I have a Yardman mower with a Honda motor bought new about 14 years ago. The motor is awesome, always starts on one pull still doesn't use any oil. The deck is a cheap piece of shit, it has been rusting out for years, I just covered up the holes with duct tape to get me by. This summer it has bee n shaking around more than ever so I knew the end was near. After about 200 ft of mowing today the last pieces of rusty metal gave out, the blade hit the ground and that's all she wrote. After I peeled a dozen layers of duct tape the pics are what I found. So do I buy a new mower (I won't ask about electrics), look for a good deck because the Honda motor is still good or try baling wire?
"But, as luck would have it, he stood up. He caught that chunk of lead." Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock "If there's one thing this last week has taught me, it's better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it." Clarence Worley
July 02, 2020, 04:56 AM
Xer0
Damn..... Your deck is missing!
July 02, 2020, 05:40 AM
egregore
Duct tape is very useful, but doesn't fix everything. It wasn't duct tape - I think it was some sort of electrical tape - but I once got a car in to charge the A/C and there was a hole in a condenser tube that had tape wrapped around it. A condenser is under some 75-100 psi even with the A/C not engaged; with the system running, 150-250. I refused it. Had I not spotted it, it would have blown out, which is wasteful of expensive refrigerant and dangerous if my face had been near it. Another time somebody tried it on a rusted-through steel brake line. Nope, didn't work on that either.
July 02, 2020, 05:43 AM
wreckdiver
Possible to get a replacement deck?
_________________________________________________
"Once abolish the God, and the Government becomes the God." --- G.K. Chesterton
July 02, 2020, 05:57 AM
dewhorse
ok...maybe not duct tape but some sheet metal and rivets should fix it just fine
July 02, 2020, 06:02 AM
PowerSurge
Damn. That setup is ready for liftoff.
Time to treat yourself to a new one. I’d keep the engine though.
——————————————— The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Psalm 14:1
July 02, 2020, 06:04 AM
chellim1
Get a Honda mower. The xenon deck lasts as long as the motor.
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown
"The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor
July 02, 2020, 06:04 AM
YooperSigs
Ummm.... looks like you got your moneys worth out of it!
End of Earth: 2 Miles Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles
July 02, 2020, 06:12 AM
ThankGod4Sig
quote:
Originally posted by chellim1: Get a Honda mower. The xenon deck lasts as long as the motor.
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown
"The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor
July 02, 2020, 06:59 AM
architect
Find the lawn mower repair guy in your area. He will, undoubtedly, have a dozen or more mowers in his junk pile that are like new but with blown engines, offer him $10 for the best one. For a few $ more, he will swap engines for you. Do check the bolt patterns, they are not universal. A local commercial landscaper could be a good resource as well, but his "parts" will be in much worse shape.
July 02, 2020, 07:00 AM
BigSwede
I haven't seen anything like that since my Dad bought a new 1977 Chevy Cheyenne in MI, rusted out in less than two years.
Get yourself a shiny new mower and sell that engine
July 02, 2020, 07:56 AM
esdunbar
I like my toes, so no way I’d use that. Considering what’s at stake if something goes wrong, I recommend just getting a new mower.
They aren’t that expensive. Are you emotionally attached to the motor or something?
I've been trying to buy one of those HRX217HYAs. They're sold out or backordered everywhere.
Lots of places have the HRX217VYA (identical except with the old style "select drive" transmission) but the hydrostatic transmission version like yours is currently unobtanium.
I wonder if there's some sort of supply chain/production issue for the hydrostatic models.
If they're not back in stock by the end of the month, I'm just going to have to settle for a VYA model.
July 02, 2020, 08:10 AM
clubleaf206
quote:
Originally posted by architect: Find the lawn mower repair guy in your area. He will, undoubtedly, have a dozen or more mowers in his junk pile that are like new but with blown engines, offer him $10 for the best one. For a few $ more, he will swap engines for you. Do check the bolt patterns, they are not universal. A local commercial landscaper could be a good resource as well, but his "parts" will be in much worse shape.
And then hose off the underside of the mower deck before you put the mower away. Every time would be best, but I suppose it can be done every third or fourth time, just don’t let the cut, packed grass to stay under there for a long time.
___________________________________________________________________________ "....imitate the action of the Tiger."
July 02, 2020, 08:11 AM
Shaql
quote:
Originally posted by esdunbar: I like my toes, so no way I’d use that. Considering what’s at stake if something goes wrong, I recommend just getting a new mower.
They aren’t that expensive. Are you emotionally attached to the motor or something?
You can love your mower, just don't *love* your mower.
Hedley Lamarr: Wait, wait, wait. I'm unarmed. Bart: Alright, we'll settle this like men, with our fists. Hedley Lamarr: Sorry, I just remembered . . . I am armed.
July 02, 2020, 09:16 AM
OKCGene
Old license plates and pop rivets should work. Then a few bumper stickers for flair. Red Green would approve.
July 08, 2020, 08:08 AM
hberttmank
Thanks to every one concerned. A different deck was the the best choice. I found a good deck with the same 3 bolt Honda pattern for $20 so I went for it. I had to do some modifications on the handles and drill a few new holes, but here is my new push mower. This message has been edited. Last edited by: hberttmank,
"But, as luck would have it, he stood up. He caught that chunk of lead." Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock "If there's one thing this last week has taught me, it's better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it." Clarence Worley
