Aspen500
Well-Known Member
Just my lawnmower. Was out mowing the lawn, mostly to make the leaves disappear, got the money side (part you can see from the street) done and was just starting on the back. All of a sudden the engine quit running and spun down with a death rattle sound. Can only turn the engine back and forth about 300 degrees or so. Pulled the rocker cover off and,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,son of a...... Exhaust valve head broke off, the exhaust rocker cracked and the guide cam out with the valve stem. Going to bring my bore scope home from work tomorrow and have a look at the piston top before deciding on a tear down or not. I'll either be at the Honda dealer buying parts or buying a new mower. We'll see. My first Honda went 12 years mowing my 1/2 acre lot with no trouble at all until one very hot day, it did basically the same thing. The valve didn't break, it stuck and bent. That mower was about worn out so didn't even think about it, just replaced it. This one was the same Honda Harmony II except of course a 2009 model vs the 1997 I had before but it broke the exhaust rocker last year, then again this year and now this. Maybe the valve was getting stuck or something like that and that was the cause of the rockers breaking. Who knows. Didn't bother me too much, the rockers are a whole $4.50 and takes about 10 minutes to change and adjust the lash.
I can hear it now. Why a Honda. OK then. Back when I bought the 1st one, I went to look at mowers. I needed one THAT DAY and they had a Snapper. Lawn Boy and Honda. Started each one up. The Snapper and Lawnboy took 3 or 4 pulls each and were noisy, vibrating things. Honda started first pull and made about 1/2 as much noise and was smooth as an electric motor. That's why.
If it's not one thing it's another, right?
I can hear it now. Why a Honda. OK then. Back when I bought the 1st one, I went to look at mowers. I needed one THAT DAY and they had a Snapper. Lawn Boy and Honda. Started each one up. The Snapper and Lawnboy took 3 or 4 pulls each and were noisy, vibrating things. Honda started first pull and made about 1/2 as much noise and was smooth as an electric motor. That's why.
If it's not one thing it's another, right?