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I have a HR215 K1 HXA that I bought used last summer. I've serviced it up with new oil, filter, spark and carb. It runs great but in the last month has started overheating and I don't know why. Engaging blade is smooth and doesn't dies. Any suggestions? It will mow great for about a half hour and then loose power and slowly die. Smoke comes out of the dipstick. I've pulled the carb and it's as clean as can be, air filter looks good and I dumped the oil and put in fresh. Oil level is good. I'm not sure what next. Blade clutch? Ignition coil? Thanks.

A few possibilities that come to mind.

Mouse nest blocking air flow.
Operating at less than full throttle
Air fuel mixture too lean

KC_kid said:

I have a HR215 K1 HXA that I bought used last summer. I've serviced it up with new oil, filter, spark and carb. It runs great but in the last month has started overheating and I don't know why. Engaging blade is smooth and doesn't dies. Any suggestions? It will mow great for about a half hour and then loose power and slowly die. Smoke comes out of the dipstick. I've pulled the carb and it's as clean as can be, air filter looks good and I dumped the oil and put in fresh. Oil level is good. I'm not sure what next. Blade clutch? Ignition coil? Thanks.

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When engine looses power and dies, try a spark test. If no spark, replace plug, test coil, cap and wire. Replace as needed.
If spark is good:

Dump old fuel (old fuel = fuel more than 30 days old)
Flush fuel tank with solvent
Drain, disassemble, and clean (or just replace) carburetor and all gaskets (fyi, list price on a new carb is $42)
Replace spark plug
Don't always trust your eyes on a pleated air filter. If it even looks a bit old or dirty, it's cheap to replace
Ensure all links, rods, springs, etc. on carburetor and governor are correctly fitted
Fill with fresh fuel ONLY

Does the engine smoke at all when running? What color is the smoke coming from the dipstick filler hole?
White smoke from exhaust = burning oil
Black smoke from exhaust = rich (too much fuel/too little air) fuel condition (clogged carb or air filter, stuck choke)

Vapor lock may happen in really hot conditions (fuel boils) but that's rare. Will the engine always fire back up after cooling down?

May need to use a compression tester and check engine compression, consider having valves inspected and adjusted.

With compression, spark, fuel & air, engine will run.

A shop manual can be a huge help when doing repairs; Honda sells paper copies on eBay and Amazon:

Honda Power Equipment Shop Manuals on eBay
Honda Power Equipment Shop Manuals on Amazon

Wow Robert, thanks for the thorough response, I really appreciate that.
Fuel is good, carb is good, air filter was new at beginning of season and has not been in dusty conditions - we've had a lot of moisture this year. Spark Plug was new at beginning of season too, although one time that it died I checked for spark and didn't see any. I thought maybe I couldn't see it very well because it was in direct sun - I just touched the plug to the block, pulled the cord and looked for spark. But, a few minutes later it fired right up.

It always fires up after a period of time and truly does sound/run good. Engine does not smoke from exhaust while running, only from top of engine and dipstick tube when it's overheated and after if dies. I don't think it's vapor locking either. I need to buy a manual and I don't have a compression tester. After I replace the ignition coil and make sure my RPMs are inline, if it is still happening then I'll have to look at compression and valves.

I will respond with what happens, ignition coil and tach should be here first of next week.

KC_kid said:

After I replace the ignition coil and make sure my RPMs are inline, if it is still happening then I'll have to look at compression and valves.

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I'd hold off on buying a coil unless you don't have any spark at all. It's rare for a coil to fail, but if you don't have spark, be sure the cap is okay and the plug is clean. Might want to also make sure the coil air gap (between the coil and flywheel) is okay, and the mounting bolts are not loose or the coil can be moved.

Low compression or out-of-adjustment valves are unlikely too. Low compression would probably be due to worn piston rings, and your mower would for sure smoke a bit. Valves rarely get out of spec, and you'd have backfiring or other problems. Not running when hot or cold is rarely due to out-of-spec valves.

I'd bet the problem is choke/carb or air flow related, assuming all the other rods, springs, etc. are correctly installed.

robert@honda said:

I'd hold off on buying a coil unless you don't have any spark at all. It's rare for a coil to fail, but if you don't have spark, be sure the cap is okay and the plug is clean. Might want to also make sure the coil air gap (between the coil and flywheel) is okay, and the mounting bolts are not loose

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Well I already bought the coil and it came in yesterday, but I'm out if town this weekend. A lot of small engine reading pointed me to coils going bad can cause overheating, I don't really know.
I'll respond when I get a chance to replace it and mow again next week.

KC_kid said:

Well I already bought the coil and it came in yesterday, but I'm out if town this weekend. A lot of small engine reading pointed me to coils going bad can cause overheating, I don't really know.
I'll respond when I get a chance to replace it and mow again next week.

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KC, It's overheating can cause the coil to go bad. Seeing a spark is no guarantee coil works at hot. Don't shops have a coil tester?

motoman said:

KC, It's overheating can cause the coil to go bad. Seeing a spark is no guarantee coil works at hot. Don't shops have a coil tester?

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I was trying to avoid a shop charge. So your saying the coil may stop from the overheat but not be the cause of it to overheat? Hope I figure it out soon. Seems like am engine like this would be easy to diagnose.

Have you checked the muffler to see if its clogged or restricted?

BlazNT said:

Have you checked the muffler to see if its clogged or restricted?

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No, I have not. I will make sure and do that when I'm working on it. Clean muffler, replace electrical, double check clean cooling fins, check RPMs and throttle linkage. Might get a new air filter although I hate to replace a filter I am 90% sure is clean. I know carb, oil and gas are clean. Engine acted exact same with 2 separate clean carbs and fresh oil. Running 89 octane gas.

SeniorCitizen said:

Mouse nest blocking air flow.

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I'm wondering if I find this under the cover somewhere. Looks clean at a glance, but I haven't removed cover yet.

KC_kid said:

No, I have not. I will make sure and do that when I'm working on it. Clean muffler, replace electrical, double check clean cooling fins, check RPMs and throttle linkage. Might get a new air filter although I hate to replace a filter I am 90% sure is clean. I know carb, oil and gas are clean. Engine acted exact same with 2 separate clean carbs and fresh oil. Running 89 octane gas.

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I took off the muffler but there wasn't much to it, no apparent blockage and no spark arrester to clean. I replaced ignition coil and spark plug, although spark plug looked OK and I did not get the coil tested. Cooling fins were as clean as can be. Throttle linkage worked exactly as described in the manual. I also replaced the air filter with new. I had been using a Kohler air filter from HD and while it fit perfect, maybe it had too much restriction? I replaced with a Cub Cadet filter that had the Honda part number listed as a direct replacement.

The last thing I need to do is double check my RPMs are good, then I will mow mid week and hope it goes well.

The tach didn't come in yet but it was time to mow. I adjusted throttle and governor setting a tiny bit faster and mowed. Ran good and did the whole yard, never shut it off but when I was done, smoke puffed from the engine - not the muffler. Pulled dipstick and rotated the crank - smoke comes with each stroke, dipstick and muffler. It was overheating but not enough to shut it down.

What next? Could my rpms really be slow enough to overheat it or do I need to thoroughly clean fuel system - tank, screen, lines, carb. I guess it is running lean? I hope it's not valves or compression. To my knowledge the head has never been removed, nor the valve cover.

Any opinions? It also hunted while warming up, but stopped when warm and ran smooth under load.

To me, this is mind boggling:
Engine starts easy and runs good, until it slowly dies after decent use and you find it is overheated.
Or, it mows your whole yard perfect and when done, you find it's overheated.

I don't get it, supposed to be an easy, reliable engine. I still believe that, even though this HR215 K1 turned 14 in April. Hydro trans works absolutely perfect. Deck is as solid as the day it was cast. Operates smooth and easy, until the overheat!!

edit: using 30Wsae oil, I think per manual.

Time to clean the carb with carb cleaner and compressed air. Check float and needle valve for proper movement.

KC_kid said:

To me, this is mind boggling:
Engine starts easy and runs good, until it slowly dies after decent use and you find it is overheated.
Or, it mows your whole yard perfect and when done, you find it's overheated.

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You say it is overheating...what are the exact symptoms that it is overheating? Just smell and smoke from the oil filler? Anything else?

How about the breather tube between the air cleaner case and the engine block? This is supposed to vent fumes and positive air pressure from the crankcase. If it were blocked, excessive pressure could force oil out from the seals, or perhaps "poof" a bit of smoke when removing the dipstick? Just a guess, but can you confirm the breather tube is not bent, kinked, and is clear?

KC, Read the plug. (consult any auto repair book for pictures of over lean condition) .Borrow an infrared temp gun and perhaps the pro's will advise expected head temp. I measured 310F on my intek at the sparkplug . The sump oil runs up to 300F. You probably cannot judge "overheat" just because of smoke. Worn ring/bore allows oil into the chamber to smoke under normal temps. Pro's will chime in...

I didn't see anything too crazy with the plug, although I can't read them well and looking at diagnosis pictures didn't get me anywhere.
Breather tube is confirmed clean, clear and not kinked. I pulled it off tonight to inspect.

I will clean out full system this weekend and use brand new gas. It's odd to me that the same thing happens on 2 different carbs.

The symptoms are engine dying and can't restart till it sits for a while. Also smoke will come out off the top of the engine, from under the red cover when it shuts off. Smoke also comes out of the dipstick tube and when you pull the recoil, it will puff smoke out as the piston strokes. Smoke doesn't roll out but it's not a small puff either, it will smoke a decent amount. Smells hot. The oil was burnt when I changed it last, black, and it was low after only maybe 10 hours of use because some of it burnt off. I will check temps with IR thermometer during next mow. I thought of that last time but didn't know what temps to look for, thanks for that info.

Have you adjusted valves? Exhaust valve could be we bit to tight

exotion said:

Have you adjusted valves? Exhaust valve could be we bit to tight

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I have not adjusted valves or taken off valve cover for inspection. I may pop the cover for inspection and pictures, when I am flushing fuel/ cleaning carb this weekend.

This is still a problem. I've checked everything I can, cleaned everything I can. It appears to be running lean, causing overheating and also hunts. Carb is clean. I'm thinking air leak, maybe head gasket.

Any one have head gasket problems before? How easy of a replacement is this? Thanks

-There seems to be a bit of oil spray coming thru the breather, not much just a little.
-I ordered new carb gaskets just to be sure I didn't have a leak in one of them. They seemed to be stuck on pretty good and I doubt they were leaking, but hopefully that solves it.
-The RPMs are set at the manual recommended settings. I attempted to increase the RPMs at the governor which resulted in a runaway every time. I could not get the RPMs any higher than the recommended levels.
-Engine runs very smooth at low RPM. Idle screw works great.
-I seemed to notice more and more hunting going on when its warming up, maybe this is normal, not sure. No hunting when I engage the blade.
-Engine runs smooth (seems to me anyway) when I'm mowing, but still overheats. I had to let it cool between mowing the front and the back.
-Also ordered replacement governor springs, just because.
-Opened up valve cover, not much to see in there.
-Seemed to be air coming out between the head and the muffler? This seemed weird to me, probably not supposed to happen... Maybe I should investigate this further? I had the muffler off during this whole ordeal and everything seemed normal there. Maybe I put it back on wrong or air is coming around from somewhere else.

I ordered the shop manual off of Amazon, I hope it helps. I'm worried that I've fought for this mower and dumped money into it only for some probably easy issue to haunt me for the rest of my days. And I'll spend another $150 for the shop to mess with it in the off season, unless I can get it figured out. I should have taken my $500 and bought a new mower instead of a 14yr old one...

Could running 91 octane fuel be causing this?? A friend at work suggested that I step it back down to 87 octane.

KC_kid said:

Could running 91 octane fuel be causing this?? A friend at work suggested that I step it back down to 87 octane.

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Worth a try :/

Hey Dudes, I apologize for never finishing this thread. After re-reading the whole thing just now, how exhausting this problem was!
The solution for my problem - run 87 octane gas. Not 89 and not 91 and not 93 Octane and preferably with no Ethanol, lucky I could find a station close with no Ethanol (pure-gas.org).
Mower runs like a top now, start to finish. This should turn out to be a lifer, I don't plan on replacing my mower!

Wow thats wierd
I have run my GXV 140 and GXV 160 on Shell V Power Nitro + ( NB genuine 99 Octane in the UK ) for 7 years , no problems until. The current one of running rich on the GXV 160 ( but I think its down to a a very clean looking but 7 year old air filter. ) ordered a new air filter!

I have an HR215HXA that I purchased new in 1999. I have used premium unleaded gas. This spring the mower seemed to be overheating, throwing oil out of the crankcase breather. I found this post, changed to low octane unleaded gas. The mower has run fine since and no oil coming out of the breather. Thanks for the post.

If These 2 engines are allowed to run in a over heat condition for an extended period of time the real culprit will rear its ugly head and low octane non ethanol gas wasn't the solution. I suggest start setting any extra money aside in a mason jar labeled - new mower jar - because it's going to be needed.

I was just reading this thread and thought my experience 2 or 3 years ago might be helpful to someone:
My golfing buddy's 25-yr old Toro walk-behind mower started exhibiting the same symptoms as this thread's subject mower. I offered to help, and after using it a few times until it died out, and noticing that I had to add fuel before each use (after a one week interval between uses) I concluded that fuel was leaking through the carburetor (while the mower sat in my garage waiting for its next use) and into the engine, thus thinning out the oil and causing poor lubrication while the engine was running until it overheated causing the engine to stop. I figured it was a bad float valve in the carburetor, but rather than mess with the carburetor, I obtained a cheap shutoff valve and spliced it into the fuel line (the mower did not previously have a shutoff valve) and instructed my buddy to close the valve immediately after each mowing, and the mower never had another problem.

Maybe the blade is dull. This will cause the engine to overheat.

Our oldest son had Honda HR215SXA Masters Series that I purchased new in summer 1990 for seven years. Started blowing white smoke this spring so youngest son brought it home & used Honda Shop Manual to diagnose. Failed compression test, complete tear down, cleaned, inspected, honed cylinder bore, lapped valves, ordered new Honda OEM parts & reassembled, adjusted valves, Pennzoil 10w-30 oil & fresh high octane 93 gas with fuel treatment. Rechecked compression 85psi & good to go. GXV140 has been one good mower over the last 29 years.