OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Honda Engines Honda GXV160 idle

I am having some issues with this engine and its idle. It has sat for a few months so I cleaned the carb out, little bit of gunk main jet was slightly occluded. I cleaned up the fuel tap, tank filter and threw on a new air cleaner. It is a low hour job that I purchased for an engine swap but it has the one inch shaft so that's why the project has taken a while.

It starts and runs with no issues but it idles at 2800rpm by my tachometer. I have taken some pictures of the throttle linkages so that you folk may be able to help.









Any issues with the setup?

Any suggestions on a screw turn setting for the idle mixture screw on this motor?

Hi aldot, here are the carburetor settings:


The idle mixture screw (which Honda calls the pilot screw) should be set to 2 turns. Note that on those Keihin BE carburetors, used on GXV120, 140 and 160 Hondas, the idle jet may be a bit prone to getting clogged. I've covered the cleaning procedure in another thread:
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/u...p;Words=gcv160&Search=true#Post38603

Note that the thread describes cleaning procedure for both the Keihin BE used on the OHV engines and the cheaper version used on the OHC engines. Here is a video showing how to clean the BE carburetor properly:


With regard to your original problem with idle speed, is the idle speed screw making contact with the idle stop when the speed control is set to idle? I notice that your governor spring is not in the hole shown in the workshop manual, at the speed control lever end:


Did you check that the governor arm is correctly set in relation to its shaft?



If you have issues or questions regarding the engine, please post them so that we can try to sort them out.

Thanks Grumpy. I have finally got this engine on my Viking base. I have some pics to go up in the appropriate section.

Thanks for your info. I got the carb cleaned but I didn't count the number of turns for this screw.

The engine idles now and then revs to a top speed of 3060rpm. There is no gradual increase in speed like the Briggs it replaced. It just jumps straight to full revs no matter how slowly you advance the throttle.

I will check all the specs and do an oil change once I the rain ceases and I get a chance to warm it up fully.

Curious to see what you guys think of this video

Aldo, Honda specifies a maximum governed speed for that engine of 3200 rpm:



There are two factors likely to be involved in that. One is the US mower safety standards, which effectively limit the maximum blade-tip speed, so that rocks won't be thrown excessively hard. The other factor is engine durability. Engines last longer at mid-range speeds than at either very high or very low speeds.

So, my comment on the video is that the guy has missed the point to some extent. I always recommend following the manufacturer's recommendations, and that is 3,200 rpm maximum speed.

With regard to the sudden speed increase rather than it happening smoothly, I suggest you look closely at the set-up of the throttle cable and the speed control linkage. In the picture you posted, there seemed to be excessive slack in your governor spring when the cable was in the stop position, and the kill switch was being heavily mashed by the link that operates it. If you adjust the cable so that the kill switch is just operated relatively lightly at the extreme rearward movement of the speed control, the dead band of the speed control should be reduced.