# Honda HS724 cheap!



## highdesignfool (Jan 23, 2017)

So I just grabbed this tired HS724 today on the way home from work for a whopping $50 dollar bill. 
The auger is totally shot, the hydrostatic drive won’t engage, but it starts up and runs with fuel gushing out of the carb. Lol (clean one owner)
The oil is like thick chocolate milk, Bad sign, and there is a bad tick-tick-tick that goes away after a minute or two .
Why is the oil like this on an air cooled engine?


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

what does the oil smell like? gas? maybe water in oil.
$50 is a steal even if this turns out to be a parts machine. parts are probably worth $500-1000 on this machine even sold at half the new Honda price is what I do.

how is the hydrostatic oil level? if low, check seals on tranny on the drive axle. if a seal is pushed out , maybe oil leaked out there. they push out if cover of reservoir is on too tight and can not breathe. you can push seal back in and there is a bleeding procedure you can do without removing tranny.

Honda states you have to remove the tranny but I have done an inframe bleeding at least 7 times and it has been successful every time. not sure if that is the problem. 2nd thing to check. 1st thing is make sure the tranny lever is in the engaged position. to the right. 3rd thing to check is the drive pins on both drive wheels are present. these are easy fixes. other than that then an internal failure which is EXTREMELY rare on these HS hydro-static transmissions.


----------



## highdesignfool (Jan 23, 2017)

Yeah, the oil definitely smells like gas. 
The pins on the drive wheels are there. 
I’m going to put fresh oil in it to see if the tick goes away.
The hydrostatic fluid looks normal and in the right range. 
Where do I find this seal you mentioned?


----------



## CalgaryPT (Dec 7, 2016)

If nothing else that's a sweet parts machine.


----------



## highdesignfool (Jan 23, 2017)

Do you guys part them out on eBay?


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

is the lever down near the pedal to the right ? the engaged position? for the hydrostatic tranny.


if the float is not working right the carb will overflow if gas valve is left on and drip into crankcase. see this a lot with machines that are left sitting for long periods.

usually just needs a good carb cleaning. change the oil out a couple times.


----------



## highdesignfool (Jan 23, 2017)

I’d bet your right with the carb float. It drips really bad. I’ll work on that next. 
I changed the oil to the motor, and I’m going to run it today and see if the tick will solve its self. It’s weird because it ticks like crazy then goes away then comes back. I have a video bit not sure how to up load it. 
The trans lever by the pedal is in the correct position. 
Maybe the hand controls are way out of adjustment.


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

if the carb is leaking it will fill up the intake which will usually work its way into the cylinder and then into the crankcase. you may definitely want to see about getting the carb cleaned out and that leak fixed first. you will likely need to do another oil change after you get the carb to stop leaking just to get the all the gas out of the crankcase. had a similar issue happen to my brother in laws snowblower and had to do 2 oil changes to get most of the gas out of the crank case but it will usually stop smoking after the first oil change.


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

highdesignfool said:


> I’d bet your right with the carb float. It drips really bad. I’ll work on that next.
> I changed the oil to the motor, and I’m going to run it today and see if the tick will solve its self. It’s weird because it ticks like crazy then goes away then comes back. I have a video bit not sure how to up load it.
> The trans lever by the pedal is in the correct position.
> Maybe the hand controls are way out of adjustment.


I forgot another obvious thing. take off belt cover and see if belt is there and engaging .


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

do you have any idea on ticking? I agree about changing the oil a couple times and maybe adding some MMO ( Marvelous Mystery Oil ) with the oil. not sure how much.

Maybe 10W-30 rather than 5W-30. That gas in oil can really cause problems . Hope it's not a crank or rod end scored.


----------



## highdesignfool (Jan 23, 2017)

The belt that drives the transmission had slipped off the pulley. Forward and reverse work perfect now!!!


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

highdesignfool said:


> The belt that drives the transmission had slipped off the pulley. Forward and reverse work perfect now!!!


great news. wonder why it slipped off. doesnt happen very often.

I should have suggested checking belt earlier. I must be slipping. this question comes up more in winter than summer. LOL.


----------



## highdesignfool (Jan 23, 2017)

The loop on the cable also had slipped off the tensioning spring. 
I’m sure the belts are getting old and stretched


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

if the belts still look to be in good condition i would just try adjusting them. there is usually some adjustment left in the cables or idler wheel on quality machines.


----------



## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Carb rebuild or New; chocolate milk oil means water in it, when this happens to me I do a flush with kerosene, do not use gasoline as I've read do not do it because there is a chance of an internal explosion which means a grenade with fragments and death.


----------



## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

Can't kerosene also explode, but certainly less likely?


----------



## highdesignfool (Jan 23, 2017)

I let the carb soak all night, just put it all back together this morning. Runs good, but still leaks. It’s coming out of the sediment cup. Does anyone know the part number to the two o-rings in the carb?


----------



## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

RIT333 said:


> Can't kerosene also explode, but certainly less likely?


No, kerosene does not vaporize in the same way that gasoline does. Its flash point (the temperature at which it will generate a flammable vapor near its surface) is 38 °C (100 °F) or higher, whereas that of gasoline is as low as −40 °C (−40 °F). This property makes kerosene a relatively safe fuel to store and handle.


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

hopefully the float bowl looked a lot nicer than that when you re-assembled the carb. if the seal on the bolt that holds the float bowl on is fine the needle is most likely not seating properly which is why gas keeps flowing and pouring out of the carb. you might be able to replace the needle and have it work like it should but might just be better off replacing the carb with how that float bowl looks and since you are having issues with the carb leaking.


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

highdesignfool said:


> I let the carb soak all night, just put it all back together this morning. Runs good, but still leaks. It’s coming out of the sediment cup. Does anyone know the part number to the two o-rings in the carb?


I dont think there is a part number for those O rings. You have to buy the whole set which would probably help you in the long run. about 12 bucks from the Honda dealer I believe. That includes all the O rings. even the little one for the idle circuit and everything else for carb. it's called the gasket set.


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

i think the carb gasket set is 16010-zh7-a20 for the 724 .


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

but that gasket set would not do much good if the needle is leaking. the needle should stop the flow of fuel before the fuel gets to the top of the float bowl. almost need a complete rebuild kit but may just be cheaper to just replace the carb.


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

crazzywolfie said:


> but that gasket set would not do much good if the needle is leaking. the needle should stop the flow of fuel before the fuel gets to the top of the float bowl. almost need a complete rebuild kit but may just be cheaper to just replace the carb.


I thought he said it was leaking from the sediment cup? pretty common when that O ring cracks. anyway I would rather rebuild/clean an OEM Honda carb than replace with a clone.

I have used some aftermarket carbs on my equipment with some success after having to tweak them. for someone else's machine if I rebuild/clean and it does not work right ( only has happened a couple times out of hundreds ) , yes I will replace the carb with a OEM one.


----------



## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

I sure hope that the picture of the bowl is not a picture of it after he cleaned it. 
Fittie bucks good deal.


----------



## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

I don't even bother with rebuilding a carb, I have had great success with the 12-15 dollar ones ... Only exception is the 120.00 pull choke older Briggs $ Stratton gas tank top mounted carburetor, which I use the 15.00 rebuild kit on...


----------



## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

orangputeh said:


> I thought he said it was leaking from the sediment cup? pretty common when that O ring cracks. anyway I would rather rebuild/clean an OEM Honda carb than replace with a clone.


ya your right. i missed that part. i though he had it leaking from the float bowl lol.


----------



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

a guy gave me a free blower last month because it kept breaking belts. so got around it today. the lower belt guide was so bent that it was interfering with belt. thus breaking it. replaced valve guide and now it works like a charm.

unbelievable to me. I even offered to repair for this guy but he said he was tired of dealing with it and got a new blower.

okay by me. beer and pizza money for quite some time.

oops . wrong thread.


----------

