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Hello all, first post and it's about my new-to-me HRM215. I got it off a guy on craigslist and he mentioned that it leaked some oil out the bottom. When I went to look at it, he filled the oil up to MIN (said it hadn't been run since the previous season) put gas in and did a few gentle pulls to circulate everything and gave a good tug and bam, fired right up. It sounded OK, not great, I tried it out a bit and everything was good enough, as I planned on some mild tuning later on. When I got it home I mowed the front yard (fairly small) and toward the end of mowing I noticed some smoke, not from the exhaust, but from the base of the top of the mower, in other words, from somewhere on the top of the deck. I parked it by the gate and in the few minutes it was by the gate it had leaked quite a bit of oil on the ground, enough to create a standing puddle. I don't want to damage the engine. Can someone point me in the right direction to fix this? My first guess is the bearing, item 27 in the picture below, does that sound right? Thanks for any help you can offer!

Augustivus said:

Can someone point me in the right direction to fix this? My first guess is the bearing, item 27 in the picture below, does that sound right? Thanks for any help you can offer!

View attachment 22816

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Oil leaking in and around the oil pan (base of the engine) could be from the oil seal, pan gasket, or governor seal:

Thanks for the reply Robert, I will look into those locations and take some pictures as well. Is the top easy to remove? I assume I need to remove it to get a better look at those locations. Also, out of curiosity, is the special tool really need to do that seal?

Also, after looking at your images and learning more about the mower, I think i was completely wrong about that bearing :ashamed:

Thanks and I'll get some pictures going on this tonight if I can.

robert@honda said:

Oil leaking in and around the oil pan (base of the engine) could be from the oil seal, pan gasket, or governor seal:

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Augustivus said:

Is the top easy to remove? I assume I need to remove it to get a better look at those locations. Also, out of curiosity, is the special tool really need to do that seal?

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The engine must come off the mower to get to the oil pan (the above view shows the engine upside down from the normal way is is bolted to the mower deck).

At this level of repair, a shop manual can save you much frustration and grief. Honda sells them on eBay and Amazon; have the serial number off the back of the mower deck (in the form of MXXX-1234567" to be sure you get the correct manual:

Honda Power Equipment Shop Manuals on eBay
Honda Power Equipment Shop Manuals on Amazon

Oh, I see now. I have been thinking of getting the service manual, however, it would double the amount of money I have in the mower!

Is there a best practice for cleaning the mower before disassembly? Can I just power wash it?

Thanks for your help, Robert, it's much appreciated.

Augustivus said:

Oh, I see now. I have been thinking of getting the service manual, however, it would double the amount of money I have in the mower!

Is there a best practice for cleaning the mower before disassembly? Can I just power wash it?

Thanks for your help, Robert, it's much appreciated.

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You'd be quite happy you bought the manual when you tear down the motor and try and put it back together. Trust me, it is worth it.

The special tool to press in the seal is not 100% necessary, provided you have a suitable socket or section of pipe that can substitute.

Pressure washing can damage more delicate parts, but okay to use a plain water garden hose on a cold engine to clean it off. I'd use some brake cleaner or other solvent after that to clear off oil/grease/etc.

Here are some pictures:

robert@honda said:

You'd be quite happy you bought the manual when you tear down the motor and try and put it back together. Trust me, it is worth it.

The special tool to press in the seal is not 100% necessary, provided you have a suitable socket or section of pipe that can substitute.

Pressure washing can damage more delicate parts, but okay to use a plain water garden hose on a cold engine to clean it off. I'd use some brake cleaner or other solvent after that to clear off oil/grease/etc.

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Compressed air does wonders getting the loose crap off. And while I am disasembing and reassembling I clean everything with 409 and a rag. Don't get soap into the internals however

Good tip on the compressed air, Exotion, thanks I'll give that a shot.

Robert, regarding the manuals, I can't for the life of me find the correct one that explicitly says it covers my mower:

Am I missing something obvious?

Thanks for all the help guys!

Augustivus said:

Robert, regarding the manuals, I can't for the life of me find the correct one that explicitly says it covers my mower:

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Not sure why "MZBB-" versions aren't in the listings, but here's the manual on Amazon and eBay (same price & free shipping via either site):

HRM215 Shop Manual ([url]www.amazon.com)[/URL]

HRM215 Shop Manual ([url]www.ebay.com)[/URL]

Well, what luck. When I bought the mower, it came with the owner's manual, but when I finally opened up the binder just for a light read, it was the shop manual! What luck! Alright, good tip on the compressed air, with that and some simple green and water I got it cleaned up so I could zero on where the leak was coming from. I put oil in and fired it up. It ran for 5 minutes and nothing happened, then I saw it, hopefully it shows in the pictures, but after 10 minutes it was actively dripping. Looks like maybe the gasket in your picture, what do you think, Robert?

Augustivus said:

I put oil in and fired it up. It ran for 5 minutes and nothing happened, then I saw it, hopefully it shows in the pictures, but after 10 minutes it was actively dripping. Looks like maybe the gasket in your picture, what do you think, Robert?

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Probably the pan gasket or seal around the crankshaft. You'd need to remove the engine and inspect carefully. With the engine up-side down, it should be more clear where the leak is originating. The gasket and seal are easy and inexpensive to replace, just some labor to pull and then re-fit the engine. Worth it for a nice old GXV like this, especially if the mower is otherwise in good running shape.

OK, I've ordered the following two parts:
Honda 11381-ZG9-T00 GASKET
Honda 91201-ZG9-U71 OIL SEAL (25X38X7)

I'm skipping the seal on the governor for the moment, based on my observations of the leak.
Hopefully I can get the engine off and in my shop for disassembly soon.

Any tips for diving down to that gasket are welcomed! I'll get pictures up as soon as useful.