Author Topic: Rebalancing a Honda petrol brush cutter/strimmer.  (Read 3766 times)

Offline JerryNotts

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Rebalancing a Honda petrol brush cutter/strimmer.
« on: September 26, 2017, 04:05:39 AM »
I have no idea how to do this. Our strimmer was knocked off its shelf by one of the cats a few years ago. The crankcase was cracked and had to be replaced by our local mower shop. When the machine was returned the vibration was more than noticeable but I have been able to use it for its purpose, occasional edging of the small lawn in our current home.

My wife has had to take over the garden, as my mobility is now restricted. This has the added advantage of her producing lots of good veg. for us to eat. This vibration is more than I should ask her to cope with and ought to be eliminated. As those who have used these Honda machines will know they are very smooth in operation as they come from the factory.

Unfortunately the repair shop went the way of all flesh and the new owners refuse to have anything to do with the work of their predecessors. So the problem is well and truly mine now. I don't think the occasional use of the strimmer  has made the problem worse than when it came back to us. Some years it has not been used at all.  But I do not know enough to know where to start. . .

Any advice would be appreciated

Jerry

Offline John Rudd

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Re: Rebalancing a Honda petrol brush cutter/strimmer.
« Reply #1 on: September 26, 2017, 04:49:20 AM »
I think I would start by removing the strimmer head.....then run up the engine ( not too high a speed....!!) and see if the vibration remains....
If the vibration is still there then it points to an out of balance crank assembly....you would need to entrust it to repairer that can remedy this......

If its the cutter head, further investigation may/should aid........

Bottom line, it could work out expensive to repair....a new one cheaper?

Btw, exposing yourself to vibration like this can lead to permanent damage.....not wanting to be a scaremonger but read up on HAV.......
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Offline wgw

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Re: Rebalancing a Honda petrol brush cutter/strimmer.
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2017, 10:19:29 AM »
I'm not familiar with the Honda model-but. If it was dropped hard enough to crack the crankcase maybe other damage was done. Check out the clutch (centrifugal?) and the drive shaft could be  bent. It might work out cheaper to buy another if you can't do this yourself.

Offline JerryNotts

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Re: Rebalancing a Honda petrol brush cutter/strimmer.
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2017, 11:07:05 AM »
The suggestion of buying a new machine has to actioned only once I have determined that the problem is beyond me. Current Honda prices are above £300. I have use other makes, the only ones that come close are Stihl. They are 2 strokes, you can see them in the hands of most council maintenance teams. They are slightly cheaper but 4-strokes are easier to start if left unused for a period, like through the winter. When i had a bigger garden I tried several makes over the years, but Honda won out on starting every time.

Thanks John for the  reminder on the Vibration white finger Regs. The vibration at present is just about below the threshold for induced problems, at least when I last used it.
WGW I believe the clutch mechanism has been known to cause problems on these and might be the first point of failure.

I agree with looking at the source of the vibration first. I have a feeling that it might be the head or the shaft, as there is no noticeable vibration when ticking-over on a concrete slab.

Perhaps some-one else has done a strip down of this machine. Hopefully You Tube and Google will be my friends.

Jerry

Offline Kjelle

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Re: Rebalancing a Honda petrol brush cutter/strimmer.
« Reply #4 on: September 29, 2017, 05:53:29 AM »
I'm not that familiar with those strimmers, but reading how hard it hit the floor, is it possible that the crank shaft is bent/out of phase? If it has a built up crank, the fall could have moved one side in relation to the other... What is attached to the damaged side? Just a bearing, the clutch, or the ignition?

Kjelle

Offline RussellT

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Re: Rebalancing a Honda petrol brush cutter/strimmer.
« Reply #5 on: September 29, 2017, 08:30:57 AM »
It's a relatively common problem on lawn mowers to bend the crank by hitting rocks etc.  I think I've seen it specifically excluded from lawn mower guarantees.  I don't think the lack of vibration at idle is enough to exclude the crank as a problem.

Russell
Common sense is unfortunately not as common as its name suggests.