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I'm looking for advice on whether I should tackle replacing the tranny in my HRC215KSXZ lawn mower MZAU - 6156116? Will I need a service manual to remove and replace?

OEM Parts : CyclePartsNation Honda Parts Nation these folks have great prices & ship to your door fast. If you are mechanically inclined, you should not have any problem, just take your time & pay attention to order of removal of attachments laying out right & left sides separately.

Getting the trans. out and back in not too tough, but if you want to repair the trans (not just replace it), I'd get the shop manual.

FYI, you do not have to remove the engine to remove/install the transmission on the HRC215SX.

Honda sells paper copies of the factory shop manual (98 pages) online via eBay and Amazon:

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

Well, I got the transmission out but haven't figured out how to remove the rear wheel axle shaft or the drive shaft from the engine?

Hvnablast said:

Well, I got the transmission out but haven't figured out how to remove the rear wheel axle shaft or the drive shaft from the engine?

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Do you have both rear wheels off? Good. Now remove the rear height adjusters.
Loosen the cable nuts where the clutch cable mounts to the handlebar; disconnect the cable from the clutch lever. Leave it attached to the mower.

For the driveshaft, there is a clip around both ends that retains a pin; remove the clip from the joint where it goes into the engine, then remove the pin. The drive shaft is now disconnected, and you should be able to remove the transmission.

Are you going to repair the transmission or just replace it?

Thanks Robert, I disconnected the drive shaft and have removed the transmission with rear axle. I'm replacing the transmission (not repairing) but don't know how to separate the transmission from the drive axle.

Hvnablast said:

Thanks Robert, I disconnected the drive shaft and have removed the transmission with rear axle. I'm replacing the transmission (not repairing) but don't know how to separate the transmission from the drive axle.

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Ahh, sorry, thought you were replacing the entire transmission as an assembled unit, as Honda sells it that way.

Anyway, you must partially tear down the transmission to extract the axle (final) shaft. The final gear uses a pin to secure itself to the final shaft, and you have open the transmission to get both of them out. There is a large o-ring and some oil seals I'd suggest replacing for good measure and to avoid leaks in the future:

Robert, Thanks again for help and advice. I've ordered the 20001-VB5-800 Transmission Assy. which was what I thought was the transmission only. Does this assembly include the axle shaft? If yes, then I don't need to worry about removing the shaft from the old assy.

Hvnablast said:

I've ordered the 20001-VB5-800 Transmission Assy. which was what I thought was the transmission only. Does this assembly include the axle shaft?

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Yes, it's the entire transmission and final drive / axle shaft. I believe you have to transfer over the external shift lever, but that should be all...

We removed the transmission drive axle from the engine block attempting to dislodge from the old transmission (oil leaked from the engine. We replaced the drive axle once removed from the old transmission and then replaced the transmission and reinstalled. Everything went back together perfectly except, once the engine was cranked, the transmission drive axle is not turning. Is there a diagram available to help us identify how the drive axle needs to be re-inserted properly in the engine block to resolve our issue?

Hvnablast said:

We removed the transmission drive axle from the engine block attempting to dislodge from the old transmission (oil leaked from the engine. We replaced the drive axle once removed from the old transmission and then replaced the transmission and reinstalled. Everything went back together perfectly except, once the engine was cranked, the transmission drive axle is not turning. Is there a diagram available to help us identify how the drive axle needs to be re-inserted properly in the engine block to resolve our issue?

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No detailed diagram on trans./shaft install, see previous image...

Now with the engine running, can you see/tell if the driveshaft is turning? If it is, then the problem may be the pin/clip that connects the driveshaft to the transmission, OR, something amiss with the transmission internally. Did you disassemble the new transmission?

If the driveshaft from the engine is NOT spinning, then it's the pin/clip where the shaft connects to the engine.

It's not spinning, period. Have no idea where the pin/clip is that connects it to the engine. The shaft with gear slid out from the engine and we slid it back in (to stop the oil from leaking). We didn't see any clip or pin as it came right out and slid right back in. Thanks for your help!