not burning oil which is usually white smoke.The first thing to try would be a good known working plug to eliminate a dodgy plug being the cause. Then go back to the the carb and check it is running fine with the air filter out to make sure that is not the culprit.

Hi Theo, Sorry for the delay been away with work.

Tried a new plug and ran the mower without an air filter and still the same symptoms.

When I pull the starter cord a puff of oil comes out the breather hose/ sit filter housing and its making its way into the carb and eventually into the cylinder. The new plug was very oily upon removal.

This is the first side valve Honda I have worked on and I cant work out why the breather would be spitting out oil.

I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have or any others!

Thanks

Jaffa.

Thanks for the advice to date.

With a bit of fiddling I managed to remove the flywheel and inspect the pcv valve chamber. Surprisingly the area was clean and the little hole was not blocked.

The pcv disk was not damaged and only had a minor wear mark. I also cleaned the mesh filter in fuel and used the air compressor to clean everything up. I followed grumpy�s thread upon inspecting the area and all seemed to be well.

After putting everything back together I had no change � The engine still smokes quite badly and oil is leaking from the breather hose and eventually making its way down into the carby and combustion chamber.

I was thinking it might have an excessively worn oil ring contributing to �piston blow by� but oil is still leaking from the pcv valve chamber making me think the disk might be worn.

I�d appreciate any other suggestions and or whether or not you guys think it is time to crack the case. I am a little worried about getting parts and making this an economical project noting it is a fairly old Honda.

I have included some photos below to assist.

Cheers

Jaffa

I should have mentioned earlier the disk did have some sideways movements when in the correct position making me think it might be a little worn on the edges.

Try anoter disk and if it still persists i'm guessing it would be rings. As for parts availability for these motors......good luck.

I have a couple of stuffed chonda�s on the shelves so I will take a disk out and replace it. If memory serves correct I am pretty sure they are exactly the same size and thickness.

So if the disk does not solve the problem I think it has to be rings as well.

I managed to find a reasonable set on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Piston-Ring-52mm-For-Honda-HR17-HR173-Mower-EG650-EM500-EM500K1-EM600-Generator-/272285311822?hash=item3f6578234e:g:KD4AAOxytdlRAlJT&vxp=mtr

I can seal the case up with selastic if I crack it however I have very little doubt the head gasket will not crack upon being removed from the motor no matter how careful I am.

If the disk doesn�t solve the issue I am thinking this might turn out to be another parts mower.

I�ll let you know how I go with a disk.

Any thoughts on re-ringing would be appreciated.

Jaffa

Would not hurt to check that exhaust valve guide while your at it. Depending how back pressure the muffler has a worn valve and guide could let pressure past into the crankcase which then vented thru the carb. Just thinking here because I see a lot of Briggs side valves with worn exhaust valve guides that mimic bad rings.

As re-ringing before ordering parts check to see it needs over sizing. If so you will need a ridge hone to true the cylinder.

Just got back to this mower. Been busy fixing mowers ready for spring!

Changing the PCV valve disk made no difference. Still the same problems occurring.

AVB good suggestion about the valve guides so thank you.

Do you have a recommendation for checking the guides. I normally just make sure the valve is firmly in place with no side to side movement. If required I�ll normally lap and grind the valve stems if clearance is an issue but it is not on this engine from my most recent tests.

I did a wet compression test (oil in the plug hole) and compression increased which is making me think warn rings.

Given the age of this mower I am thinking I�ll sell it as a parts mower. It was only $5 so I�ll easily cover my costs. Nothing lost from the whole process.

I can�t justify rings and associated gaskets which seem impossible to find for an engine that so old.

Unless I get some other suggestions I�ll be sending this mower off as a parts machine.

Problem with these mowers, not worth the time trying to fix, if after a carby clean and it doesn't want to play ball, down to the tip, even if after you spend a bucket of hours and go it working perfectly, what are you going to get for it, maybe $50. I was at Trash and Treasure a couple of weeks ago and a bloke had 3 identical blue mowers, I had a quick glance, they looked brand new, I didn't bother asking but they all had a tag on them with $50 on them. Makes little reason to bother fixing a mower these days unless it is a collectible one

Fair comments Norm.

I'll be putting this one up on ebay for collection! Hopefully because its a Honda someone might pay for it.

As for the second hand mower market - its pretty good here up in the ACT. I sure cant complain.

Jaffa, may be a different market up there and maybe because it is a Honda somebody may be interested, it still looks like a good mower. Having said that I just decided to look at a reasonably late model Victa Mulch and Catch (no idea what motor is on it, no name I can see) looks to have had very little use, the pull start has broken, I will have a look, see if it has spark before I do anything else, if no spark, straight to the tip, not worth wasting time or money on them

Completed the oil in the plug hole test and compression increased considerably so I put it down to worn rings.

The mower quickly sold on ebay for $50 and considering I only paid $5 for it no money was lost on this mower.

The bloke who bought it I am pretty sure was just after the base and the catcher so all in all a good result.