Honda HRX217 TDA Transmission Removal / Installation Part 1 

As an old timer and retired guy, new to wrenching mowers, this series of videos was nothing short of amazing. You did well young fella! Many thanks!!

I’m a fairly mechanical guy but this set of 3 videos walked me step by step thru the transmission replacement, was a absolutely great, thanks a 100%.

Thank you for your three-part series and the all important "lost footage." Your explanations and video made changeout of my transmission much easier, and changed cables while I was at it. Of course, now I could do the job in 90 minutes although I don't expect that will be necessary again!

Nice step-by-step for disassembly.

I must say this is by far the best DIY video I have ever seen on RU-vid. You got right to work understanding anyone who is going to do this has mechanical ability and is pretty sure of the problem and just wants to know the tricks. We did not hear all the other stuff guys do in the these videos like hear your life story or bad camera angles. You are an asset to the DIY world. That 6:20 went by so fast I thought it was 1 minute, Thank You Sir.

Thanks for putting this video together. Saved me a ton of time replacing my transmission.

Thank you for the tips for keeping the parts in order as you take them off. Very detailed and helpful!

Thank you for your video. My transmission went out after the mower was about twelve years old. A comparable honda mower was going to cost around $700 and I was quoted a repair of it at $500 so I decided to tackle it myself. During the repair I wished I just bought a new mower, but now that it’s done I’m happy. I got a new transmission for $200 ( mine of course was the more expensive one). Anyway, I followed your directions and had a few difficulties. The bolt for the chute adjustment had to be cut off to be removed which wasn’t easy. The nut that holds the pulley on the transmission wouldn’t come off as well even with heat so it had to be cut off also, its a 10mm. With all the work needed and the troubles I had, I had about ten hours work in it. Some things were put on wrong and had to be corrected. If anyone else is thinking of doing this I want to point out that the wheel level adjusters must be put on the same side they were taken off. I found out the hard way when I couldn’t get my mower up high enough to stop butchering the lawn. Also the three bolts that hold a bracket on the transmission which also has the cable attached, are threading bolts. The new transmission doesn’t have threads to screw them into so just thread them in. That took awhile to figure out as well. Also get a good pair of snap ring pliers. The cheap ones I had made it hard to take them off which took time as well. Also drain your oil and gas because eventually you will turn it upside down and on the other side and the oil will leak into the carburetor. But in the end it’s worth it knowing five hundred dollars was saved over buying a new mower.

I like your clear and concise video with good visual. I have some diy videos too.

Most people who remove this drive gear from a honda self propelled mower thinks that the flat edge of the drive gear should face forward since that's the way the axle key would catch the gear to move it forward however the drive axle actually spins backwards in order to spin the gear on the actual wheel and tire forward so always make sure the flat edge of the gear faces backwards. I made this mistake when I removed mine.

Thank you very much for this detailed tutorial :) much appreciated.

2:18 There's also a collar. The collar slides within the slot on the shutter arm.

In the process of repairing a engine on a one of these that also has the blade clutch. Didn't think it would be so difficult to just get the engine off of the thing. Was getting stuck taking the bottom cover and mulch plate adjuster bolt out and decided to take a break. Now I see I missed that bolt on the side by the wheel for the cover thanks. Think the bolt on the adjuster is just dirty/rusty so having trouble getting a socket on it. I'll keep at it.

I need to buy snap ring pliers to do this service on my mower. What size of snap ring pliers are needed for this job? Great video by the way.

I have the Honda that you're working on in your videos the 217 could you possibly do a quick little demonstration on how to change the drive belt cuz it won't engage to self propel itself. Did you please show me how to do that myself

How much labor would you charge for doing this repair for a client? I do quite a bit of small engine repair but I haven’t taken on one of these yet. Just curious how many hours labor you would charge?

For some reason I have the same mower and I removed the nuts off for the wheels and I can’t get the wheels to come off any reason why?

Why would you have to remove and replace the transmission? What are the symptoms / signs that the transmission is on its way out ? I have various different noises on my mower ( sounds like maybe a loose pulley or a bad bearing whining ) . Is it for this reason, or because the transmission stops propelling the lawnmower? Thank you for any information that any of you can pass on to me.

It would have been more helpful to go over your diag of how you determined that the tranny was bad.

What size snap ring pliers did you use?

When I put it in drive I just start hearing grinding from the gear box