Honda HRX217HXA Transmission Seals

I have a Honda HRX217HXA mower where drive wheels have progressively slowed. Recently after each use I've notice oil on the garage floor underneath the transmission. I wiped clean, rechecked and see it is seeping from the shaft seal on the left hand side of transmission housing. I set mower on end and removed one of the plugs on the transmission housing, added some Honda 08208HST01 hydrostatic oil and retried speed. All worked good, wheels engaged and speed was back but oil leaks too rapidly. I feel pump is okay and just need to replace seals, ref attached item 15. I know transmission has to come out to replace question I have is how difficult is it to replace the seals? Any tips on how to remove old seals and install new? It appears only one is bad, once I remove transmission is it recommended to replace all three?

Hi Mark,

Some seals come out easy, some are difficult. I've pried them out using a small screwdriver. Some guys one YouTube have tapped two small sheet metal screws into the metal part of the seal then used two pry bars or screw drivers to extract them, this usually only works on bigger seals. Make sure the axle shaft is free from burs or rust as this will damage the new seals, don't damage the tranny housing either when pulling the old one out.

I have made mini pry bars by grinding an Allen head wrench to sort of a pry bar shape to extract them.

Regards

Jeff

Thanks! I'll let you know how it goes!

I used the drywall screw method to extract seals on a roto-tiller shaft. The video below (about 1:40) explains this method with a special tool but I just used a vise-grip on the head of the screw and pulled hard. As I recall, I also blunted the tip of the screw so that when & if it hit metal or a bearing going in it would be less likely to cause damage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtPqg-I-C-s