Honda Riding Lawn Mower


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Old 05-24-07, 11:10 PM
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Question Honda Riding Lawn Mower

I need to change the starter on my Honda Riding Lawn Mower. Do I need to tear the motor down to
get the starter out or is it an easier way to do it.
 
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Old 05-25-07, 01:57 AM
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Single cylinder? Twin cylinder? Vertical crankshaft? Horizontal crankshaft? Please post back with tractor model and engine ID numbers as well!
 
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Old 05-25-07, 08:36 PM
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Smile Honda Riding Lawn Mower

I'm not going to be able to give you all the answers,
because this mower is new to me. It was given to
me. I do have two numbers. Maat-5001375 and
HT 4213. I hope this will help some. This is an older
mower between (1987-1992). It's still in pretty good
shape.
 
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Old 05-26-07, 12:14 AM
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The 4213 has the liquid cooled engine. This one is a pain to get the starter off of. The starter usually doesn't cause much problem on these engines. Why are you removing it?

To take it off, you'll need to basically disconnect the driveshaft, remove the nuts from the motor mounts, loosen the radiator (you can leave the hoses connected, but get trhe radiator free from the mower frame), and pull the engine far enough forward that you can remove the timing belt cover on the back. Then you can access the starter mounting bolts.

Usually if there happens to be a problem with the starter, it is the brushes. You can disassemble the starter from the rear by removing the 2 case screws. The brush cap will come back far enough to remove the brush holder and service them. Putting it back on is a bit tricky.
 
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Old 05-29-07, 11:51 PM
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Question Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines

About the Honda Riding Mower, HT4213, Maat-5001375, Twin Cylinder, 13 horse power, water
cooled. You were right. It wasn't the starter.
The pto clutch was draging engine down due to
rust. Now that I have it freed up it turns over but
will not start. It has good spark and carburator seems
to be clean. When cranking engine the compressions
blows back through the carburator. Could it be
out of time? The back cover was taken loose by
the original owner when I got the tracker. It was
full of trash and appears that mice chewed on the
timing belt. How can I tell if it is in time and
replace timing belt. Timing belt is still in tact
and turning. Thanks
 
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Old 05-30-07, 01:46 AM
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I can just about guarantee it's out of time. You'll still need to remove the engine, or at least pull it forward enough to remove the back timing belt cover. Then blow out any junk in there, and make sure to clean the cogs on the pulleys...the crank pulley usually gets the crud packed in it. Then take a good look at the water pump pulley (it's driven by the timing belt). They are alumium and wear out. The cogs will be worn down if the pulley is badly worn. This would be a good time to replace the water pump anyway, since you'll have to go to this length to replace it should it fail in the future.

Then, time the valves. Pull the spark plug on a cylinder. Put a pencil in the plug hole, and rotate the engine while watching/feeling the pencil go up or down, until the piston is at the very highest point in the cylinder. Then remove the valve cover, and look at the 2 rocker arms over that cylinder. Rotate the camshaft until these valves are to the point where they are in between openings. In other words, if you rotate the cam one way, one valve opens, or if you rotate it the other way, the other valve opens, but they are both closed in this "between openings" spot. With the valve at this spot EXACTLY, and the crankshaft at the topmost point in the cylinder EXACTLY, put the timing belt on. The water pump rotates to put tension on the belt. Get the belt snug. You don't want to tighten the stew out of it, just get it snug enough that it doesn't deflect a lot and doesn't stand a chance of jumping teeth on the cogs.

Now your engine valve timing will be correct.

Before doing this, it would pay to remove the old belt and rotate the cam so that the valves are closed on a cylinder, perform a leakdown test on that cylinder, and repeat for the other cylinder to be sure none of the valves are bent.

You are about to find out how very expensive parts are for this mower. This may not even be an economical repair. The belt is around $90, I think the pump is close to $200. The clutches are around $400 each, and the starter is over $300. (best I can recall anyway). You can wind up with a lot of money tied up in it in a hurry if you aren't careful. It's an excellent machine, but expensive. The clutches and the timing belt and water pump are the main things I ever see wrong with them. That stuff usually doesn't fail for 15-20 years though.
 
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Old 05-31-07, 07:46 PM
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Question Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines

Another question about the Honda Riding Lawn Mower. Is the flywood threaded left handed or right
handed?
 
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Old 05-31-07, 09:31 PM
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I don't recall. I think it's regular right hand threads.
 
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Old 06-02-07, 07:49 PM
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Talking Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines

I guess you all caught it, but I meant flywheel, not
flywood
 
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Old 09-10-07, 03:48 PM
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I have one of these as well. I can spin the back of the starter but when I attempt to start the mower it still wont kick in. I can bypass the ignition and go down to the solinoid. I can turn the shaft which is in back of the starter freely.

Thanks.
 
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Old 09-10-07, 10:53 PM
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Are you saying the starter won't come on or turn at all? Or it turns but won't engage the flywheel? Not sure what the problem is.
 
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Old 09-11-07, 02:06 PM
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In other words I can spin the back shaft of the starter with my fingers. But when I attempt to jump start the mower through the starter it will not kick in to spin the flywheel. the solenoid is supposed to be good good.

Thanks.
 
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Old 09-11-07, 10:22 PM
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I still don't know if the starter is turning or not. Does it come on, do anything at all? Nothing happens when you try to start it, or does the starter spin, just not engage the flywheel???
 
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Old 09-12-07, 02:20 PM
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cannot get starter to spin with key through the initiation
and when try to start with jumper cables hooked to starter
or solenoid the starter still don't spin
 
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Old 09-12-07, 04:13 PM
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What is the configuration which you have the jumper cables hooked up? In other words, specifically, where is each jumper end attached? And what are you using for a battery? The onboard battery or a jumper battery? If you are not doing the following, then try such. With the ignition key in the off position and the spark plugs removed from the cylinder heads and with a known good battery (seperate of all other cables/connections, in other words, a stand alone battery) hook up one positive jumper cable to the positive side of the test battery, now hook up the other positive jumper cable to the starter power post on the starter motor, now hook up one ground jumper cable to the negative side of the test battery. Last step is to grasp the last ground jumper cable and touch it to (not clamp it) a suitable metal ground on the engine (such as the sump (oil reservoir)) and see what you get. If the starter spins over the starter motor is good (mindful that you have not applied a load to it though) and you now have to trace your trouble. But that is another diagnosis, so post back with my test procedure results.
 
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Old 09-12-07, 04:18 PM
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If the starter won't work with the jumper cables connected to it and a good ground, and you have good connection and plenty of amperage, then the starter is bad. It could be just stuck brushes, or it could be worse. Are you certain you're jumping power to it at the right spots? I think this one has a solenoid engaged bendix.
 
 

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