Repairs hr215 SXA masters transmission

mahaffeymj

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Sep 11, 2013
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Bought this used and figured would need to replace tranny. Have uploaded pictures. not sure what happened , but appears wheel adjuster arm became defective and somehow scored the axle whereby it eventually broke (not sure why guy did not notice something amiss). after looking it over and seeing the limited confines, not sure i am up to the job of replacing tranny unless i can eventually buy a cheap used one on ebay, etc. as new look like around $400. could not afford to mess that up and eat the $400. may part it out and try sell on ebay myself. can someone with experience on these mowers, look over pictures and see what they think and what type of job to replace is involved? also any idea on best place buying used tranny for this model? its a 3 speed.

thanks.
i love these mowers and have a couple of the old hr214 models.
 

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exotion

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For 400 you could get a decent new mower with working transmission.
 

Giblet

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Ya, I feel for you. Even though the drive shaft is $140 bucks, but what the heck, at this point you have nothing to lose and this would make for a wonderful rainy day project.
 

wfsway

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The transmission drive shaft can be re-welded and finished diameter, although the welder needs to be accomplished craftsman. Likely you should remove the axle from the housing, as it is so close to the seal. This will also be a good time to replace those main seals, they are not expensive. Alternatively the SX transmissions come available on Ebay occasionally for approximately 125.00 to 150.00 used complete. The replacement new final drive shaft #23251-VA3-J52 is about the same price at Parts Pit Stop web site. Presently I have extra SX unit that has been reworked seals, fluid etc.
 

golfergordy

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In late 2016 I bought 2-HR215 SX's on CL near the end of the mowing season. The $40 HR215 had a motivated seller and it looked like hell, but it ran very well and had a small hole in the deck, which I repaired. I also cleaned it up and it now looks fine, and has become my weekly mower. The $20 HR215 I bought starts, but it doesn't start easily, and after I made some adjustments, it runs well once it gets going. I'll be looking into fixing the starting problem in 2018. The point of my comments here is that both of these mowers have 3-speed transmissions that work very well. Many people will sell their lawnmower for very little $ once it gets into a state of disrepair, especially once it gets to be 20+ yrs-old. Keep your eyes on CL for a cheap, dilapidated HR215 with 3-speed trans and act quickly to buy it, just to get the transmission, because the flippers aggressively go after the CL Honda HR series mowers.
 

jp1961

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The filler cap/dipstick on the transmission does seem to tend to loosen over time. It's become one of my items to check along with checking the engine oil.

My HR215 Masters 5.0 was hard to start too,,,I think this was due to the valve clearances being way off.

Regards

Jeff
 

scbovenzi@gmail.com

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Same thing happened to mine - I replaced the whole drive shaft. You have to open the transmission to replace the shaft - NOT AN EASY FIX FOR A BEGINNER like me! Getting the damn case back together was a trick. Now I have a different problem with the same mower - it appears that the transmission is slipping because I didn't put enough fluid in the case when I put it back together - and the case is SEALED - no port for replacing or adding fluid. Keep all this in mind! I DEFINITELY would have purchased a new transmission with drive shaft had I know how much trouble this was going to be.
 

wfsway

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There is a hex bolt on top of the sx transmission with aluminum crush washer, fluid can be added carefully with a dropper. It may be difficult to access, but should work.
 
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