Honda HRU216 Transmission Problems?

My Lawn Mower Guy replaces these gearboxes every year and the input drive shaft every 6 months. What goes wrong? Are they worth fixing or just swapping out with a complete non genuine replacement part.

[@tonyaiello6463]

I'm working on one now. I was convinced the pinion gear was warn until you suggested to move the cable connector in the splined shaft

[@lightnessofsprit]

What a good guy your are to share your time and knowledge with the online community, you remind me of the tradesmen at the cement works when I was an apprentice electrician, your video has shown me that the probability that my drive gearbox is not likely to be my mowers driving issue

[@bms250ford]

Grass wrapped around the axle shafts and stuck in the cables seem to cause most of the issues.

[@lightnessofsprit]

@@bms250ford Thanks for that advice

[@jz9985]

Its the connection to the shift arm thats slipping. Poor design which has now been fixed. You probably noticed you could not adjust the cable as it had gone as far as it allows. So the lever arm attachment has slipped.

[@Futurenow77]

​@@jz9985I think that's what's happened with mine but I haven't pulled it out yet. Is that easy to fix?

[@DIYLifeSkills]

Looks similar to my HR214. I just replaced the trans oil and that seems to make the self-propelling work again. Thanks.

[@daming6403]

Thanks so much for the video. You describe it with great detail for someone who has very little knowledge about gearboxes. Will be following to see people's suggestions. This is currently what's holding me back from purchasing hru216 for commercial use. Keen to see other videos on progress

[@km4hr]

Thanks for posting. Very helpful to me. What was the problem with yours? Mine drives the mower forward for a foot or two and then stops as if a few teeth are missing from a gear. I opened it today but haven't inspected the gears carefully. I suspected the input bevel gear/pinion but initial inspection doesn't show an obvious problem. That gear oil is some really nasty stuff!

[@ceejay6882]

Thanks for documenting this. Is there an oil fill/drain plug on these?

[@bms250ford]

No oil filler plug

[@robmccall4336]

Hi. Amazingly it looks like the gearbox in the HRU 216 is pretty much identical to the gearbox in a HR2160 from 1991! The gear selector on the handle wouldn't budge, although I did have single speed drive. Clutch OK. Loosened off gear change cable and removed, hoping to find that selector shaft was free and cable was the issue, but selector shaft very very stiff. Can get all the gears, but no way the change lever was ever going to move the selector when its this stiff at the box. Not opened the box up yet. Looks to be similar to your problem. Was it something to do with the detent spring and ball in the end? Or the selector fork? Or old sticky oil? Would hugely appreciate your thoughts before I open this one up! Many thanks!

[@bms250ford]

Just clean the axle and exterior before opening it up. They are well built internally and most issues are external control related.

[@robmccall4336]

Thanks for coming back to me! I think I’ve solved it now… the selector in the box was just very stiff, I suspect from having been sat in one gear, dumped in someone’s garden. I loosened off the detent ball without opening the case, checked the drive was disengaged and then worked the box change crank back and forth. Went from hardly able to move to slick in a couple of mins. Screwed the detent back in, reconnected a freshly lubricated selector cable and now the gears shift fine. I guess the slide that the selector operates in the box had just got really sticky with sitting. Thanks for the bid: helped me understand what I was dealing with! I did ring a Honda dealer - ha ha they quoted me hundreds for a new box and I don’t think they’d ever tried fixing one😆 One last question- can the detent ball be withdrawn through its spring hole, so you can top the box up without splitting the case? Looks like this was the way it was filled, as the detent bolt has soft aluminium sealing washer. Appreciate your help!

[@robmccall4336]

Meant “vid”

[@toupsclassroomtoupsclassro9557]

did you put ur together and try.........................gears look great

[@jamesturnure9735]

Greatly appreciate the insight on this Honda gearbox. I recently picked up an HR-215 SXA (3-speed manual gearbox similar to the one in your video). Well, in going through the mower I decided to disassemble and inspect/service the transmission. This turned out to be very challenging and it literally took me hours to get it back together so that the case halves would close. Unfortunately, to remove the shift cable, I had to remove the shift arm on the gearbox. I'd marked it for orientation, but the gear oil washed off the markings. Now back together, I can only get the mower to operate in 3rd gear (highest speed) and will not shift to either 1st or 2nd. Can you or anyone else adventurous enough to go inside one of these tell me if there's anything internal that could cause the gear box to lock in one position? It's either something I put back together wrong or the orientation of the shift lever. Thank you!

[@jz9985]

Maybe wrong reassembly. The initial problem is the connection to the shift arm that slips. Did not find out until I dismantled the gearbox, They have redesigned the connector to make it more secure. I bought a knock off replacement and works fine now that it does not slip.

[@markWare-l8r]

i have a problem with honda 216 gearbox i replaced the axel oil seal because it was leaking how do i put oil back in it there is no inlet screw could i drill and tap a fill hole cheers

[@bms250ford]

Take out the detent and pour oil in there

[@markWare-l8r]

@@bms250ford sorry sir but i dont know what a detent is i am not a mower machanic

[@markWare-l8r]

@@bms250ford just found it thankyou

[@yinghaotan5884]

Hi, there, I want to ask you when the engine is off and you engage the drive clutch, can the rear wheel moves forward? When engage drive clutch, can the rear wheel moves backwards?

[@bms250ford]

I do not know as I have only seen the gearbox which had been removed from the mower. Nothing in the gearbox preventing reverse rotation.

[@robertolapenna1208]

Great explanations

[@terryhoward7346]

Similar symptoms on my 214 2speed box. Problem is collapsed needle bearing on pinion shaft. Gears ok. Aftermarket brg/seal available ex Melb $23. Any clues on removing shaft and debris from housing?

[@stuartsaunders9642]

I have an issue with mine as well. Only occurred today so if I can work out how I will send you some pics when I get to it. The mower was bought in '04 or '05 and has done a lot. Strong motor though so I will take a look. Thanks for the video.

[@bms250ford]

Gears will be fine. Change oil and oil seals after you clean the shafts externally. Cables and external springs will be your main problem.

[@stuartsaunders9642]

@@bms250ford thanks

[@mgomez5606]

Did the gear box work?

[@yinghaotan5884]

Hi, what oil did you use to refill the gear box

[@bms250ford]

Differential gear oil

[@yinghaotan5884]

@@bms250ford hi, thank you for your replay, how many mls should i fill up the gear box? Should I get 75w-90 gear oil?

[@yinghaotan5884]

Did you use any gasket sealant to seal the gearbox?

[@bms250ford]

@@yinghaotan5884 250ml and some RTV

[@yinghaotan5884]

@@bms250ford ok thank you

[@DCT_Aaron_Engineering]

I was only thinking of purchasing a self propelled mower this week. I used to repair similar units (Kubota) self propelled mowers back in the mid 90’s. Hope you’re doing well in this lockdown buddy. Cheers, Aaron 🍻

[@bms250ford]

I think the honda HRU216 is well made and would go forever in a domestic setting. $1550 new may slow a few home owners down. Commercial guys have little choice. I am happy to get mine mowed and not own a mower.

[@terryhoward7346]

I've had similar symptoms with my hru214 2speed. Problem is collapsed needle bearing and seal on the drive pinion. The pinion & crown wheel look ok ...replacement aftermarket bearing+seal available ($23ex Melb) . Trying to work out how to extract pinion and bearing/seal debris. Any clues?

[@terryhoward7346]

Now May22 Quite a simple stripping if you have a vice. Reassembly straightforward but potential oil leaks because of surface corrosion on main axle shafts under oil seals. Very little oil remaining so shafts are probably cause of pinion bearing failure. Did not replace shafts or mediocre seals but instead installed grease nipple in trans axle housing and pumped it tight with HD lithium grease .. only minor weeping after half dozen 1 hr usages. Will top up couple of times a year Most expensive part of the exercise was the 2 replacement rubber boots/O rings for the primary driveshaft universal joints which were about $30 including freight. Final costing less than $50 and works better than a bought one. Might even see me out!