Hello, Honda Riding Mower Owner Here.

Hi,

I am new here. I have two Honda H1011 Riding Mowers. I bought the first one, a hydrostatic transmission model in 2001, just before Honda quit selling complete mowers. Thankfully, they still sell most of the parts. The other one, a 1993 model, was given to me free about 7 years ago in rusted condition from having sat outside on a local farm. It has the standard transmission. Right after I got that one, I went through it completely and restored/refurbished it so that it now runs perfectly. The engine was in excellent condition and all is well with that one now.

Recently, the hydrostatic transmission in the 2001 model failed completely and I decided to convert it to a standard shift version. That turned out to be quite a job. First I had to source a used transmission on eBay. That done, the total on all of the parts is now just over $500. That is a bargain since the standard transmission units are quite sturdy and we all know what a good new riding mower costs. I will have that completed in another week or so.

I have a two acre mini-ranch so I certainly need at least one good mower at all times. The front acre is lawn-quality weeds and the fenced off back acre is mostly weeds with some hay, here and there. With two mowers, I'll always have at least one of them running at all times. That will be a relief.

Thanks for listening.

:smile:

Here are pictures of my 1993 Standard Shift Model back in 2010 after it was restored. I added a large metal tractor seat from Tractor Supply since the original was shot and they are no longer available, while the metal one was only $30.







I had to modify the cover on the hydrostatic model so that the 5 speed shift would work properly. It was made from 1/4" ABS sheeting.



The rest of the mower is coming along. I have the engine back in now. I had to remove the oil pan and replace the gasket to stop a bad oil leak.

:welcome:

It's always good to have a backup mower

Catherine said:

:welcome:

It's always good to have a backup mower

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Yes it is. I was working on my mower this morning while my wife was mowing with the other one. It occurred to me that I really do need two mowers. When one quits, I still have one to mow with.

Nice mowers. I like to see older mowers being saved from the grim scrapper. Thanks for sharing the story and pictures. Hope you enjoy the forum.

NorthBama said:

Nice mowers. I like to see older mowers being saved from the grim scrapper. Thanks for sharing the story and pictures. Hope you enjoy the forum.

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Part of my problem was that when the hydrostatic transaxle on my #1 Honda H1011 went out, I discovered that a replacement unit was between $850 and $900 plus shipping, depending upon the dealer. Even a new standard five speed **** transaxle was listed for over $400. So, I felt lucky to find a very nice one on eBay for $90 plus shipping.

Neither could the hydrostatic unit be repaired. There are no spares offered by Honda, nor is there any information available in their manual to even disassemble the unit. Basically, it became an inexpensive doorstop. It's still sitting there on the floor of my shop, looking rather sad. LOL.

The big job for me was ordering the parts necessary for the changeover. Fortunately, the parts themselves are actually quite reasonably priced. There were a lot of them however, as it was necessary to add a clutch pedal and linkage and also change the brake linkage to the standard shift design. The shift linkage had to be changed as well and it was necessary to add additional mounting tabs for the rear of the transaxle since the frame is different there.

The thought of buying a new John Deere, Poulan or Cub Cadet with another hydrostatic transaxle was not something I would care to do. The manufacturers consider the hydrostatic units to be "sealed units" that are "not user serviceable". Every new mower that I looked at was hydrostatically driven and I wasn't ready to spend big money for a unit that was not repairable, even though they are quite reliable, at least when new. That meant that buying a new mower was a non-started for me, even if I had cared to spend the money, which I didn't.

One other clinker was the fact that the engine on the change-over mower had developed a terrible oil leak. That was initially a daunting task because it required the removal of the engine and taking off the bottom casting which is the oil pan. Fortunately, I have a good mechanical background and the manual was quite good in that area. A $10 base gasket and about 4 hours work and all was well so the engine could be put back in.

Happy Trails to my new lawn mowing friends.

Pictures.

Engine with oil pan removed to access the gasket.

Nice work thanks again for post.

Unless you are using the optional twin rear grass bags, you don't need that front counterweight...I believe it's just held on with a clevis pin...

robert@honda said:

Unless you are using the optional twin rear grass bags, you don't need that front counterweight...I believe it's just held on with a clevis pin...

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That's right. That is the second Mower that was given to me and which I restored. It had a grass bag and the counterweight but the bag unit was in bad shape and got scrapped. The counterweight is empty at this time. I just left it in place.

Work is coming along. I expect to have the first mower, the one I'm converting to standard shift, running within the next week. It's slow but sure.

:smile: