Greetings, I'm a retired engineer and a long time yard mower. I came upon this forum looking for help with the replacement of the rear wheel adjuster on a Honda HRR216 self propelled mower. When it was all over I thought I'd write it up so the next person would at least have an idea what they were in for. So here goes...
Changing the rear wheel height adjustment lever on a Honda HRR216.
First it will help if you have an area where you can lay out the parts as you remove them. Paper underneath that you can jot notes on is great also. Be sure to mark which side of the gear faces out. There is a dot on one of the teeth. Dot goes toward the inside on the left and outside on the right. Failure to do so will result in an immoveable brick with an engine attached. A good pair of snap ring pliers is a must for this. And remember, turning a gas tank and oil reservoir on the side will have some consequences.
I wish I’d taken pics as I went, but I didn’t. I kept thinking the next thing I remove will make it happen, but it didn’t. So words will have to suffice. It’s a good idea to take a picture of the underside to remember where all of the fairings go.
First remove all of the housing fairings. It will make access much easier and I’m not sure there is a way to do it without pulling them all. The one pic I did take shows how it will look to get the access you need.
After you remove the wheels, drive gears, and backing plate, disconnect the spring that attaches to the gearbox. BE CAREFULL!! This spring is a very powerful one and it will snap back at you. Then remove the flanged pillow block that the drive shaft goes through on the underside of the deck, on the left side (adjuster side). Let it slide down toward the gear box. This will allow you to drop the axle and have clearance to slide the plates that are joined with the welded rod out of the way.
At this point, check to see if the belt is still in the sheave. If not, it’s much easier to remove one bolt and loosen the other that holds the guard on to gain access. Get it back in place, then button the guard back up.
I’d recommend re-attaching the monster spring now. The distance between hooks will be shorter than when you get the drive shaft back in place. By clamping Vice Grips onto the loose end of the hook, I was able to get it pulled back into place. The third try…
Slide the side plate off of the adjuster plate. Remove the broken handle and insert the new adjuster handle. Reposition the side plates over the drive shaft hole.
Slip the drive shaft through the pillow block hole, and up through the side plates, then attach the block back in place. It may help to have a second set of hands to keep the adjuster handle and that whole assembly in place while you are getting it positioned and bolts started. Why Honda thought they had to weld that bar between the two side plates is beyond me. If it could be unbolted on the left side, this would be a 20 minute, one sided job.
With that done, you’re ready to start assembling the backer plate and gears. I set it back down and used bricks on either side of the deck to get the clearance needed. Again, make sure you have the assembly in the correct order. I’d recommend downloading one of the exploded view you can find on the net.
Hope this helps someone.
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Catherine
Thanks for sharing!
I'm going to move this thread over to our Honda section.
