Pinion Gears Trashed twice on Honda HRR2169VKA Self Propelled Mower

GregHondaHRR

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  • / Pinion Gears Trashed twice on Honda HRR2169VKA Self Propelled Mower
Hi, I have an approx 3 year old Honda Self Propelled Mower. I purchased it used a few years ago. It was a year old when i bought it from a co worker.

A few months ago, the tab on my adjustment arm broke off of the left rear tire. I responded like a farmer, bye wiring it in place.

Last month, I noticed a grinding metal noise whenever i engaged the transmission. Finally the tires lost 75% of power.

I took the left rear tire off and found the pinion gear damaged. So i purchased 2 new OEM pinion gears and wheel/tires with new bearings. I found both left side and right side pinon gears damaged, with the left side worse than right side (same side as the damaged adjusting tab) . So i replaced both. I did not replace the adjustment tab.

I started the mower up and mowed less than 5 minutes, heard same grinding noise. I took tires off and found both new pinion gears damaged again. Left side more than right side.

Where should i go from here?

Both wheels seem to have play that appears to be coming from the drive shaft side, but i cannot tell if play is excessive for Honda mowers.

Could the bushing on the drive shaft be shot? I noticed what appears to be a dest cover has slipped off the wheel section on both sides and travelled to the transmission


Is my wire job on the adjuster playing a factor?

How about the axles? could they be worn out? (I am not thinking so since they have bearings rather than bushings on them)
 

gotomow

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  • / Pinion Gears Trashed twice on Honda HRR2169VKA Self Propelled Mower
Bushings probably shot, axle made from cheap rusty metal from day one, it's junky.
 

GregHondaHRR

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  • / Pinion Gears Trashed twice on Honda HRR2169VKA Self Propelled Mower
Bushings probably shot, axle made from cheap rusty metal from day one, it's junky.
Drive Axle that comes out of the transmission or the small stubby axle that bolts the wheel and wheel bearing in place?
 

gotomow

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  • / Pinion Gears Trashed twice on Honda HRR2169VKA Self Propelled Mower
Drive axle is very prone to rust. First thread is close to issues you're having.
The entire rear drive system is under engineered IMHO for cost savings.
It appears that the conditions that the machine operates in can contribute greatly to it's lifespan.
 

rice4me

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  • / Pinion Gears Trashed twice on Honda HRR2169VKA Self Propelled Mower
The height adjust arm is causing the pinion not to mesh correctly with the wheel gear. It causes the wheel mounting plate to toe-in to the front. I bet your wheel gear is steel. Originally the wheel gear was plastic. In that case the wheel gear teeth wore out on the edge. When people started using metal wheel gears the metal was stronger than the pinion. That caused wear on the pinion. I have seen this problem many times. the first thing I would do is take the height adjust arm and completely disengage it from any setting by moving it all the way down to the bottom. If the grinding stops, then that is your problem. I had to install a spacer right behind the wheel mounting bolt putting it between the wheel mounting plate and mower body. It worked perfectly the first time and never failed again and I still have plastic wheel gears. Here are photos of my fix. Read the comment with each photo. https://www.flickr.com/photos/24045457@N02/albums/72157668326021968
 
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