Honda AirBox

[lefty]

Honda HRX217TDA
MAGA 1020429

I got this machine yesterday. Was told it was running crappy. The carb is a mess, full of dirt. One of the tabs on the air assembly is broken (17220-ZM0-030). It was dropped off without the filter or the cover that goes over it. I'm told that will be dropped off soon. I need a new air assembly and when I search the part, it shows a slightly different one. The new one is missing the 3rd hole. A bolt goes through that into the throttle plate. I'm assuming it's not necessary if the new part only attaches with the two carb bolts?

I was horrified when I opened this up. In the carb...even in the port heading toward the valve stem. The owner must have been running this with the broken tab, allowing a gap for dirt to get past the air filter. I haven't started it because I don't have the airbox cover yet. I gave it a couple pulls with my thumb over the hole and it pops off pretty strongly. I can't help but think some of this dirt has taken a bit of a toll on the cylinder. Aside from blowing shop air down the intake port to clean it out, are they any other steps you'd recommend before starting this up? Or is shop air in that port a bad idea? I'm going to change the oil on this as well.

Maybe a leakdown to make sure there's not too much damage?

[KE4AVB]

Honda has superseded PN 17220-ZM0-000 to 17220-ZM0-030 so yes it appears that they eliminated the third mounting hole.

[lefty]

I just finished with this machine. Got a new air cleaner assembly, air filter, and replaced some gaskets. Cleaned the carb and It runs fine but is only running at about 2500 RPM. I think it's supposed to be running at about 3100. I searched the internet and found someone who had moved the governor spring to the other hole on the linkage to fix a slow rpm problem. They moved it from the first hole to the 2nd hole. The one I have is also in the 1st hole. Could it be that simple? It starts first pull. I was concerned with this one because I suspected that the owner was running it with a faulting air cleaning system and think dirt may have gotten in there. I haven't done a leak down. I drained the oil and there was no grit in it, which was encouraging. Should I try the other whole for the governer spring?

If I do have excessive wear due to bad air, would this cause an rpm problem? I'm not against a leak down test but I'm trying to develop some diagnosis skills. As I learn, I'm trying to make the right moves at the right time.

[KE4AVB]

Actually the answers can be yes to both questions.

You could have a Kohler XT-7 like I got here that is surging due oil getting pushed into the air cleaner due to being ran without an air filter. The engine here is ruined. Every time it gets a gulp of oil it nearly dies and a small puff of smoke comes out the muffler. Brand new air filter is now getting oily.

[lefty]

Thank you. I did a leak down and it was a resounding success. So I'm going to take a look at this throttle/governor set up. I think I may have found a potential cause but I need to get some oil in her and run it again. I'm noticing that the choke is getting hung up. So while not running, if I push the throttle to choke, and then back off to the fast setting, the choke does not disengage, only when I drop the throttle all the way down to slow does the choke pop lose. It seems to be getting hung up on something. I just want to verify that it's not that condition that's messing with my RPM before I go changing anything.

But I'm certainly glad it's not like the Kohler you were talking about. Thanks for your help.

[lefty]

So I'm very close now. Runs pretty good at 2700 rpm. So my issues are as follows at this point:

1. Low engine speed.
2. Stalls when I close the throttle all the way.
3. Choke sticks

I've included a link to a picture. The low speed can be fixed by adjusting the spring (red arrow. I put it in the 2nd hole for the photo but have not run it like that yet. Originally in the hole to the left) It may not be the right way to do this so I thought I'd ask. The other spring, with the yellow arrow, which also plays a role it appears, is attached at two points (shown with yellow arrows as well). Something inside me thinks that the best way may be to adjust where the throttle cable is anchored. Which may also take care of my low-end stall? Unless there's another way to adjust the idle speed?

The choke sticking appears to be due to the tang (shown with the bottom-most blue arrow) getting hung up on the plate that moves when the throttle is moved. I can get it to bust loose if I drop the throttle all the way down quickly and then move it back to the fast position. That seems to cause it to break loose. I'm not sure why that is happening but it does pose a problem because you can't just move the throttle from choke to fast. The choke won't disengage without this technique I mentioned. Although, for all I know, it's supposed to operate this way? Any ideas?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/x33KTW5nXWnB47nx7

Thanks so much

[lefty]

I ended up putting a new carb on this and bending that little metal tail at the bottom of the choke arm. It was hanging up. So this ended up working out well without the need to change the governor spring location.