# Honda HS828WAS GX240 engine repair



## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

This Honda GX240 engine came on a wheel Honda HS828WAS that was purchased as a parts unit. 
The engine feels like it is locked up, does not move with the pull start and if I remember correctly it also doesn’t move with the electric start. So I am likely going to take it apart, asses the damage and repair it as needed (this would also help me remember the process as I have another GX240 that had been partially disassembled for a few years).
I’ll post some pictures later and will try to post progress as it is made.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

YSHSfan said:


> This Honda GX240 engine came on a wheel Honda HS828WAS that was purchased as a parts unit.
> The engine feels like it is locked up, does not move with the pull start and if I remember correctly it also doesn’t move with the electric start. So I am likely going to take it apart, asses the damage and repair it as needed (this would also help me remember the process as I have another GX240 that had been partially disassembled for a few years).
> I’ll post some pictures later and will try to post progress as it is made.


member jackmels advised try taking out spark plug spray a bunch of penetrating oil and let it sit for awhile. then put a breaker bar on the main pulley nut and work it back and forth and see if it will move. if so keep working it .

i did this with an old 55 that was seized for a couple years. perhaps a longshot but you never know.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

orangputeh said:


> member jackmels advised try taking out spark plug spray a bunch of penetrating oil and let it sit for awhile. then put a breaker bar on the main pulley nut and work it back and forth and see if it will move. if so keep working it .
> 
> i did this with an old 55 that was seized for a couple years. perhaps a longshot but you never know.


Thanks for the advise, I have read a few times about that suggestion from Jack (I may try it)
I'll more likely take it apart though (unless I find something simple as the cause) as I'd like to get familiar with tearing them down, repairing what is needed and reassembling (we'll see how it goes)
:blowerhug:


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

YSHSfan said:


> Thanks for the advise, I have read a few times about that suggestion from Jack (I may try it)
> I'll more likely take it apart though (unless I find something simple as the cause) as I'd like to get familiar with tearing them down, repairing what is needed and reassembling (we'll see how it goes)
> :blowerhug:


ok. please keep us updated. I have not yet had a need to tear a snowblower motor apart. I have done motorcycles and a couple cars. probably the same thing. there are some videos on it on youtube. the cylinder may be trashed if too scored and piston too. but if you have spare parts it may not be too bad. hope you can post pictures. good luck.

that's on my list for summer after i learn to service the right hand tranny gearbox.


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

I echo orangputeh's advice... I've done that (penetrating oil in the cylinder and breaker bar) on a GX240, a number of GXV120/140/160's, and numerous outboard engines that had sat outside unprotected for years, and it was always a quick, effective solution that resulted in no damage to the engine that was discernible.


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## Freezn (Mar 1, 2014)

orangputeh said:


> member jackmels advised try taking out spark plug spray a bunch of penetrating oil and let it sit for awhile. then put a breaker bar on the main pulley nut and work it back and forth and see if it will move. if so keep working it . i did this with an old 55 that was seized for a couple years. perhaps a longshot but you never know.


+1 Mix 50% penetrating oil with 50% diesel gas. Pull the spark plug and give 3-4 shots of the penetrating oil/diesel mix into the cylinder. Let it sit for about an hour, then try giving the pull cord a couple light pulls. If it's still locked-up, grab a small piece of 1/4" wooden dowel and insert one end of the dowel into the cylinder against the piston. Then give the dowel a few LIGHT taps with a rubber mallet. Squirt some more penetrating oil/diesel mix into the cylinder and give the dowel a few more taps. Sometimes you get lucky and the piston will break free. Good Luck!


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Thanks all.
I'll bring the engione to the Shop that I work at in a few days and see which direction I take on it. 
I'll likely be using that engine on one of my re-powered (rebuild or partial rebuild) projects, so I'd like it to be in top shape..... I'll keep updating this thread as progress is made


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

I've had a few engines people brought me that were frozen. I took the head off, poured some penetrating I the piston, let it sit until it went down, then next day put some synthetic oil in same, waited, then took a 2x3 and banged on it with a hand sledge. To can also try some heat careful that it is aluminum, also try some boiling water on the piston.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

YSHSfan said:


> Thanks all.
> I'll bring the engione to the Shop that I work at in a few days and see which direction I take on it.
> I'll likely be using that engine on one of my re-powered (rebuild or partial rebuild) projects, so I'd like it to be in top shape..... I'll keep updating this thread as progress is made


you sound a lot like me. do something new for the challenge. I know most of you have serviced the right hand gear box on Honda's but I haven't and fortunately found a 928 with a loud clicking and bucking so it's the perfect candidate for it.

Even if you free the motor, you'll probably tear it apart to check for damage.? Is there a way without tearing it apart? Would the compression test tell you a lot? On the motor I freed the compression was only 70 but I don't have any idea how much it was before hand. It starts usually on 2nd pull and runs fine and smokes maybe 5 seconds and then clear. 

It's a real old machine that i only paid 50 bucks on so not going to invest much more other than maintenance.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

orangputeh said:


> you sound a lot like me. do something new for the challenge. I know most of you have serviced the right hand gear box on Honda's but I haven't and fortunately found a 928 with a loud clicking and bucking so it's the perfect candidate for it.
> 
> Even if you free the motor, you'll probably tear it apart to check for damage.? Is there a way without tearing it apart? Would the compression test tell you a lot? On the motor I freed the compression was only 70 but I don't have any idea how much it was before hand. It starts usually on 2nd pull and runs fine and smokes maybe 5 seconds and then clear.
> 
> It's a real old machine that i only paid 50 bucks on so not going to invest much more other than maintenance.


Compression and a leak down test will likely tell you if there is a problem with the cylinder, piston, rings or valves. On your engine the fact that it smokes tells something, but we don’t know if it smoked before or not. 
Yes, I’ll likely tear the engine down even if I can free it up.


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## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

I ran into a GX270 a while ago with the same issue, the motor was locked solid and wouldnt budge. I opened up the crankcase to find a broken rod, the connecting part that connected to the crackshaft was all melted onto the crank shaft. Luckily the crank shaft is made of iron alloy and the connecting rod is made of aluminum. I was able to take off all of the aluminum from the crankshaft and was able to salvage it, bought a new piston/rod kit and rebuilt the motor, its been a year or so and the machine runs great. Its very gratifying to salvage/fix stuff that most folks have written off.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

JnC said:


> I ran into a GX270 a while ago with the same issue, the motor was locked solid and wouldnt budge. I opened up the crankcase to find a broken rod, the connecting part that connected to the crackshaft was all melted onto the crank shaft. Luckily the crank shaft is made of iron alloy and the connecting rod is made of aluminum. I was able to take off all of the aluminum from the crankshaft and was able to salvage it, bought a new piston/rod kit and rebuilt the motor, its been a year or so and the machine runs great. Its very gratifying to salvage/fix stuff that most folks have written off.


The other GX240 that is partially disassembled has an issue like that as well, it was run out of oil and the connecting rod started melting into the crankshaft (will likely get fixed after the one on this thread).
I'm thinking that this GX240 may have a seized or broken rod as well, but we'll find out once it is taken apart.
:blowerhug:


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Got a chance to take it apart. 

As soon as I took the recoil off I knew it had a thrown rod as I could move the fan and flywheel almost a full turn back and forth by hand.

After disassembling it (not finished yet, but enough to asses the damage) found the broken rod.

I'll have to remove the crank, clean and polish it and see if it can be reused (usually it can be), we'll see


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

what does the cylinder look like?

thanks for the update.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

orangputeh said:


> what does the cylinder look like?


Didn’t look carefully but seemed fine to me. I’ll take a closer look when I have the crank removed.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Removed the crank, looks like it will clean up just fine.
The cylinder is in excellent condition.
Definitely worth rebuilding (I think).....!
:blowerhug:


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

YSHSfan said:


> Removed the crank, looks like it will clean up just fine.
> The cylinder is in excellent condition.
> Definitely worth rebuilding (I think).....!
> :blowerhug:


Better than making a paperweight out of it.

The local Honda dealer told me they average one blown blower a month because of no oil, low oil , etc. Do you think this was the cause? If not , what other reasons causes a blown motor? You would think the motor would give you clues before going......smoking, knocking, or some other noise.

Well, it does look repairable. piston kit and seals? what else are you going to do to it while you have it all apart?

The first time i took a motor out with a cracked crankcase ( before you-tube ) . I changed the journals , had the crackcase welded and turned and really did not know what I was doing. put it all back together and had 6-7 pieces left over. a couple bolts an pieces i did not know what they were.

it fired right up. no more knocking or anything else but leaked a lot of oil. drove it another 7000 miles before selling.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

orangputeh said:


> The local Honda dealer told me they average one blown blower a month because of no oil, low oil , etc. Do you think this was the cause?.


Yes, I think it was the cause. 
On the other GX240 that I have apart the previous owner did tell me that it was run out of oil (he said he didn't realize that he had 'lost' the 'plug' that goes on the other side like the dipstick as he was clearing 2+ feet of snow, next thing he noticed was a loud 'bang' and the engine stopped).



orangputeh said:


> Well, it does look repairable. piston kit and seals? what else are you going to do to it while you have it all apart?


Piston looks pretty good too. 
I think I'll do a rod, rings, gaskets and seals as needed.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

After cleaning the case found out that it actually has a considerable crack on the upper area (below where the fuel tank will mount).

Maybe tomorrow I'll take a short trip to the Machine Shop to see if he is willing to do some welding on it......


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Are you sure that crank is okay. When they run out of oil, the rod sticks to the crank gets yanked and twisted then bang. 

Usually the crank surface is destroyed.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

drmerdp said:


> Are you sure that crank is okay. When they run out of oil, the rod sticks to the crank gets yanked and twisted then bang.
> 
> Usually the crank surface is destroyed.


I have to clean the two cranks yet, I've read that they can clean up nicely (we'll see).

Here are the cranks and the crack on one of the cases.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

I think I'm going to try to clean the cranks and depending on the results I'll make the trip to the Machine Shop or not for welding the crack on the case.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Haven’t cleaned the cranks yet but I stopped by the machine shop and left the cracked case there, they said depending on the type of alloy it may weld well or not. If it does not work I may have to go the epoxy way (either JB weld or marine tex).


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Picked up the block from the machine shop. Welding worked out and came out good. Welded inside and outside.

I'll post pictures later.

Also picked up some LYE to do the crank cleaning, I'll be reporting on how it comes out....


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Here is the end result of the welding repair



















Now I have to clean the crank and order what's needed for the 'rebuild' of it.

I have access to a bead blaster at work and I am debating on whether I should blast the case or not........


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Cool. I wouldn’t bother sand blasting it. Looks like you degreased it really well already.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Crankshaft cleaned up nicely using a strong lye solution and 600 sand paper (took some time but worked).



















From here on, you can follow my other thread as it will be turning into a 'GX270'

http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/honda-snowblowers/140978-gx240-turned-gx270.html

:blowerhug:


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

nice job.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

orangputeh said:


> nice job.


Thanks.


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