Repairs Very little self propel power on HRX217TDA

[mriddle]

Greetings All,

First post. I have the above mentioned mower, circa 2005 I think. Mower runs great but has very little power to move the mower while in use. The wheels spin great but don't seem to get any traction in the grass.

I have:

replaced all wheels w new oem Honda wheels.
replaced belt w new oem Honda belt.
adjusted the cable tension all the way (seemed to help for a while, then not).
I have a new cable ordered but am not confident that it will help.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

mriddle

 

[mriddle]

Oh well, that was helpful...

 

[robert@honda]

So the rear wheels spin when you engage the drive, but the mower doesn't move?

If you have a tachometer, check the engine speed; with the throttle in FAST and blades engaged, it should be about 2,900 rpm

What's the serial number off the back of the mower? I can post some troublehsooting help...

 

[mriddle]

Thanks for the reply Robert@Honda!
S/N = MAGA-1090272

I received my drive cable today but due to some work related travel I will not have a chance to change for a few days.
Any service info. that you can provide would be greatly appreciated. If the cable doesn't fix the drive then I will order a transmission...

As indicated, the wheels spin fine in the air, just not enough to move the mower in the grass. The engine seems to be running great, as it always has. Sorry but I do not have a tachometer. I just changed the belt and that didn't help.

Initially, a few weeks ago I adjusted the cable and had strong self propel power. Then after a mowing or two the power just stopped. Then I maxed out the cable and had a similiar experience, worked for a while and then stopped.

Thanks again.

 

[exotion]

Thanks for the reply Robert@Honda!
S/N = MAGA-1090272

I received my drive cable today but due to some work related travel I will not have a chance to change for a few days.
Any service info. that you can provide would be greatly appreciated. If the cable doesn't fix the drive then I will order a transmission...

As indicated, the wheels spin fine in the air, just not enough to move the mower in the grass. The engine seems to be running great, as it always has. Sorry but I do not have a tachometer. I just changed the belt and that didn't help.

Initially, a few weeks ago I adjusted the cable and had strong self propel power. Then after a mowing or two the power just stopped. Then I maxed out the cable and had a similiar experience, worked for a while and then stopped.

Thanks again.

Could the tensioner spring be worn?

 

[robert@honda]

Thanks for the reply Robert@Honda!
S/N = MAGA-1090272

Any service info. that you can provide would be greatly appreciated. If the cable doesn't fix the drive then I will order a transmission...

Attached are some pages from the shop manual; one section is complete transmission R&R, the other the shutter/scroll deck stuff (a prerequisite to transmission service).

With luck, it will just be a cable; the trans itself does not have any serviceable parts, and is replaced as a unit ($109.97 list price, part number 20001-VH7-003).