@ bluemower - Thanks very much for reply! Absolutely would be easier to decide on this, if I had better knowledge of the old mower's "ailments" :). The challenge is finding a person/shop local to me who knows Hondas and is willing to honestly assess the condition of my mower for the problems you listed above. Some big shops in my area don't have the best reputation with customers. They tend to push sales of the equipment they carry, rather than stand behind decent repair service. Contacted a few smaller places I found via Internet searches today, which say they can service any mower make/model. I'm asking directly whether they can repair/rebuild older Hondas. Hope #1 is for the HRM215 to be repaired at affordable cost - and before the front yard becomes a meadow. :-) I do agree with what you said, that the old mower is several notches in quality above most of the basic push mowers available. Decision-making is tough since I really want to avoid being "penny-wise and pound-foolish" and end up with a new mower which turns out to be a throw-away in a few years' time. However, we've only had two mowers since 1987 (a Craftsman and then the Honda), so I don't have any experience on how quality's changed among the different brands. Labor outsourcing, materials used, all those things have been impacted while the companies chase profit margins... If a new TB130 or 7021P would run me $250-$300 before tax, what's the prudent "break point" on repair costs for the Honda to where you'd say, go buy a newer mower? If the repair expense tipped the decision, what push mower would you steer me toward? Is there a middle price range that significantly pops up the quality, or is there a lot of hype in the mix? I know residential-grade mowers lack the sturdiness of their commercial "big brothers", but perhaps there's a brand or two which has more consistency throughout its product lines? I'd be grateful hearing whether there are particular features that you'd swear by paying more $$ for, which help performance or life-span of the equipment, vs. optional stuff that creates more maintenance hassles than it's worth.

(noticed that my cut-and-paste editing of the message draft ended up skipping 'Q3' - sorry! - but never mind for now) - He got the mower to start, although couldn't get carb off because of not knowing how to undo the linkages without breaking or bending something. The carb is held in position on two long bolts going into the head, and he didn't see a way to rotate the carb to slip them off, even with the fuel line unclipped/off. So he just blew carb cleaner through everything he could access and started it with some Seafoam to clean it out. But it doesn't want to hold the idle at low speed (wants to sputter and stall). Maybe a jet is clogged after all. Of greater concern: We could see where the oil leak was, seemingly from the gasket where the crankcase seats onto the flared section he said was the sump housing. We'd spotted some oil dribbling along the general area when the mower had been tilted onto its side, and he tightened the crankcase bolts found to be loose underneath (from the bottom side of the deck), hoping the gasket would seat better. But it doesn't - the oil just poured out when he had it revved high, directly under where the cylinder head joins the crankcase. He said when the mobile mower tech comes, to have the compression tested. If it's low, he didn't think it was worth the $$ to tear down the engine and start replacing parts. I would be really grateful for anyone who's done work on Honda engines to say whether keeping this mower going is better than buying something new on the market. I like the way it mulches, the plastic deck is still in good shape, and if quality replacement parts could be gotten (Plano Power Equipment seems to be a good supplier), it might be a better mower with "refreshed" parts than what I could buy new today. But what kind of labor am I looking at for engine work? Gasket replacement doesn't appear to be expensive parts-wise (for either the crankcase or head gaskets) but time spent to pull apart - ??? I have no idea how long it takes to take apart and re-assemble a lawn mower, by someone who knows what they're doing, of course.

my HR214 was a mess when i got it the guy was starting it with a rope. i got a recoil starter off a lawnboy and got it to work. anyhow it had so much caked on grass that the blade wouldn't turn i guess if i were you i'd check the obvious 1st sheared crank key= water in gas? plug shot= kill switch broke= grey smoke could mean a cracked ring but what you need is compression spark and gas---Now since you apologized to Nevada and T-man how about the rest of the shade-tree fella's that enjoy this stuff :)

The whole reason for the BBC is to keep Dumbo from getting his fingers and hands cut off when he or she sticks their hands and/or feet in the vicinity of the revolving blades and or engine parts! Just try sticking you hand under the machine while it is running! Unless you have arms like a Go-rilla, it is almost impossible. You will have to release the safety bar, which will stop the engine very quickly, thereby saving you from a future life-time of typing on the computer, using your nose to push the keys! Of course-there are folks who have devised various tricks of keeping the bail handle engaged, but that trick will very quickly negate the receipt of large amounts of cash when you sue the maker for damages, because you thought they were at fault! Stupid is, as stupid does! There are those living among us, who should never be allowed to own or operate any kind of machinery that revolves, cuts, pumps, or any other mechanical, or electrical type of device, unless they sign a "Stupidity Clause" with an attorney present. IMHO RJ