I bought a new Honda HRX HXA in May 2009 and it has surge problem on idle. It dies on slow idle. I paid $760 and I don't want my Yardmachine-owning neighbor to give me that look. I took it to the dealer, who, of course blamed my "old gas". He cleaned the carb, and charged me $65 - saying that Honda doesn't cover bad gas ! I took it home, same thing happened again. I called Honda customer service, they played the same "bad gas" line again. I asked them is that a lawn mower or a NASA rocket that is so sensitive to gas. ANyway, I took it back to the dealer. He said he found some "gunk" in the fuel tank (remember he put the fuel after the first clean up). He claims it is running fine now. Before I go pick up, I need to be sure that the problem will be fixed. What tests should I do at the dealer before I bring back mower to be sure the problem is fixed ?

I have a HRX217HXA mower. The transmission cable broke and was replaced under warranty a year ago (with original type cable). It broke again and they replaced it with the new cable/kit. Now the mower self propelled speed is very slow. Tried adjusting the cable per the owner's manual and still slow. Trying to advance the cable to gain speed and then the rear wheels lock when you try to pull the mower backwards (drive disengaged of course). Took it back to the dealer ( A Harley/Honda dealer where I bought it) and they called and told me there is nothing wrong. Any Suggestions? Will a slipping belt cause a loss of speed? How important is the two control cable bands? ( I made sure they were at the right places when I adjusted it, and then as the mechanic had told me after the cable change that they sometimes hurt more than helped I removed them, but still same slow speed) When I go get it tomorrow (a 70 mile round trip) I will try it out and if still slow show your previous suggestions (for other models) to them. Thanks, Cliff

Well its not big enough to have everything but Henderson [between here and Vegas] does have everything and is only 15 minutes away. Vegas only another 15 minutes. Real estate hype? New home sales are way down as they are across the country. Apparently its worse here on the average but they say Vegas stands to recover quicker then most due to all the new jobs being created with new Hotel/Casino's being built. Of course another 911 could once again put the gaming industry in the pooper as it did on 911 because folks were afraid to travel. Took a couple of years to climb out of it last time. Yeah, spending decades doing something you don't like is a real bummer. I stumbled into this after doing many other things and found I liked repairing stuff. I would advise others starting out to find what they like and then find an outlet that has all the benefits including retirement though. Its tough in this business to find that and I wasn't smart enough to do it. They're out there though but you have to play the game and may take a while to get in. I woke up to it too late. Government based is the way to go in this business. The school district is the # one source around here. They pay as well as any private business and have all the benefits. Just some advise for newbies to the business to heed.

Tips when rebuilding Honda Mini FG100 Transmission: Before order any parts do the follow: - The brass drive gear is connected to the tines axle by spines only. So be careful how much you hammer on the axle to try and get rusted on tines off, it possible to drive the gear off the axle. - The primary reason this transmission fails is water intrusion. While low or old grease(it separates) doesn't help and will cause the transmission to fail after a long period time, it's normally allowing water into the transmission which can rust the worm gear and thrust bearing that really speeds up the failure. - Thoroughly clean and degrease worm gear. Look for rust and pitting, this is what normally kills the brass drive gear. Remember brass is softer metal then steel. If any rust or pitting forms on the steel worm gear it will just grind down brass drive gear. The rust and pitting acts like sand paper. - If worm gear has any rust or pitting this must be clean up and smooth out, otherwise a new brass drive will just get grind down again. A 1x30" bench belt sander works good for this, the last sanding should be with a 300 or 400 grit sanding belt. - Soak and clean the thrust bearing with a penetrating oil. Make sure the roller bearing and washer are turning and look fine, no pitting. The thrust bearing is just above the worm gear and below the brass bushing. - Clean drive shaft for worm gear to remove any rust. Any bench grinder and wire brush works great for this. - Check all bushings for excessive play and wear. - Thoroughly clean and check the tines axle rubber seals and worm drive top seal for wear. All to often water intrusion is caused by the tiller being left out in the rain and water run pass the top seal which result in rusting on the up end of the worm drive shaft, thrust bearing, and worm gear. - Check the top bearing for play and wear. It at the top of the drive shaft for the worm gear under the top seal and is a sealed bearing. - If the worm gear, thrust bearing, top and bottom worm gear bushings, top sealed bearing, or top seal are too worn or damage you have to purchase the full transmission rebuild kit($$$$$) - However if whole worm drive assembly looks good, maybe after a little sanding of the worm gear, then only the tiller tine shaft assemble is need to replace the damage brass drive gear. Double check the bushing, thrust washers and rubber seals for your tine shaft, if this look fine the Earthquake 4651 replacement tiller tine shaft assembly might work and save you some money but I have not tested this. Others say it the same tine shaft. However if you have any concerns about this or the bushing and seals Pete's Small Engine tine shaft kit includes the axle with drive gear, bushings, and seals. Modification: - I replaced the top grease fill bolt with a M6 grease nipple. This was the prefect thread size to make a solid connection. I did have to drill the existing thread out which do not match any standard nipple thread size to tap for M6 thread. I recommend doing this on a drill press so you can drill the hole a little offset so the nipple will not hit the tines axle dirt cap. - The reason for installing the grease nipple is to allow easy greasing but also to allow the transmission to be pressure fill with grease to avoid creating any air pocket for water accumulate if it finds it way into the transmission. I use the bottom grease fill bolt to check for water. Assembly: - I recommend popping the seal off the top drive bearing, removing the old grease with an air gun, and then packing in new grease with your fingers. Once done you should be able press the seal back into place. - Use thin gasket material not form a gasket silicone to seal transmission housing. Using form a gasket silicone with cause the tines axle to bind against the axle bushing and thrust washers, it's just not thick enough. - I recommend using Mystik JT-6 #2 Multi-purpose grease, it's extremely water resistance and extreme pressure grease. Very low oil separation rate. I have found tubes of Mystik JT-6 #2 Multi-purpose grease that over 20 years ago and the oil still has not started to separate.