I didn't bother really all of the comments below, but it is my guess that someone didn't make the same mistakes that I did. There are a few videos on this topic on youtube. I just clicked on a couple of them so that I knew what I was doing. Unfortunately, after hours of putting it back together, I didn't remember the sequence of how the wheel parts went back on. But everything seem to be OK until I started to mow the lawn and I notice that the rear wheels didn't operate independently of each other when turning the mower. And I didn't hear that clicking sound that the wheels used to have. But it did cut the grass and the rear wheels were moving OK when I pulled it backward. So today I brought my laptop into the garage and started to look at other sites to see what was wrong and I ended up looking at your site. I really wanted to thank you for being so detailed. You video was the only one that solved my problem. You site was the only one that mentioned making sure that the flat side on the wheel gear had to face the rear of the mower. And it was also the only one that I saw that mentioned that the locking pin had to be installed with the round side down. Both of those things were my problem. Thanks again.
I have a slightly older version of this mower with the same issue for the past 4 years. Once a year I had to do this. It is tedious but lasted about a year before I had to do it again, until this last time, it only lasted for 3 mows. When you live in SF and mow your grass every weekend it gets frustrating when the mower won't "back up". Great mower, great cut, but crappy rear axle design and I'd had enough. So bought a newer/used Honda and is rolls backwards on pavement with my pinkie. Selling my old one for $175 OBO. Great video, shows the exact process with a few slight differences between models, but it shows the meat and potatoes of the process. I used Pink Flamingo grease.
same boat here. What I noticed was multiple parts all wear down on the axle and need replacing. The gear wears down (but these can be flipped around 180 by swapping the left for the right, just remember the correct orientation, the axle shaft wears down incrementally so that the wheel/s sag inwards and then eventually lock up issues comes back (were talking less than 1mm but it makes all the difference). Also, not shown in the video (around the 5:30 mark where the end cap is removed from the height adjuster (its the same both sides), there's another plastic insert inside that wears down, this is also part of the issue because when that wears out, it's metal on metal and that's what wears the shaft (the fastest way to remove that spacer is to use something like a piece of dowel that just fits inside the hole and push it out). I digress though, once you have this issue.,the only real fix is a whole new shaft and probably all the spacers and gears, or get a new mower. Sadly the newer version of this mower has the same issues, and they appear faster. Honda have changed the design of the rear axle completely and the wheels now have seprate shafts for the wheels and gears/woodruff mech. But the same issue still happens; the inner wheel shaft wears down the axle and the wheel/s sag inward and bind to the shaft when rolling backwards. I've been greasing the inside of the wheels since it's been binding, but am now just accepting that the sahft will need replacing at least once a year (I mow several acres a week). The only thing I can think of to limit or eliminate this issue is to have sealed bearings in the wheels (but you'd still have to maintain these to stop them ceasing). smh.... I cant fault Honda in general but for something so simple, and so common, you'd think there would be a easier (cheaper) solution.
I have this same issue. To me, it looks like removing the plastic chute was the hard part. Was that necessary or for mostly filming clearly? You did a very informative narration while clearly showing the process. I think with your instructions I could handle this. Thank you very much.
Very helpful and concise video.. went to do the same repair and found out early that the snap ring pliers doesn’t come in one size fits all… also my Honda was 15 yo and neglected by me. I usually just change oil, filter and blades neglecting the body.. most of my bolts were rusted.. so I have to stop and get new hardwares.. I felt so bad in neglecting this wonderful lawnmower. Engine always start on first pull and run very strong..
@garygangster2414 same. Had to go buy the pliers. Took mine apart and fixed it Monday. Bushing had alot of wear on it and corroding a little. But fixed it within an hour or 2. Worked almost too good afterwards. Was damn near running behind the self propell
I own a 216 that presents with this problem from time to time. Seems to show itself under very warm conditions, I assume thats due to the metal axle expanding slightly such that it binds inside that plastic bushing. IMO root cause is Honda cheaping out using the plastic bushings instead of a better design. Too bad as I like the mower otherwise
I own a Small Engine Repair shop and have performed this repair numerous times. Because of the time involved most customers do not want to pay the approximately 2 hours it takes to complete this repair. In the same 2 hours this takes I can repair 2 other machines. Great video! Very detailed.
I didn't bother really all of the comments below, but it is my guess that someone didn't make the same mistakes that I did. There are a few videos on this topic on youtube. I just clicked on a couple of them so that I knew what I was doing. Unfortunately, after hours of putting it back together, I didn't remember the sequence of how the wheel parts went back on. But everything seem to be OK until I started to mow the lawn and I notice that the rear wheels didn't operate independently of each other when turning the mower. And I didn't hear that clicking sound that the wheels used to have. But it did cut the grass and the rear wheels were moving OK when I pulled it backward. So today I brought my laptop into the garage and started to look at other sites to see what was wrong and I ended up looking at your site. I really wanted to thank you for being so detailed. You video was the only one that solved my problem. You site was the only one that mentioned making sure that the flat side on the wheel gear had to face the rear of the mower. And it was also the only one that I saw that mentioned that the locking pin had to be installed with the round side down. Both of those things were my problem. Thanks again.
I have a slightly older version of this mower with the same issue for the past 4 years. Once a year I had to do this. It is tedious but lasted about a year before I had to do it again, until this last time, it only lasted for 3 mows. When you live in SF and mow your grass every weekend it gets frustrating when the mower won't "back up". Great mower, great cut, but crappy rear axle design and I'd had enough. So bought a newer/used Honda and is rolls backwards on pavement with my pinkie. Selling my old one for $175 OBO. Great video, shows the exact process with a few slight differences between models, but it shows the meat and potatoes of the process. I used Pink Flamingo grease.
same boat here. What I noticed was multiple parts all wear down on the axle and need replacing. The gear wears down (but these can be flipped around 180 by swapping the left for the right, just remember the correct orientation, the axle shaft wears down incrementally so that the wheel/s sag inwards and then eventually lock up issues comes back (were talking less than 1mm but it makes all the difference). Also, not shown in the video (around the 5:30 mark where the end cap is removed from the height adjuster (its the same both sides), there's another plastic insert inside that wears down, this is also part of the issue because when that wears out, it's metal on metal and that's what wears the shaft (the fastest way to remove that spacer is to use something like a piece of dowel that just fits inside the hole and push it out). I digress though, once you have this issue.,the only real fix is a whole new shaft and probably all the spacers and gears, or get a new mower. Sadly the newer version of this mower has the same issues, and they appear faster. Honda have changed the design of the rear axle completely and the wheels now have seprate shafts for the wheels and gears/woodruff mech. But the same issue still happens; the inner wheel shaft wears down the axle and the wheel/s sag inward and bind to the shaft when rolling backwards. I've been greasing the inside of the wheels since it's been binding, but am now just accepting that the sahft will need replacing at least once a year (I mow several acres a week). The only thing I can think of to limit or eliminate this issue is to have sealed bearings in the wheels (but you'd still have to maintain these to stop them ceasing). smh.... I cant fault Honda in general but for something so simple, and so common, you'd think there would be a easier (cheaper) solution.
Simply disassemble the entire lawnmower to fix. Got it.
I have this same issue. To me, it looks like removing the plastic chute was the hard part. Was that necessary or for mostly filming clearly? You did a very informative narration while clearly showing the process. I think with your instructions I could handle this. Thank you very much.
Very thorough video!
(Don't you wish it took only 12 minutes for this repair in real life?)
Pretty in depth process to fix this design flaw. Damn...
Very helpful and concise video.. went to do the same repair and found out early that the snap ring pliers doesn’t come in one size fits all… also my Honda was 15 yo and neglected by me. I usually just change oil, filter and blades neglecting the body.. most of my bolts were rusted.. so I have to stop and get new hardwares.. I felt so bad in neglecting this wonderful lawnmower. Engine always start on first pull and run very strong..
@garygangster2414 same. Had to go buy the pliers. Took mine apart and fixed it Monday. Bushing had alot of wear on it and corroding a little. But fixed it within an hour or 2. Worked almost too good afterwards. Was damn near running behind the self propell
This works for sure but it is not easy to complete. Time and patience in order.
Very helpful video. Thank you.
Those 25mm rear clamps? for the wheel to lock in the groove?
I own a 216 that presents with this problem from time to time. Seems to show itself under very warm conditions, I assume thats due to the metal axle expanding slightly such that it binds inside that plastic bushing. IMO root cause is Honda cheaping out using the plastic bushings instead of a better design. Too bad as I like the mower otherwise
I agree entirely. My 216 has been a great mower but the poor design with the plastic bushings has made it irritating to use at times.
How long did this take you to do from start to finish if you didn't video tape this
I think if I didn't have to record and with all the tools on hand, it should take about 2 hours.
I own a Small Engine Repair shop and have performed this repair numerous times. Because of the time involved most customers do not want to pay the approximately 2 hours it takes to complete this repair. In the same 2 hours this takes I can repair 2 other machines. Great video! Very detailed.
Any recommendation on snap ring pliers? The heads on the pair I have are too big for the holes.
@@GistJeff Channellock has a good snap ring plier where the pin don't break and it fits small hole, take a look amzn.to/3AFO1TD