[jim40scot]

Can anyone advise me on replacing starter on my honda 3813 riding mower?

It looks like all of the bolts are difficult to reach.

Thanks jimscot.

[newaukumdon]

My god have you gone mad!! Have you priced it yet? I believe they are in the neighboorhood of $300+. You can buy rebuild kits and individual components. There are also chinese knockoffs available. One of the reasons they are so much moola is they never fail, so check it well. And yes it is removed with a couple bolts at the top, may have to remove fan shroud.

Good luck,
Don

[jim40scot]

My god have you gone mad!!! Have you priced it yet? I believe they are in the neighboorhood of $300+. You can buy rebuild kits and individual components. There are also chinese knockoffs available. One of the reasons they are so much moola is they never fail, so check it well. And yes it is removed with a couple bolts at the top, may have to remove fan shroud.

Good luck,
Don

This is a water cooled two cyl honda engine and the starter is mounted at the rear of the engine not at the front /fan area. I know how much a replacement starter costs, I have purchased one. I am asking for info on how to remove defective unit. It appears to be bolted from behind the engine flywheel. Does the clutch and flywheel have to be removed to access starter mounting bolts ?

Thanks, Jim

[newaukumdon]

Was just messin with you about the cost, a B&S starter is about $60.00. I believe it can be removed without the removal of flywheel. Same engine is used on ES6500 Honda generator and it is removed without disassembly of clutch and flywheel. Sorry about the fun at your expense.
Don

[skatka]

The starter is mountet whit 2 bolts M8*35 from behind, just beside the gear.

//Morten

[jim40scot]

SKATKA, I can see the top mounting bolt , but there is only approx a quarter inch clearance between the flywheel and the engine block. I cannot see the second bolt although there is one as you say. I cannot figure any way to get at these bolts other than removing the flywheel.
This is a 1980"s tractor,I will try to locate a service manual. Thank you for your interest.

Jim

[jonny7995]

Hi, I also have a Honda HT3813. It has a liquid cooled 2 cylinder engine and my starter needs attention too. I have just bought it (knowing the problem) and the guy did say to me that in order to replace the starter it would be necessary to remove the entire engine, which is quite a job as it is very big and shaft drive to the gearbox. However I found found a few sites offering various and often contradictory advice on this. One guy says that it is possible to remove the inards of the starter only (apparently the motors often only need brushes etc. replacing) by removing the philips head bolts at the rear of the motor, having first removed the oil filter, using a stubby screwdriver. Another guy suggests loosening the engine mounts and, after removal of the radiator, pulling it forward sufficiently to move the flywheel back enough to get at the bolt you mentioned. I found one guy (from the USA) who had posted lots of pics of his Honda HT3813 with the engine out. It really is huge. Anyway. My starter won't turn, it just clicks and sparks and fizzes. I am going to try the phillips bolt removal idea first because it's the easiest option. I will let you know how I get on.

[jim40scot]

Hi jonny7995, thank you for the information. You have confirmed my fear that the engine has to be removed to replace this starter. I thought about trying to remove the phillips bolts, I am going to give it a try. I will also let you know the outcome. It is worth a try before pulling the engine. For me that would have to be a winter project due to the time it would probably take me. But your info has given me confidence to try replacing the guts.

Thanks again, jimscot

[jonny7995]

Hi Jim, I did manage to get the back off the starter without removing the oil filter. The problem with my starter was immediately apparent. One of the 4 small magnets that are round the inside of the body of the starter casing had broken off and was jamming the starter. I managed to remove the body of the starter and resin glue the maget, which had also broken a piece off, back on. There were a few smaller bits of broken magnet still inside which were quite difficult to remove, being magnetic! Removal of the body of the starter is another story. Unfortunately the body of the motor (the cylinder of metal with the magnets inside) did not fit past the rotor part of the motor because of the front left engine mount which it would not go past by just 10mm! I am sure I have seen this model of mower in other countries with a shorter starter motor which would probably have cleared it! Anyway, you might think that removal of an engine mount would be simple. Oh no! The engine mount also bolts in the back of the PTO clutch on the front of the engine. This meant I had to remove 1) the bonnet 2) the radiator 3) the PTO clutch before I could remove the mount to get the motor body off! Nightmare, but still better than taking the engine completely out. One thing about the PTO clutch removal. It is a real pain to take the three pronged rear plate off (you will see what I mean if you do it). I had to get my wife to lever the whole engine back a few mil on the rubber mounts to get it off. Well the thing is all back together now and the starter works fine. Of course this is not much use to you if you are replacing the whole motor but certainly for replacing brushes and magnets etc. its fine. By the way the commutator was a bit worn with one of the copper contacts almost completely missing. I used some of the resin glue to fill the gap so the brushes don't wear too much ( I didn't change the brushes, I know I should have but at this stage I didn't know if the fix would work. Looking at the side of the starter I can see some marks where someone must have hit it when it stuck. This is probably what caused the magnet to break off. I am now doing up the deck. One of the bearings needs replacing so I am going to do them all. Very cheap standard 6204 bearings all round. Hope you get on all right with yours. I have to admit that Im in love with mine! Regards, Jonny.

[jim40scot]

Hi Jonny, I finally resolved the starter problem using the method of taking the back cover off the starter ( the phillips screws method that you mentioned ) I found that the brushes were badly worn. I used the brushes and mounting plate from the new starter that I had bought ( an after market unit ) I also cleaned the commutator on the armature using a very fine sand paper grade 600 and electrical contact cleaner. Starter now works great and I have my trusty 3813 back in service. Can you let me know the source for the deck bearings I will need to replace mine soon. Thanks , Jim.

[jonny7995]

Hi Jim, glad you got your starter sorted. The deck bearings are standard 6204 bearings. If you type that number in a search on eBay under bearings you will find lots. I bought 6 for about £5 inc. postage. The quality of bearings, like anything else, varies but I think any will do in this application. They are quite easy to drift out and replace. I found it easier to remove each hub and it allowed me to repaint the deck properly. Regards, Jonny.

[yblock]

Fore sure the engine has to be removed then the fly wheel must be pulled I am there and want to change the timeing belt looking for a drawing on timeing marks etc

[MOWERMAN2468]

Glad to see it is up and going again.

[mdauria]

There really is no way to completely remove the starter without moving the engine forward or removing engine. I did it twice.

[mcgwirecom]

Hi, I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents. My 3813 starter quit at the end of last season. Figured I'd just replace it over the winter. I saw what all these guys discovered, you can't get to the bolts without removing, or at least getting the engine forward. So I searched the net and found this site. I read what someone said about taking off the starter cap from the front. So that's what I did. There are two phillips head bolts that hold it on. I highly suggest spraying with lots of WD-40 a day before. I stripped the slots and had to use a dremel to cut a deep slot to get them out, ruined one. Anyway upon getting the cap off I saw one of the brushes was jammed back. I found new ones at Plano Power in Texas for $7.50 each. Trying to find two mteric replacements bolts was much harder! Ended up grinding a hex on the head of the one bolt that I could save. The other I cut down and had a guy weld on another head! These bolts are M5-.8 x 110 no one has them! So take it easy. Anyway just got it back together and voilà, it runs! Instead of $369 for a new starter and who nows how much to have it installed or aggrivation to do it yourself? Ebay had starters for $159 but still, do you want to do the job? Most of the time its just the brushes. Also the solenoid can be bad and bought on Ebay for $30. Better than the whole unit! Thanks guys!

[1as]

Hello. I've just joined up. I'm about to start on my Honda HT3813. Starter is toast and the PTO will not disengage. By reading the above posts... the PTO will have to come off to move the engine forward to get the starter out. I'm starting in the morning. Wish me well!

[1as]

Pulled the engine on my Honda to get the starter out. Not a difficult job at all and made sure I labelled all connections and took photographs. Prior to removing the engine I drilled a 3/4in hole in front crossmember to get at the lower screw on front of the starter motor so that I could get the cover off to find out first if the brushes were worn out. Starter was toast so out came the engine. New PTO, new starter, timing belt (do the timing belt if the engine is out), new bearings in the deck (available anywhere) a good clean and a paint job on the deck. Got it all together today and it fired instantly. Thought this job was going to be daunting, but in fact, was most enjoyable. Used a manual that I bought online and that helped a lot. Good luck and don't be afraid to take it on.