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Picked up one of these gems on Craigslist today. Runs like a top... but the drive system is reversed. Forward is reverse and reverse is forward. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks

sipple31 said:

Picked up one of these gems on Craigslist today. Runs like a top... but the drive system is reversed. Forward is reverse and reverse is forward. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Sounds like the linkage is incorrectly installed; here are a few pages from the shop manual (assuming this is a hydrostatic transmission model, NOT a 5-speed) that may help:

Thanks a bunch Robert. I'm going to have a look see at it. Hopefully not a super complicated fix...

:thumbsup:

robert@honda said:

Sounds like the linkage is incorrectly installed; here are a few pages from the shop manual (assuming this is a hydrostatic transmission model, NOT a 5-speed) that may help:

Click to expand...

Actually, upon further review, I don't think it's a hydrostatic. It's the original H1011 SA.

sipple31 said:

Actually, upon further review, I don't think it's a hydrostatic. It's the original H1011 SA.

Click to expand...

So, the shift lever has a "Reverse-Neutral-1-2-3-4-5" speed selector, is that right?

When you move it to "Reverse" the mower moves forward, but when in "1-2-3-4-5" it goes in reverse, am I understanding that right?

When did it start working like that? Tell me a bit more about the history, are you a new owner, original owner, what work might have been done to the unit, etc.

robert@honda said:

So, the shift lever has a "Reverse-Neutral-1-2-3-4-5" speed selector, is that right?

When you move it to "Reverse" the mower moves forward, but when in "1-2-3-4-5" it goes in reverse, am I understanding that right?

When did it start working like that? Tell me a bit more about the history, are you a new owner, original owner, what work might have been done to the unit, etc.

Click to expand...

You're spot on. You can sure fly in reverse! Probably a little dangerous. The single "forward" speed isn't actually that terrible of a mowing speed. I have zero history other than the drive belt was disconnected when I purchased it off Craigslist. I have an odd feeling that the previous owner popped the belt off and did not disclose this issue just to get a little more $$ for it. He kept saying that the belt popped off, that's all that's wrong with it, etc. He claimed he couldn't get the belt back on... yet he had a giant toolbox and a half torn apart classic car in the spare stall. Yeah... right... :laughing:

I put the belt on the only way it would go. It's a super-simple path... I don't think you could screw it up or somehow reverse it. I also went through the control linkage and everything seems fine. I actually dropped the mower off at an independent guy this morning to take a look at it. I think this is either something very simple that I'm missing or something overly complex, like inside the transaxle, that I don't want to fix.

sipple31 said:

Actually, upon further review, I don't think it's a hydrostatic. It's the original H1011 SA.

Click to expand...

So, the shift lever has a "Reverse-Neutral-1-2-3-4-5" speed selector, is that right?

When you move it to "Reverse" the mower moves forward, but when in "1-2-3-4-5" it goes in reverse, am I understanding that right?

Did the seller give you any clues or hints about this problem before you bought it? Any ideas about what might have been done to the unit before you bought it? Service records, etc.?

I don't think it is mechanically possible for the shifter to be connected backwards. If the transmission has been apart, could be something internal. The transmission is driven by a short belt off the engine crankshaft; I take a wild guess and wonder if the belt is somehow in a figure-8 position, which would reverse the operation of the transmission, but that is a longshot for sure.

Some photos of the underside showing the belt between the transmission and engine crankshaft would help...

Did a bit more digging, and discovered one more thing that could be the cause...

Here's a parts drawing of the H1011 gear model shift lever linkage.



Part #1 has a square hole for connecting to the trans, and a slotted hole for connecting to the #2 rod.

If part #1 were flipped over so the #2 rod was on the RIGHT side of the input selector (tip of blue arrow), then the rider would work "backward" as you described...assuming there's enough clearance for this.

Thanks for your replies Robert. The small engine guy that looked at it came to the conclusion that it is inside the transaxle. We both tore through the belt routing and the linkage multiple times. It's all correct. Looks like I will be mowing in "reverse" for the remainder of the 'ol Harmony's life. :confused2:

Does anyone have the diagram for the Hydrostatic 1011 linkage - between the Honda frame and the Hydrogear tranny? I want to make sure I snake the cuved rod correctly. Thanks!