The Garageineer threw in the towel (and followed the towel with $360 to Home Despot) and purchased a new Toro Model 20334. It assembled quickly out of the box, started on the first pull of it's rope (I needed to cut the lawn, so couldn't wait for the self-starter battery to charge overnight).
I got enough of the 30-weight high detergent oil to do 2 break-in oil changes, one after the next cutting, and one more before the end-of-season layup in November. Yes, I AM a geezer, and insist on break-in oil, even though it's not spec'd directly, but Toro tossed in a 20-oz bottle of their 30-wt and it says to run it 5 hours on that, so I guess it's a sorta-breakin procedure. Not listed in the breakin was spritzing a light oil into the cylinder before the first spin-up, but I did that also. It started on the first pull despite all that oil in the cylinder (not enough to cause a hydro-lock, probably 15 drops).
The Honda will now have it's 4-hp motor stripped out of it's deck, and I will rebuild it with a new cylinder and fresh top-end, machine-shop overhaul. I'll Plastigage the crank bearing, too, in case the lower end needs a rebuild. That motor probably has 750 hours on it. If, by the time I finish the overhaul, my youngest daughter follows through on her threat and gets a house with a yard, I'll present her with the rebuilt Honda HR214SM to mow that yard. If she doesn't, I'll fashion the rebuilt engine into a hi-cap'y DC generator set for my boat. It should run a 150-amp alternator behind it's former blade clutch, which would give about 2KW @ 13.2 VDC. It also has an interesting power takeoff, geared down to run the rear wheels in it's mower configuration. Do you suppose that will run a small capstan to winch up crab and shrimp pots?
'Bout time you got a decent new one. Have fun with the old leftovers!
Posted by: Rivrsis | July 26, 2012 at 09:35