HR215 Down

[afanciullo]

I've got a pretty old HR215 that I believe had an oil leak and was then run out of oil and stopped running. The guy took it to the mechanic and the mechanic said the motor had no compression and that it needs a new engine. Instead of getting it fixed he gave me the mower and got a new one. I want to try and get it running again and I'm trying to weigh my options. Do I try finding a new engine or do I try to rebuild the exisiting motor?? I can't find and GXV140-135 cc engines anywhere so it will either need to be a used one or try to put a GXV160 in its place. Not sure if that is even possible. That and I don't want to put a ton of money in this mower. Let me know what you guys think that I should do. The mower looks practically new for how old it is.

 

[robert@honda]

I've got a pretty old HR215 that I believe had an oil leak and was then run out of oil and stopped running. The guy took it to the mechanic and the mechanic said the motor had no compression and that it needs a new engine. Instead of getting it fixed he gave me the mower and got a new one. I want to try and get it running again and I'm trying to weigh my options. Do I try finding a new engine or do I try to rebuild the exisiting motor?? I can't find and GXV140-135 cc engines anywhere so it will either need to be a used one or try to put a GXV160 in its place. Not sure if that is even possible. That and I don't want to put a ton of money in this mower. Let me know what you guys think that I should do. The mower looks practically new for how old it is.

What is more valuable to you, time or money?

You surely could rebuild that old GXV motor for not a whole lot of money, but it would take a fair amount of your time. You could also simply replace the engine with another GXV engine for whatever you might find one for and save a lot of time. Probably cheaper and faster to do that, but maybe more interesting to rebuild the old engine. What is more appealing to you? Honda sells all the parts you'd need to rebuild it, if you want a project.

If you choose to rebuild, I'd start by getting a shop manual. Honda sells detailed paper copies on ebay; here's the link:

Honda Shop Manuals On eBay

For parts, here's a link to find Honda dealers in your area:

Find A Honda Dealer

 

[bwdbrn1]

I have an HR215 that started to smoke badly, so I pulled it off of the deck and put another GXV140 I had onto it. The first one is on my bench waiting it's turn to be rebuilt. I've rebuilt a number of the GXV120s from the HR214 mowers, and if you were to start stripping the engine down in the morning, you'd have it back together by mid afternoon.

The GXV120s share a lot of similarities, and parts with the GXV140. Here's a thread I did on rebuilding one on my lawnmower forums.

Honda GXV120 rebuild... - Lawn Mower Forums : Lawnmower Reviews, Repair, Pricing and Discussion Forum

 

[afanciullo]

Awesome thanks for the insight. I think I'll rebuild it cause I'm cheap and like working on engines. The whole time thing is the issue it might have to wait till the fall/winter time.