The Lawnmower Lady also posted a video but she cut grooves in the threaded rods to be able to use a screwdriver. She also swops them to get the gaskets lined up and then replaces the original bolts. Check it out.
Beautiful job. Makes sense. Less time and frustration in the future. One thing I noticed that might need mentioning. The plastic spacer that goes next to the engine intake was installed backwards. I did the same thing on ours and discovered it ran better with square side facing in and round side facing out next to the carb.
Good video! I do pretty much the same thing with a few exceptions. I use the threaded rod to mount everything, then tighten at least one side nut down, then remove one of the threaded rods and replace it with the original Honda screw. Seems to work for me and I don't have to keep buying rod, nuts and having screws left over. By the way, found the 6 m threaded rod and nuts at a local Ace Hardware.
OMG! what a great idea. I replaced my carburetor on my Honda lawn mower and it was challenging. If I have to replace the carb again I will use your method.
Thanks, very well produced and easy to follow. I did this a few years ago trying to get everything in place with the standard bolts, that was a nightmare. Today I picked up threaded rods at ACE, no cutting needed. Took me 10 minutes.
Thanks for the great instructions! I used wood dowlings of the same diameter instead of bolts to premount everything on, because I had a piece, and it worked fine.
Years ago I had the same frustration. Then I saw a service manual ( not the owners manual) and it showed a couple threaded studs with a part number. Ordered them and it worked out fine. However you had to put in the studs, build out the components, then remove 1 stud and put the bolt in then do the same for the other stud. I kinda like your method better as I don’t need to swap out the studs for the bolts.
Another bonus of doing this is that you can start the engine with the air filter off and make sure it's working as it should while you can get to parts make adjustments.
Thanks Buck! This may be one of the best hacks I've come across. This made installation of a new carburetor on my GCV190 a snap. I actually found some M6 bolts at my local Ace Hardware in the nuts & bolts bins (90mm long I think). I just cut the heads off and filed that end a bit for the nuts to spin on easily. $3.29 each for the bolts and 0.29 for the nuts. AND I'm buying local! This made a world of difference!
I picked up a lawn mower on the side of the street that was a Honda bought a new carburetor and put it on per your instructions and it started right up thank you very much
Great video ! Absolutely a poor engineered nightmare 😂 I’ve done this for years as a heavy duty mechanic . Tricks of the trade I guess . You are the only person that has showed this and thanks .
Hi guys, I am using the two M6 threaded rods which here in Sweden came together with our STIGA lawnmower 2005 modell (with GCV135). When everything is at place I fix the THIRD SMALL bolt first. It does the job to keep everything at place. Then you can replace the rods one by one with the original bolts.
I believe at 8:43 you put the first gasket on wrong. The bottom left should be on the bottom right side and the next item, the plastic "spacer" aka insulator, goes on with the square side facing the engine and the rounded side with the groove facing the carb side.
That's an excellent idea Buck. I struggled today with a Honda carb install and trying to get the gasket, spacer, carb, and other holes to line up. I see the threaded rods more as a "tool" that can be used to easily place all of the gaskets, spacer, carb, etc in perfect order and alignment. Then once in place, use a net to snug-up one side enough to hold everything in place then remove one of the threaded rods and replace with the OEM bolt. Once the first OEM bolt is in, remove the other threaded rod and install the remaining OEM bolt. This is a great idea and certainly a time and frustration saver Buck. Thanks
I own a Montgomery Wards Signature riding lawn mower built by MTD in the early 90's. As old and cheap as it is, believe it or not, it uses 2 threaded rods and they work great for this. It's amazing to me that Honda, known for all its technology, could not come up with this same solution whereas MTD, known for cutting every corner possible, did so. I'm guessing Honda figured they could save 75 cents per machine by doing it their way. Or maybe they thought they could make people take their machines into the nearest Honda dealer so as to keep them in the repair business.
I wish I had watched this video early this morning. As it is, I wasted about 6 hours, and I think the language I used killed two oak trees and my neighbors pit bull dog. Thanks for a great video.
I am not sure, but I think that in the video when assembling the carb, more or less backwards onto the threaded studs, did you not place the phenolic spacer on backwards? Placing the spacer with the drain hole down is correct, but the spacer needs to face the other gaskets with holes . Like I said, I'm not sure, but it will make a difference I believe.
I thread some rod with 1/2 inch of m6. I put them in and assemble it all. Then I put small bolt that hold air cleaner housing to bracket. Holding it tight also I remove one of my rods and insert original bolt. Then remove second rod and install original bolt.
Wish I had seen this video last week, when I R&R the carb on a GCV160-powered mower. That's the definition of EXPERIENCE- what you get just AFTER you need it! Others noted the possibility of later removing the threaded rods. But as I reflected on my experience, it probably needed only one threaded rod to hang everything and snug down. The 2nd rod would be just for balance. It could be un-threaded rod, or a rod with ½" of threads ground off one end, which will temporarily engage in the other block bolt hole. When things are reasonably assembled, replace the unthreaded (etc.) first with the original bolt. Snug that, then replace the threaded stud with the other original bolt. And Bob's your uncle...
Thanks for the note. I think the idea of using the threaded rod temporarily, and then swapping it out for the original bolts, is the best idea. Thank you.
fantastic. i have replaced carbs on the autochoke ver of this gasket mess design 3-4x on the gvc160 honda engine'd mower. good job. what sucks is that I've cleaned other branded mowers carbs when they get gummed up and afterwards they worked. I had no success in cleaning carbs for the gvc160 and had to buy complete units, albeit @mazon hooked me up cheaply w an oem unit so no big deal. I have found a video on YTube that showed more exhaustive carb teardown/cleaning but my new carb is installed and working, so will attempt when required. thus also adding these studs making install easier. thks again
What a great idea. Took the frustration away. Sounds like your idle is running high, do you have a RPM gauge to check it? Otherwise go by the sound and adjust to your liking, Have a great day and thanks for posting this video.
Rods for guides then original bolts after assembly to hold filter housing properly. Don't forget to connect ALL the hoses and to clamp properly where needed.
SWEET IDEA! What you could do instead of using the two nut method to put in the rod if you have a small dig grinder with a cut off wheel you could put a small slit at the end of the ready rod. That way you could get a slotted screwdriver into the end of the ready rod, just as if it was the regular bolts. That way you could tighten it up take one piece of the ready rod out while the other piece is holding the carburetter assembly, secure, and then slip in the old bolt and then do the same thing for the other side. That way you're not going through so much ready rod, and having to do all the extra work, you could make reusable dowels by simply cutting a small slit at the end and then you could have it already cut to the right length. I've used a similar method for installing transmissions on a large truck in order to line up the transmission housing with the engine housing. I'm not sure if you mentioned what length of rod they need to be but I'm guessing it would just be about the same as the bolts that were in there as what I would cut them out but a bit longer. Once we have the assembly tight, you could also use a tiedown strap and tighten it up around the carburetter assembly or the Honda sandwich in order to keep it from moving and then put your old bolts back in the spots in order to Not have to replenish your ready rod stock.
At about 13:50 you tell us "Don't worry" about gasoline fumes being ignited. Good point. I'd worry about metal bits from the grinding that might fly into the carb and then into the engine when you start it. Mark the threaded rods, remove the filter housing, cover the carb opening (small rag or some sort of tape would work). Now do the grinding. You MIGHT need to use a 3-point file (or a metric die if you have one) to clean up the threads of the rod.
Yeah I use the existing screws and line everything up or some long screwdrivers to keep everything aligned, prior to that I put the linkages on of course first then I slide everything on connect the fuel line, put on the outer cover and connect the PVC air hose breather then tighten everything up, good as a gold 🪙 penny 🤭, my babies a 1997 Honda Harmony II HRT 216 SDA, manual choke (only the best, not lazy with auto choke that wax piece that always fails) and just replaced my carburetor yesterday for the first time in 25 years baby, heck while I was doing that I went ahead and replaced the engine ignition coil thinking it's about time, and we're 🪙
I approached it a bit differently. I used 1/4 inch oak wood rod cut to 7 inch length. Once everything was aligned, I applied pushing pressure on the air filter base, pulled out 1 of the rods, fed the bolt in (edit) thru the hole, then did the other wood rod switch over. Have never had a problem with this method.
They also exist outright but good luck finding them that long and cheap + available. Also the m6 x “”1.00”” is the thread pitch, which would be a standard unless the bastard WEF change that standard or screw with some regional manufacturers to eff everybody.
@@minar0x Or just use your bench grinder to knock the top of the threads down in that section. Notching the end of the stud for a slotted driver is a great idea...thanks.
Just changed my carb for a new one. Wished I'd seen this video before hand. Got it done, it was very difficult, but I did it, and I wouldn't recommend trying to do it without this video.
I take the engine cover off for better view and a make some cut on top of the air filter housing so I can flap the top back to see everything. When your done just push the flap back down under the engine cover and it will mold itself right back. Also having the mower on its side let’s gravity help keep everything stacked up properly.
Sorry, ive just replaced my carb and other items on my 3 yr old honda mower. ( bad gas in calif ) No problems at all. Its a breeze when you have 55 years experance i guess. Over engineered is how they make money after the sale. I use allthread posts. Just make a bunch ahead of time snd have in the tool box. I make the stuff 0:10 from old bolts and discarded parts. Old men do that sort of thing. Patients is the key. Edit to clarify, i replace the bolts with allthread and nuts. Easy to service each year.
Frustration is putting it mildly. I did GCV160 on an MTD mower the other day and, before it was said and done, what came out of my mouth would have made a sailor blush. It's weird how on one mower it goes on easy and on another it can take an hour to get the durn thing right.
I have one of these engines. It will start with starter fluid, and run fine. Trying to figure this priming system out. I tore into it, with a surprise at the assembly. Then the gaskets were like stickers. I found some gummed up air ways on the plastic connected straight to the intake hole. I felt confident that was it. But it wasnt. Could I've possibly ruined the integrity of the gaskets pulling them off? They werent in the best condition, but all other mowers I've done the shaggist of gaskets still work to run engine. Any input?
If starting fluid is required to start the engine, but runs fine thereafter, then I would say your choke mechanism is not working properly, perhaps choke plate is not closing fully when engine is cold.
I don't find it very difficult. Yes, there's a lot of gaskets, but I put a drop of super glue on adjacent parts which eliminates the amount of parts I have to juggle.
I'm throwing a yellow flag for way more common sense than Honda engineers have demonstrated, because this is how they should have built their recent small engine devices. I'm so angry at Honda (and Consumer Reports, for recommending these [censored] mowers) without better vetting issues like you highlight here, for DIYers. The one thing I think you missed in your intro rant... not like I and other pro UA-camrs haven't missed this as well: don't forget to connect the air breather hose to the air filter case!!!
@Buck's Small Engine DIY maybe should have redone the ideo doing it correctly. Viewers may not always read comments and spend a bunch of time trying to figure out why engine won't run right.
The engineers of Honda we’re real assholes designing that assembly like it is. I even toss the metal plate between carb and engine away due to frustration.
One of the reasons Honda came up with this very strange design might be to absolutely avoid any nuts to fall off and get sucked into the engine. But IT really is a maintenance Nightmare....
I was ready to throw these gcv engines away when I thought.. Why don't they put the studs on thses engines like they do the GX engines..?? I own North Valley Repair and do alot of pressure washers with the GCV motors... Night Mare... No wonder Honda is going electric, And not build mowers anymore
I’ve been struggling with carb replacement on my Honda mower. I saw this video and ordered the all threads and gasket kit from Amazon. By putting the gaskets on the air cleaner and working back towards the block, you can’t really see where how to orient each gasket. This is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. THANKS.
It's not that complicated. You just need to put the bolts through the air cleaner then stack everything against it one layer at a time. Then align the hold thing against the engine and thread the bolts in. My old Lawnboy carb was more difficult to install than this one.
The vast majority of comments on this video demonstrate that many of us find this to be a challenging job. The threaded rod, even if just used temporarily, simplifies things quite a bit.
Tried that, ended up too short due to bolts not bottoming out in motor threads, like the rods do. You will want to add a bit for that as well as a couple washers. The nuts have sharp edges that dig into the plastic air cleaner housing. Second time was a charm.
It's probably been mentioned already, but I would use the threaded rod for assembly only, removing one rod at a time and replacing it with the original bolt after everything is in place...no fussing with length and rod can be re-used on other machines. Thanks for the post.
@@yxcvmk "Danger" may be an overstatement, but connecting the air breather hose to the air filter cover is how you ensure that incoming air, necessary for any combustion engine, first passes through the mower's air filter. While mowing, a lot of dust and debris is kicked up by the blade, and clean air is important for engine longevity.
Looks as if spacer was installed backwards. Just saying. Love youre idea. I might try using threaded bolts as plce holders and put original bolts back.
Correct! It is always a good idea to refer to the exploded parts diagram for orientation because the last mechanic could have screwed it up. That stated, heuristically, the wider-end always faces the engine's intake port.
@@armchairtin-kicker503 I went through this and the diagrams are terrible. The only one that I could find was not quite my model and getting the gaskets on correctly took several tries. Thanks for the video. Another good one would be dealing with the gaskets with clear instructions and views. thanks
You could have pre-cut the studs to be just a bit longer than the bolts, including the heads of the bolts. "A bit" should be the thickness of one of your nuts. Put the thread lock on, and install the stud hand tight. Then assemble the stack. You should end up with a bit more than two nut's worth of threads sticking out. Add your two nuts and tighten it all down. This puts the stud at the same depth as the original bolt. Remove the extra nut, and you are good to go.
Last night I almost threw the damn pressure washer through the wall trying to hold 6 things plus the governor rod after cleaning the carb up. Brilliant design having an air filter housing that funnels water in too.
Say what you want, but, Honda is THE BEST lawn mower I've ever run. And, my Honda mower is over 15 years old and NEVER let me down! Honda makes the BEST mowers!😊
Obviously you haven't upgraded to a recent engine! It started going bad when they went to an auto chock. I have 4 HR17's from various years and the old ones were far more dependable and easier to work on. My 22 year old hydrostatic drive has issues but it still works better than my 5 year old hydrostatic drive. Go figure. Neither one are designed for service but there are hacks. My 22 year old mower didn't need a carb repair for 10 to 15 years. My newer model needed one in 3. Like you, I love Honda but new is not always better.
My old Harmony 215 mower from the 90's came with studs rather than bolts. This was pre-GCV. A few years ago, Honda introduced a clean-sheet re-design of the GCV series with the 170/200 iterations. That's when they went back to the studs.
All those steel filing went right into the intake on the filter housing. I would have taped the intake on the housing and then used a Dremel tool with a cut off wheel to cut. Another way would have been to tighten one side of the bolts to keep everything in place and then remove the other (left or right) bolt and cut it to length. Put that back through through the carb and tighten it. Then remove the other bolt and do it as the first. Metal filing will ruin an engine so this way will correct that. Either way a good video but I would be cautious about grinding ant metal near the intake of the filter housing.
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The Lawnmower Lady also posted a video but she cut grooves in the threaded rods to be able to use a screwdriver. She also swops them to get the gaskets lined up and then replaces the original bolts. Check it out.
Yes, I have learned to use the threaded rod temporarily and then swap them out for the original bolts. That makes very good sense. Thank you.
Beautiful job. Makes sense. Less time and frustration in the future. One thing I noticed that might need mentioning. The plastic spacer that goes next to the engine intake was installed backwards. I did the same thing on ours and discovered it ran better with square side facing in and round side facing out next to the carb.
noticed that too as I just removed my carbie today and it was other way from factory .
TY for this tip as I am attempting to install my new carb 2moro. I'll keep this in mind!!
Good video! I do pretty much the same thing with a few exceptions. I use the threaded rod to mount everything, then tighten at least one side nut down, then remove one of the threaded rods and replace it with the original Honda screw. Seems to work for me and I don't have to keep buying rod, nuts and having screws left over. By the way, found the 6 m threaded rod and nuts at a local Ace Hardware.
Thanks, Lawrence. I like your strategy a lot! Good tip.
Did the same thing. It's the way to go if you don't want to cut bolts or have a grinder.
This is how I've seen it done on another channel. It allows them to use the same rod over and over on different engines.
Cut a slot in the end of the threaded rod. You can screw it in and out. You don't need any nuts
OMG! what a great idea. I replaced my carburetor on my Honda lawn mower and it was challenging. If I have to replace the carb again I will use your method.
Worked perfect. Thanks for the tips! Threaded steel rods worked perfect. I just used 1/4 x20 rod and it worked well.
Thanks, very well produced and easy to follow. I did this a few years ago trying to get everything in place with the standard bolts, that was a nightmare. Today I picked up threaded rods at ACE, no cutting needed. Took me 10 minutes.
brillant .... a very elegant solution .... and thank you to the chap who found the threaded rod at an Ace Hardware store.
Glad it worked well for you, Fred!
Thanks for the great instructions! I used wood dowlings of the same diameter instead of bolts to premount everything on, because I had a piece, and it worked fine.
I feel better knowing that others had the same frustrations I have. Great tip and video.
Years ago I had the same frustration. Then I saw a service manual ( not the owners manual) and it showed a couple threaded studs with a part number. Ordered them and it worked out fine. However you had to put in the studs, build out the components, then remove 1 stud and put the bolt in then do the same for the other stud. I kinda like your method better as I don’t need to swap out the studs for the bolts.
I've learned to just swap out the temporary studs with the original bolts. Keeps me from having to buy more and more threaded rod....
Another bonus of doing this is that you can start the engine with the air filter off and make sure it's working as it should while you can get to parts make adjustments.
Thanks Buck! This may be one of the best hacks I've come across. This made installation of a new carburetor on my GCV190 a snap. I actually found some M6 bolts at my local Ace Hardware in the nuts & bolts bins (90mm long I think). I just cut the heads off and filed that end a bit for the nuts to spin on easily. $3.29 each for the bolts and 0.29 for the nuts. AND I'm buying local! This made a world of difference!
I picked up a lawn mower on the side of the street that was a Honda bought a new carburetor and put it on per your instructions and it started right up thank you very much
Great video ! Absolutely a poor engineered nightmare 😂 I’ve done this for years as a heavy duty mechanic . Tricks of the trade I guess . You are the only person that has showed this and thanks .
Hi guys, I am using the two M6 threaded rods which here in Sweden came together with our STIGA lawnmower 2005 modell (with GCV135). When everything is at place I fix the THIRD SMALL bolt first. It does the job to keep everything at place. Then you can replace the rods one by one with the original bolts.
I believe at 8:43 you put the first gasket on wrong. The bottom left should be on the bottom right side and the next item, the plastic "spacer" aka insulator, goes on with the square side facing the engine and the rounded side with the groove facing the carb side.
That's an excellent idea Buck. I struggled today with a Honda carb install and trying to get the gasket, spacer, carb, and other holes to line up. I see the threaded rods more as a "tool" that can be used to easily place all of the gaskets, spacer, carb, etc in perfect order and alignment. Then once in place, use a net to snug-up one side enough to hold everything in place then remove one of the threaded rods and replace with the OEM bolt. Once the first OEM bolt is in, remove the other threaded rod and install the remaining OEM bolt. This is a great idea and certainly a time and frustration saver Buck. Thanks
Thank you for the refinement of the system presented in the video. I used your method and it worked great.
I own a Montgomery Wards Signature riding lawn mower built by MTD in the early 90's. As old and cheap as it is, believe it or not, it uses 2 threaded rods and they work great for this. It's amazing to me that Honda, known for all its technology, could not come up with this same solution whereas MTD, known for cutting every corner possible, did so. I'm guessing Honda figured they could save 75 cents per machine by doing it their way. Or maybe they thought they could make people take their machines into the nearest Honda dealer so as to keep them in the repair business.
Manifold gasket and manifold are backwards. May or may not surge. I like the idea of the studs.
Thanks.
I wish I had watched this video early this morning. As it is, I wasted about 6 hours, and I think the language I used killed two oak trees and my neighbors pit bull dog. Thanks for a great video.
Same here man 🤣. There’s always a more effective and efficient way to do things. Now we can pass on this sweet knowledge.
I am not sure, but I think that in the video when assembling the carb, more or less backwards onto the threaded studs, did you not place the phenolic spacer on backwards? Placing the spacer with the drain hole down is correct, but the spacer needs to face the other gaskets with holes . Like I said, I'm not sure, but it will make a difference I believe.
Yes he fs did
Great video and thank you! I replaced the carb and all the gaskets and it started first pull! Runs very strong now.
Very creative, well done. I cleaned my carburator today and struggled to put everything back, next time I do the same as you! Greetings from Belgium.
Thanks so much, and good luck with your machines!
Great instructive video, thanks. I use plastic tubing as guides then remove after assembly to be replaced by the screws.
A simple fix for a frustrating problem. Thanks
I thread some rod with 1/2 inch of m6. I put them in and assemble it all. Then I put small bolt that hold air cleaner housing to bracket. Holding it tight also I remove one of my rods and insert original bolt. Then remove second rod and install original bolt.
Yes, makes perfect sense. Then you don't have to keep buying threaded rod again and again.
Wish I had seen this video last week, when I R&R the carb on a GCV160-powered mower. That's the definition of EXPERIENCE- what you get just AFTER you need it!
Others noted the possibility of later removing the threaded rods. But as I reflected on my experience, it probably needed only one threaded rod to hang everything and snug down. The 2nd rod would be just for balance. It could be un-threaded rod, or a rod with ½" of threads ground off one end, which will temporarily engage in the other block bolt hole. When things are reasonably assembled, replace the unthreaded (etc.) first with the original bolt. Snug that, then replace the threaded stud with the other original bolt. And Bob's your uncle...
Thanks for the note. I think the idea of using the threaded rod temporarily, and then swapping it out for the original bolts, is the best idea. Thank you.
That is a great idea, I too have struggled with Honda carbs. I am ordering those rods today. Thanks for the video.
fantastic. i have replaced carbs on the autochoke ver of this gasket mess design 3-4x on the gvc160 honda engine'd mower. good job. what sucks is that I've cleaned other branded mowers carbs when they get gummed up and afterwards they worked. I had no success in cleaning carbs for the gvc160 and had to buy complete units, albeit @mazon hooked me up cheaply w an oem unit so no big deal. I have found a video on YTube that showed more exhaustive carb teardown/cleaning but my new carb is installed and working, so will attempt when required. thus also adding these studs making install easier. thks again
Try an ultrasonic cleaner with heat. Use dawn , worked out great for my issues.
Also a carb cleaning bush and jet cleaning tool kit.
Awesome tip. I believe you can also use the Chinese clones studs as well. I have not tried, but I don't usually fix any Hondas.
Later...
I would add the appropiate dye (M6X1.00) on the rod before cutting it so as to clean up the rod making it much easier to put the nut on.
What a great idea. Took the frustration away. Sounds like your idle is running high, do you have a RPM gauge to check it? Otherwise go by the sound and adjust to your liking, Have a great day and thanks for posting this video.
Rods for guides then original bolts after assembly to hold filter housing properly. Don't forget to connect ALL the hoses and to clamp properly where needed.
SWEET IDEA! What you could do instead of using the two nut method to put in the rod if you have a small dig grinder with a cut off wheel you could put a small slit at the end of the ready rod. That way you could get a slotted screwdriver into the end of the ready rod, just as if it was the regular bolts. That way you could tighten it up take one piece of the ready rod out while the other piece is holding the carburetter assembly, secure, and then slip in the old bolt and then do the same thing for the other side. That way you're not going through so much ready rod, and having to do all the extra work, you could make reusable dowels by simply cutting a small slit at the end and then you could have it already cut to the right length. I've used a similar method for installing transmissions on a large truck in order to line up the transmission housing with the engine housing. I'm not sure if you mentioned what length of rod they need to be but I'm guessing it would just be about the same as the bolts that were in there as what I would cut them out but a bit longer. Once we have the assembly tight, you could also use a tiedown strap and tighten it up around the carburetter assembly or the Honda sandwich in order to keep it from moving and then put your old bolts back in the spots in order to Not have to replenish your ready rod stock.
At about 13:50 you tell us "Don't worry" about gasoline fumes being ignited. Good point.
I'd worry about metal bits from the grinding that might fly into the carb and then into the engine when you start it.
Mark the threaded rods, remove the filter housing, cover the carb opening (small rag or some sort of tape would work). Now do the grinding. You MIGHT need to use a 3-point file (or a metric die if you have one) to clean up the threads of the rod.
I USE WOODEN DOWELS. PUT EVERY THING ON , HOLD TIGHT TO ENGINE REMOVE DOWEL AND PUT BOLT IN. THIS IS BAD DESIGN THOUGH
Great tip. Thank you!
I use 3/16 steel brake line. Same principal
@Buckwsr use the dowl or I use steel brake line. No buying supplies
Yeah I use the existing screws and line everything up or some long screwdrivers to keep everything aligned, prior to that I put the linkages on of course first then I slide everything on connect the fuel line, put on the outer cover and connect the PVC air hose breather then tighten everything up, good as a gold 🪙 penny 🤭, my babies a 1997 Honda Harmony II HRT 216 SDA, manual choke (only the best, not lazy with auto choke that wax piece that always fails) and just replaced my carburetor yesterday for the first time in 25 years baby, heck while I was doing that I went ahead and replaced the engine ignition coil thinking it's about time, and we're 🪙
Good idea!
We did things like this in industrial mechanics.
Great alternative tips in the comments
Thanks
FYI viewers...Buck acknowledged in the comments that he installed the spacer incorrectly. An edit regards this important detail would be USEFUL.
I approached it a bit differently. I used 1/4 inch oak wood rod cut to 7 inch length. Once everything was aligned, I applied pushing pressure on the air filter base, pulled out 1 of the rods, fed the bolt in (edit) thru the hole, then did the other wood rod switch over. Have never had a problem with this method.
Excellent. Methods similar to yours have been suggested to me. I really appreciate it.
I used your method but I instead used chopsticks instead of oak. Worked pretty good.
Smart idea. Hope you cleaned the air filter plastic and protected the intake when you used the angle grinder, becouse of small particles.
Grind some flat head notches on the end to enable a flat head to screw in your rods.
They also exist outright but good luck finding them that long and cheap + available.
Also the m6 x “”1.00”” is the thread pitch, which would be a standard unless the bastard WEF change that standard or screw with some regional manufacturers to eff everybody.
Run some heat resistant caulk/hot glue/paint/nail polish over the useless threads to avoid cutting up gaskets.
That's actually a very good idea!
@@minar0x Or just use your bench grinder to knock the top of the threads down in that section. Notching the end of the stud for a slotted driver is a great idea...thanks.
Love the suggestion! I thought how in the '......' am I going to put this thing back on!
Oh yeah! Now it's a piece of cake!
It doesn’t show how to connect the hose pipe to the air cleaner. Very very tricky
I done this exact thing the other day, With only the plate, carb & the gasket. Night mare.. took me all of an Hr. to get set right.
Hey Buck glad I didn't order those thread rod but my bolts are different.
Missed showing the breather tube connecting.
Worked for me thanks for sharing
Just changed my carb for a new one. Wished I'd seen this video before hand. Got it done, it was very difficult, but I did it, and I wouldn't recommend trying to do it without this video.
great tip video!
Great idea! And your presentation is excellent!
Thank you so much!
Honda love these gaskets
I take the engine cover off for better view and a make some cut on top of the air filter housing so I can flap the top back to see everything. When your done just push the flap back down under the engine cover and it will mold itself right back. Also having the mower on its side let’s gravity help keep everything stacked up properly.
Thank you for the tips!
Wow
Yes Sir 🎉
Nice work Buck.
Thank you
what is the approx length threaded rod
needed (approximately) before trimming 6” ?
Thank you for the video.
I was wondering if the GX studs would work ??
Very good idea thank you
didnt show how to hook up rear hose to carb
The threaded studs were standard older honda pro mowers
Sorry, ive just replaced my carb and other items on my 3 yr old honda mower. ( bad gas in calif )
No problems at all.
Its a breeze when you have 55 years experance i guess.
Over engineered is how they make money after the sale. I use allthread posts. Just make a bunch ahead of time snd have in the tool box. I make the stuff 0:10 from old bolts and discarded parts. Old men do that sort of thing.
Patients is the key.
Edit to clarify,
i replace the bolts with allthread and nuts. Easy to service each year.
Great tips! Thanks for the note.
My neighbor took his Honda apart in the grass. Spacer broke in two had to find other half and super glue it together.
Working on one of these. Thought it’d be easy like a Honda car. What a terrible design! But what a nice engine
Only 2 hours in. I did the same on a predator in 15 minutes. Ridiculous
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great vid
Yep it’s a winner to use studs
How long were those studs before you cut them off
Thanks
I just wanted to say thanks! Saw this in another video and it's the greatest thing that could happen to this stupid design.
Frustration is putting it mildly. I did GCV160 on an MTD mower the other day and, before it was said and done, what came out of my mouth would have made a sailor blush. It's weird how on one mower it goes on easy and on another it can take an hour to get the durn thing right.
Thank you bless you
I have one of these engines. It will start with starter fluid, and run fine. Trying to figure this priming system out. I tore into it, with a surprise at the assembly. Then the gaskets were like stickers. I found some gummed up air ways on the plastic connected straight to the intake hole. I felt confident that was it. But it wasnt. Could I've possibly ruined the integrity of the gaskets pulling them off? They werent in the best condition, but all other mowers I've done the shaggist of gaskets still work to run engine. Any input?
If starting fluid is required to start the engine, but runs fine thereafter, then I would say your choke mechanism is not working properly, perhaps choke plate is not closing fully when engine is cold.
Yes sir. It wasnt even connected.
Guys just use the all thread as a guide. Then pull one out put factory bolt back in. Then the same with the other bolt. No cutting nice and fast
You never connected the breather tube.
I don't find it very difficult. Yes, there's a lot of gaskets, but I put a drop of super glue on adjacent parts which eliminates the amount of parts I have to juggle.
It only take a spark to get a fire going that how it is with God's love.
Pass it on! Vintage Christian song from what? the 70's?
@@Buckwsr yes 70s
were can i get the longer bolts
Amazon has them. See link in description.
I’ve really surprised how Honda has cut some many corners lately
I'm throwing a yellow flag for way more common sense than Honda engineers have demonstrated, because this is how they should have built their recent small engine devices. I'm so angry at Honda (and Consumer Reports, for recommending these [censored] mowers) without better vetting issues like you highlight here, for DIYers. The one thing I think you missed in your intro rant... not like I and other pro UA-camrs haven't missed this as well: don't forget to connect the air breather hose to the air filter case!!!
Note to self….
you put the spacer on the wrong way x
Yes, round hole towards the carb with the vent pointing down. Also didn't attach the breather hose.
Thanks. I've since fixed it right.
Thanks. Connected breather tube off camera.
@Buck's Small Engine DIY maybe should have redone the ideo doing it correctly. Viewers may not always read comments and spend a bunch of time trying to figure out why engine won't run right.
Fortunately I found this comment...leaving the video up without adding an edit is going to hurt his credibility...and subs.
The engineers of Honda we’re real assholes designing that assembly like it is. I even toss the metal plate between carb and engine away due to frustration.
Agree. They had to do this on purpose. Older designs were so simple and easy.
I use ( not trying to be funny ) bamboo sticks from the grocery store or a pair of chopsticks
One of the reasons Honda came up with this very strange design might be to absolutely avoid any nuts to fall off and get sucked into the engine. But IT really is a maintenance Nightmare....
You put spacer on wrong way
A few folks have mentioned that....
Crap from cutting bolts in carb?
I was ready to throw these gcv engines away when I thought..
Why don't they put the studs on thses engines like they do the GX engines..??
I own North Valley Repair and do alot of pressure washers with the GCV motors...
Night Mare...
No wonder Honda is going electric, And not build mowers anymore
Ain’t got no gas in it.
You didn’t hook up the vent hose
Very observant!!! I hooked it up off-camera. I promise.
Why in the hell didn't HONDA think of this to start with!!! ....Thanks
I’ve been struggling with carb replacement on my Honda mower. I saw this video and ordered the all threads and gasket kit from Amazon. By putting the gaskets on the air cleaner and working back towards the block, you can’t really see where how to orient each gasket. This is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. THANKS.
It's not that complicated. You just need to put the bolts through the air cleaner then stack everything against it one layer at a time. Then align the hold thing against the engine and thread the bolts in. My old Lawnboy carb was more difficult to install than this one.
The vast majority of comments on this video demonstrate that many of us find this to be a challenging job. The threaded rod, even if just used temporarily, simplifies things quite a bit.
Understood. My post was mainly to aid other viewers in doing this.@@Buckwsr
Couldn't you use the bolt as a measure for the length of the threaded rod?
Tried that, ended up too short due to bolts not bottoming out in motor threads, like the rods do. You will want to add a bit for that as well as a couple washers. The nuts have sharp edges that dig into the plastic air cleaner housing. Second time was a charm.
It's probably been mentioned already, but I would use the threaded rod for assembly only, removing one rod at a time and replacing it with the original bolt after everything is in place...no fussing with length and rod can be re-used on other machines. Thanks for the post.
I agree!
That's a great idea as far as I can see it, especially since the threaded rods often are way softer than a specific screw.
Hope you remember to hook up the crankcase breather hose
You hope that why? Is there any danger if not connected?
@@yxcvmk "Danger" may be an overstatement, but connecting the air breather hose to the air filter cover is how you ensure that incoming air, necessary for any combustion engine, first passes through the mower's air filter. While mowing, a lot of dust and debris is kicked up by the blade, and clean air is important for engine longevity.
Looks as if spacer was installed backwards. Just saying. Love youre idea. I might try using threaded bolts as plce holders and put original bolts back.
Looked that way to me also!
Correct! It is always a good idea to refer to the exploded parts diagram for orientation because the last mechanic could have screwed it up. That stated, heuristically, the wider-end always faces the engine's intake port.
@@armchairtin-kicker503 I went through this and the diagrams are terrible. The only one that I could find was not quite my model and getting the gaskets on correctly took several tries. Thanks for the video. Another good one would be dealing with the gaskets with clear instructions and views.
thanks
You could have pre-cut the studs to be just a bit longer than the bolts, including the heads of the bolts. "A bit" should be the thickness of one of your nuts. Put the thread lock on, and install the stud hand tight. Then assemble the stack. You should end up with a bit more than two nut's worth of threads sticking out. Add your two nuts and tighten it all down. This puts the stud at the same depth as the original bolt. Remove the extra nut, and you are good to go.
Last night I almost threw the damn pressure washer through the wall trying to hold 6 things plus the governor rod after cleaning the carb up. Brilliant design having an air filter housing that funnels water in too.
I feel your pain! Thanks for watching the video.
Say what you want, but, Honda is THE BEST lawn mower I've ever run.
And, my Honda mower is over 15 years old and NEVER let me down!
Honda makes the BEST mowers!😊
Obviously you haven't upgraded to a recent engine! It started going bad when they went to an auto chock. I have 4 HR17's from various years and the old ones were far more dependable and easier to work on. My 22 year old hydrostatic drive has issues but it still works better than my 5 year old hydrostatic drive. Go figure. Neither one are designed for service but there are hacks. My 22 year old mower didn't need a carb repair for 10 to 15 years. My newer model needed one in 3. Like you, I love Honda but new is not always better.
This is one brilliant video, step by step, and no nonsense. Fantastic job, expertly described and a very clear video.
My old Harmony 215 mower from the 90's came with studs rather than bolts. This was pre-GCV. A few years ago, Honda introduced a clean-sheet re-design of the GCV series with the 170/200 iterations. That's when they went back to the studs.
All those steel filing went right into the intake on the filter housing. I would have taped the intake on the housing and then used a Dremel tool with a cut off wheel to cut. Another way would have been to tighten one side of the bolts to keep everything in place and then remove the other (left or right) bolt and cut it to length. Put that back through through the carb and tighten it. Then remove the other bolt and do it as the first. Metal filing will ruin an engine so this way will correct that. Either way a good video but I would be cautious about grinding ant metal near the intake of the filter housing.
Oh my gosh!! It wasn't hard at all. Just put it all together off the engine then tighten all of it down.