Mower deck HRR216VKA won't roll backwards....

trevor_bartram

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May 13, 2018
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I know, I know there are many posts about this and I read most of them but none offered a simple solution. However, they gave me good ideas and my solution for a three year old mower is simple. First this is a really bad design, Honda should have used sealed bushings rather open bushings, no wonder water and sand get in there and bind. My twenty year old rear drive MTD Yardman was far superior in this respect, I never had to touch the transmission, other than replace a belt. However, it is what it is, my bushings where not completely seized, so first I adjusted the clutch cable, it had never been done and it was due. Then I shut off the gas and turned the mower over and cleaned the whole axle, it's amazing how much grass was packed in there and I clean the underside of my mower after every use. The bushings (both wheels and one transmission) are clearly visible, I soaked two with 3:1 oil and turned the free wheel to work the oil in, then turned the mower and did the other. I sprayed WD40 onto the axle for the bushing that is not visible. I let it stand for a while and turned the mower upright, voila, with the Smart Drive control pushed down now the mower backs up fine. I will clean off surplus oil before first use. At a guess, this will need doing once a year, when changing the engine oil and oiling the cables. When I started researching this problem I was really pissed off at Honda for such a poor design, now I have a simple solution I'll cut them some slack. If anyone can see anything wrong with my approach please reply.

Next up, hey Honda, the next time you design a mover how about making the underside less complicated, with fewer nooks and crannies, so it's easier to clean. Again my MTD Yardman was far, far superior in this respect too.
 
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