the honda harmony I had with the 3 speed was just packed full of grease. no fluid at all in there.

If I recall they use a plastic/rubber clutch. I would think grease wouldn't be enough to keep it lubed. Is this a lithium grease?

I was able to find an entry in Honda mower specifications that indicated "Transmission Oil (SDA) Grease (NGLI #2)" but I am not sure if this is for the 3-speed.

Again any input would be appreciated!

"I have been through one tranny on my Honda Harmony. It only lasted about 5 years ($150). To prevent this again I plan to do a tap, fill and plug on the sealed tranny. The last one I had lost fluid over time and cooked itself. I noticed my machine started to lose some drive power again so now would be the best chance to save it. "

Are you sure that you are solving the right problem? There can be many reasons for a mower to lose power.

I am fairly familiar with this mower and after seeing the clutch plate in the dead unit, I am fairly certain of my assessment. The clutch linkage was adjusted properly, cables were OK, drive belt was engaging properly, drive wheels were engaging correctly. I noticed start to slip when the machine got fairly warmed up. It started to not climb hills as well but would drive fine if pushed on flat stretches. As time wore on it started to not engage even with the cable adjusted. It would catch then slip, catch then slip and jerk.

I am certainly open to alternate suggestions in diagnosing the symptoms. The new trany has started to slip when going up incline but only when I have been mowing for 45 min. I have to help push it up the hill a bit.

Thanks for the feedback.

I drilled a pilot hole. This mower uses tranmission fluid/oil, not grease. I guess I need to buy some 10W 30.

I posted this on another site.
I picked up a Honda with a defective 3 speed transmission. I had another used 3 speed transmission , which was laying on the shelf.
I had it sitting upside down and noticed it had leaked oil out of it. I put it in and it worked fine.
I was curious and took the damaged one apart and saw it had run out of oil also. Getting worried and wanting to see if I needed oil in the one which was working, I found out that I could drill a hole in the corner and tap a 1/4 20 thread.
I drilled my working transmission and let whatever was in there to drain. I got almost nothing.
Anyway, I taped a 1/4 20 thread and installed a screw. I used a anti freeze tester filled with oil and a smaller piece of tubing.I used RTV on the threads and I sealed it with a dab on the case area.
It has been cutting and running fine for 120 working hours.
If anyone is interested I can take some pictures.
I used 10/30 Synthetic oil.

rosemallow,

I'd be very interested in any pics you have as well as instructions on accessing the transmission. Thanks.

Hi all,

It has been awhile and I still get questions about transmissions running dry on Honda mowers. I am on my second transmission (the first one burned up) and the mower has been running for 12 years now.

Here is what I learned after cooking one transmission.
1) These 3-speed tranys use 10W30 as indicated above. Synthetic is fine. It might slip more.
2) the seals around the drive shaft leak after awhile so you will likely loose some fluid over time.
3) the fluid leaks out -especially- if you lean your mower up on its side to wash it after mowing.
4) These hold about 4 oz of fluid
5) If you drill a hole, drill one that is little higher up on the pan and easily accessable when you tip the mower up on its right side. (The same way you do oil changes) You can drill it lower if you have a plug you know will seal tightly. That can be useful because you can pull the plug and see if anything comes out prior to refilling.
6) I used a larger bit (1/2")which was probably too big but I found a silicone rubber plug that fits snug. (a washer/dryer foot)I dremeled a small recessed so when I twist it in, it seats itself and stays in place. It seals surprisingly well (no leaks)
7) I used a large syringe from a turkey deep fryer kit and injected oil in through the hole measuring ~ 4 oz..

So far so good. Hope this helps. Swapping transmissions on this mower is a huge PITA!

Sail

Just an update: it's 7 years later and the fix is still working. I check and refill every so often. Avoid 15w oils as the tranny slips more