Problem after a simple blade change!!!

[professor ginge]

Hi all...I am new here and hope someone can help.

So...amongst my collection of Hayter and Lawnflite pro's I recently acquired a little Honda HRB425C(qxe) for the princely sum of £5 from a very elderley gentleman who had loved and cherished it from new. Its absolutely pristine...and the only issue I had was that I was unable to remove one of the blade bolts to replace the blade. Having got bored of drilling out bolts from a previous mower, I decided to take it to a lawnmower repair shop and let them deal with the hassle. I provided them with new blade bolts and a new blade (though not an orginal honda part but supplied by a reputable dealer).

So here is the issue....when I finally got it back after some weeks wait, and upon engaging the blade, at first I thought they had forgotten to actually fit the blade, nothing appeared to happen, no change in sound, temporary drop in revs as it picked up the load, no wooshing of air through the bag etc etc. On testing it barely cuts and hardly any grass is collected.

I am not familiar with this models rotostop blade brake stuff, but observing the blade movement through the grassbox flap when engaging it slowly rotates then builds up speed, though I am unsure that this should be the case. so...bearing in mind all that the repair shop needed to do was remove the seized blade bolt and replace the blade...is it possible they have damaged the rotostop components??? Is the blade not rotating fast enough to generate airflow for suction?? Is it a faulty or incorrect blade? Is it something else?
Any help in where to start would be most appreciated...and I am loathe to return to the repair shop and wait even longer, and unhappy that they clearly have not tested the mower before return.

Adam.

 

[PTmowerMech]

It could just be the blade. Did you go from a high lift blade to a straight blade?

 

[professor ginge]

Thanks for your response. The new blade is high lift but unlike the original it doesnt have the drill holes. Supplier lists it as "Replacement for part 72511-VG8-A50, 72511-VG8-303, 72511-VG8-010,"
and on the parts diagram 72511-VG8-A50 is the correct part, so at least the supplier thinks they have sent the right part.


Replacement for part 72511-VG8-A50, 72511-VG8-303, 72511-VG8-010,

 

[slomo]

Maybe the blade clutch is worn/wearing out. Not providing a crankshaft lock up for full blade/engine speed? Is there are cable adjustment for the blade brake?

 

[olgeezershonda]

The blade should spin up to speed in about half a second or less and stop just as quickly. From your description it appears to be slipping. There is a cable adjustment that can be made to the Roto-Stop and how to adjust it can be found in the owners manual. If you don't have a manual you should be able to download one from Honda.

However, if the blade stop mechanism was working properly before the repair then I'd take the mower back and show them the issue. As you noted apparently they didn't test it before calling the job done. I looked at the parts diagram. It's a peculiar looking blade so it might be wise to put a genuine Honda part on it.

Where are you located? In England? Just wondering as I've never seen a model like that before. If the photos I pulled up are correct it looks like it has what we over here would call fender skirts over the rear wheels. Interesting design none-the-less.

 

[professor ginge]

Thanks for the replies guys...bye the way...this isnt my "usual" mower ????. I run a Hayter 48 pro, 2x Lawnflite pro 553hrs and a Hayter harrier 41 for the small stuff. This little honda was acquired as a backup for the smaller Hayter. To my amazement, when I got it, it actually gives a splendid cut on a small lawn and is very light. And at £5 in pristine condition for a 20 year old mower...I thought my luck was in!!!

Yup ...am in not so sunny England...

So...it does have cable adjustment for the rotostop.. I did try it this morning, though only adjusted a little and no change, but yes I would agree the problem could well be there. It does seem a little sluggish spining up to speed, but I dont really have a benchmark to assess this against. However, it does stop absolutely instantaneously, which you would think not if the thing is slipping.
Similarly, the non original blade could be contributing. My lawnflite has a big blade fan that generates a large airflow for grass collection, though this honda doesnt, so I imagine the blade shape (hi lift) is very important.

As the blade itself is the only thing thats actually changed, I am inclined to do as suggested, fit an original!!

Thank you for the help so far, and any other suggestions most welcome.

 

[olgeezershonda]

My HRA manual says the rotostop free play should be 15-20mm. That's measured at the top of the yellow button. The new HRX says free play is 10-15mm so your's is probably in a similar range. If you can get it somewhere around 15mm you should be close enough. Just a thought, but if the blade is slow to ramp up but stops quickly maybe it's adjusted too far toward tight? Don't know. In the 20 plus years I've had the HRA I've never had to adjust it.

Earlier I had mentioned the rear wheels. When I was poking around afterward I came across a similar looking model that didn't have rear wheels, only rollers to create a striping effect. Is that how yours is? If so I never knew Honda had made such a mower.

 

[professor ginge]

yup...mines a roller

 

[enigma-2]

You may not want to hear this, but

Years ago (we're talking the 1960's) I attended tech school in Indianapolis. I landed a job working for a small TV and radio repair shop, downtown. Guy had been there for years. I got the easy repairs, replace a tube, install a new capacitors, etc. After I got it running perfectly, he'd then come over and replace one of the tubes, usually a horiz output, with a used one.

I got curious about this and he told that he tested the replacement and it was around 75%; good for about 6 months. Then the owner would call about his TV going out and we would get more business.

And he was right, about 6 months later they called. Picture was rolling. Learned a lot from that old schister.

Point is, all your mechanic needed to do is put an impact wrench on the bolt and spin it off. Then put on the new blade. An hour at best (with a free acting class on how much trouble it caused him). Nothing else should be wrong, that wasn't before.

Choose a different dealer in the future. This guy is sitting you up for more $$. (And it won't be over once this is fixed. Once that old man in Indy got a client, he never let go).

 

[Hammermechanicman]

You may not want to hear this, but

Years ago (we're talking the 1960's) I attended tech school in Indianapolis. I landed a job working for a small TV and radio repair shop, downtown. Guy had been there for years. I got the easy repairs, replace a tube, install a new capacitors, etc. After I got it running perfectly, he'd then come over and replace one of the tubes, usually a horiz output, with a used one.

I got curious about this and he told that he tested the replacement and it was around 75%; good for about 6 months. Then the owner would call about his TV going out and we would get more business.

And he was right, about 6 months later they called. Picture was rolling. Learned a lot from that old schister.

Point is, all your mechanic needed to do is put an impact wrench on the bolt and spin it off. Then put on the new blade. An hour at best (with a free acting class on how much trouble it caused him). Nothing else should be wrong, that wasn't before.

Choose a different dealer in the future. This guy is sitting you up for more $$. (And it won't be over once this is fixed. Once that old man in Indy got a client, he never let go).

I always liked it when customers on a service contract would accuse me of not fixing the equipment properly so i would get to come back and charge them more. I explain to them they are on a contract and we didn't make more money the more visits we made and i tell them i fix their equipment extra special good because i want to see them as little as possible. <smile>