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Greetings. New member. First post.

I have a 20 year old Honda Harmony 2013 riding mower with a hydrostatic trans.

Over the years the top speed has steadily reduced considerably so now that is less than half of the original.

Engine runs fine. Belts are tight, no signs of slipping.

I assume that the trans is wearing out seals or such.

Before I scrap it and buy a new mower, is there any fixes that are not too expensive? The rest of this mower is in good condition.

As always, any input is most appreciated.

Craig T.

CraigTbone said:

Greetings. New member. First post.

I have a 20 year old Honda Harmony 2013 riding mower with a hydrostatic trans.

Over the years the top speed has steadily reduced considerably so now that is less than half of the original.

Engine runs fine. Belts are tight, no signs of slipping.

I assume that the trans is wearing out seals or such.

Before I scrap it and buy a new mower, is there any fixes that are not too expensive? The rest of this mower is in good condition.

As always, any input is most appreciated.

Craig T.

Click to expand...

:welcome:

Nothing you can buy today will be anywhere as good as the Honda you have at the moment.
You will be well served to fix it.
You would be lucky to get 5 years out of a new one and none of them will go for 20.
So if your mower is in good condition wear wise, fix it.
While you wait for the tranny, take the time to renew all of the bushes .
Trannies from Mulligans are usually the best price & there are a lot of people who will do a rebuild.

CraigTbone said:

Greetings. New member. First post.

I have a 20 year old Honda Harmony 2013 riding mower with a hydrostatic trans.

Over the years the top speed has steadily reduced considerably so now that is less than half of the original.

Engine runs fine. Belts are tight, no signs of slipping.

I assume that the trans is wearing out seals or such.

Before I scrap it and buy a new mower, is there any fixes that are not too expensive? The rest of this mower is in good condition.

As always, any input is most appreciated.

Craig T.

Click to expand...

Completely out of my realm but hydrostatics will over time get weaker. The internal pump/motor has wearable components that once worn will either reduce the pressure or flow of fluid through the drive. I wouldn't know where to begin on a "fix" but you could start searching for a new old stock hydrostatic (likely expensive) or a rebuild kit (if even available).

Its a long shot, but have you checked the fluid level of the trannie? If your good with tools you could remove trannie and change fluid to see if that helps, it will only cost a little time and a few quarts of oil. You might also look at the drive pedal linkages for wear and tear.

Thanks for the input.

There is a plastic reservoir to add trans fluid and I keep it topped off.

A bit of history....when this was new I would rinse it off with the garden hose after cutting the grass, every time. In 3 years all the bearings were bad: rear axle inner & outer bearings (both sides), 2 bearings each on the blade shafts, several belt idlers & such.

The shop I bought it from replaced them (not under warranty) and ever since then the trans has leaked slightly. The fluid level drops from full to about 3/4 full each time I cut the grass (1/2 acre).

I never figured out how to drain the oil thinking that it was constantly being replaced a little at a time.

If there is a possibility that a drain & new oil might help I will do that.

Is there any chance that a higher viscosity oil would help?

I did not find any listings in Mulligan's web site for a trans or rebuild kit but I sent them an email asking.

Additional input is most welcomed.

Water & mowers do not mix but it looks like you found that out the hard way.
Always blow them down when you have finished mowing.
If you do not have a compressor then use a leaf blower.
Washing should always be done when the mower is stone cold.

If you are loosing that much oil you should be able to see where it is leaking from but you might need to degrease first , when the mower is stone cold.
Heavier oil will help a worn out trannie but not a leak and the leak could be causing the power loss.

If you have managed to get water sucked into the trans then it will be very sick.
FWIW I get most common trans rebuilt for $ 400 ( Aust ) if they are just worn & need machining.
Google mower tansmission repairs if Mulligans draw a blank.
I do not know of any other honest transmission people but all of the transmission companies have lists of authorised repair agents.
You just have to find out what you have in your Honda .
Because Honda only built good quality mowers the trans they used would be repairable, whatever it was.
AFAIK we did not get them down here ( too expensive ) and when they were being made we had import quotas so Honda brought in 41's & 42's.
They were the same price as a small 2 seater car if you want to put the price into perspective.

The leak is from the rear wheel shaft trans bearings.

I stopped washing after the bearings were replaced. It gets blown off with compressed air after every use.

Hopefully Mulligans will reply to my email with info that they an supply this trans.

Fingers crossed.

I inquired at Mulligans about a trans or rebuild kit but have not received a reply.

With a bit more internet searching I found a company called "Honda Lawn Parts", actually not too far from me. They show a transmission for $350. Is this a reasonable price?

Presumably it is a rebuilt trans. Do any of you folk have any knowledge or experience with this supplier?

Another thing to check before forking out the big bucks for a trans. Take the belt off the trans pulley and check for wobble and slippage on the shaft. Also in order to get the parts to rebuild the trans, you will have to go to the maker itself...ie..peerless...dana etc. But before you decide to go that route please let Bertsmobile1 tell you about the pros and cons of doing so.

https://www.hondapartsnation.com/oemparts/a/hpe/505ce83cf870022d24be0643/hydrostatic-transmission

i do not know if this is your transmission, you can contact these folks with your model number & serial number from mower & numbers from transmission if you're interested.

First a question or three. What oil are you using to top off the hydro unit? Is there any sort of drain plug on the transmission? Can you see any model number or brand name on it?

I have used only the Honda oil in the trans. There is a drain. I will look later today for a model/brand.

Is it possible that an oil change might help?

With most of the aging Hydros a stiffer oil does really seem to help, costs a little and might extend the life several years. With the Tuff Torq units they recommend a synthetic 5w50 standard oil, a bit radical I think though.

tom3 said:

With most of the aging Hydros a stiffer oil does really seem to help, costs a little and might extend the life several years. With the Tuff Torq units they recommend a synthetic 5w50 standard oil, a bit radical I think though.

Click to expand...

My Hydro-gear used 20w50 which is thick. You might want to first find out what the spec is on the oil you are using and go up in warm viscosity. Only. Also be sure to purge the hydrostatic after you replace all of the fluid. It's a good idea to always let your transmission warm up by letting it run for a minute or so before starting to drive off.

I was not able to find any info on the trans this afternoon. It probably is there but I did not fond it.

I did find a local parts distributor that can get a new trans for about $400 so I think I will order one.

I have always used the recommend Honda oil. Is there any special magic in that oil? Will non-detergent gear oil work?

Without knowing the actual transmission the Honda oil might be the best for it. Some of these use the same oil for the differential gears and the hydraulic unit, two drastically different applications. The Honda oil might be formulated to serve both as much as possible. Not unlike some motorcycle oils that lube the engine, transmission gears, and the wet clutch discs, very unique service. Since you did get pretty good service with your original unit I'd stick with what works.

I probably will continue using the Honda oil. It just is expensive.

The new trans will be ordered today. The tires are original so those will be replaced along with the belts for the trans and blades.

Thinking about the engine, a tune up is in order. Should the valves be adjusted? I have a shop manual on order so that might have that info. I did a quick calculation, this tractor might have about 700 hours total running time.

Maybe a silly question....I would like to add a headlight (or 2). It would not be used extensively but occasionally it would be quite helpful. Would automotive accessory lights work or are there lights specifically designed for yard tractors?

When did you checked the valve last time ? Should be done every 100hr on most small engines, but perhaps a bit more for your ? Don't know which engine you have.

For light, automotive and small tractor have same 12V circuitery. You should care about consumption, a charge coil is quite weak on a tractor compared to a car alternator. You should know how many amp this circuit put out. Your lights should consume (way) less than that to ensure proper charging of the battery.

If you choose LED this should not be a issue, 10W-20W LED will give you 800-2000lm depending on LED quality/efficiency (for reference a 55/60W halogen car bulb is about 1500lm. Max 2000lm for an HID that does not require auto-leveling and wash)

A big disappointment today. The supplier that said they had transmissions goofed, they have gear transmissions but not hydrostatic!!!! They could get the hydro pump section but that is more than $1,100.

I will do a bit more research but at that price I probably will be getting a new mower. Likely a zero turn.

CraigTbone said:

A big disappointment today. The supplier that said they had transmissions goofed, they have gear transmissions but not hydrostatic!!!! They could get the hydro pump section but that is more than $1,100.

I will do a bit more research but at that price I probably will be getting a new mower. Likely a zero turn.

Click to expand...

$1100 will get you on your way to a zero turn, but unfortunately you will have to dish out some dough to get something of the same caliber as your Honda. Would you entertain the idea of maybe stripping the hydrostatic down yourself and attempting a rebuild if you could find parts? Other than the issue of parts availability, you also have to do the rebuilds in an area that will not permit any contamination from getting inside. But I imagine it would be nice to have that thing running properly one day in the future just for hauling carts around or doing things that you might not want to use a zero turn for.....

There are specialist who will rebuild mower trannies.
I have one I use down here.
machines the valve chests and valve plates then replaces all of the seals
Around $ 400- $ 600 ( Aus ) as compared to $ 650 + for a pump/motor rebuild kit