OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Honda Engines Honda GX 160 stationary motor

Hi ,wondering if I could get some advice..
I have got a Honda 5.5 hp GX 160 that will not stop revving flat out on me. Having not been running for a number of months I started by stripping down and cleaning all fuel system,, new air filter and spark plug, checked all linkages. Thinking , yep good to go, pulled it over.. Fired up straight away, but would not back down when throttled down.. Thought maybe someone had played with the governor, I have checked it, seems to be right. I know its something simple, just cannot put my finger on what it is.
Thanks Paul.

I had one that was doing the same thing. Turned out it was the governor (inside the crankcase). If you disconnect all the springs does it idle or does it still go flat out. Be sure to check everything is moving freely while the engine is off to see if anything is sticking or catcking somewhere.

Have you assembled the governor linkage correctly?



If the governor arm has been removed or loosened, you need to go through the adjustment procedure:

Hi Bigted and Grumpy,, thanks for getting back to me.. Sorry it took a bit but been busy..
Bigted, it doesn't matter what I do,, all it does is scream in pain..

In a way you were both right and along the same lines as me. After posting I decided to contact previous owner for any information regarding the motor, eg: how long it actually sat for, how long it had been running in this condition. Nearly dropped my phone.
" It wasn't running properly so a mate of mine, who used to sell these motors, said yeah I can fix it, and that's how it came back to me.. I never ran it since, now its yours. Have fun.." is the answer I got. Apparently ripped carby off, done a few other minor stuff-ups,, but the worst was hooking the governor arm back into the throttle control.

Grumpy,you have told me in previous post what to expect
with "mechanics" who claim to know this and that, and their ideas of a job well done.
So after setting it all up properly then double checking governor set-up with diagram you supplied me I thought maybe something internal, knowing he had already played with the governor arm maybe something was wrong further down the track, so to speak. Took the side off the motor and have a guess what was sitting on the bottom of the sump.. Yep, that's right, the plastic part ( looks like a long top hat ) which pushes against the governor arm. My theory is when he was trying to "fix" the motor he has pushed the governor arm to far back which has allowed the plastic cap to fall off.
After a thoroughly good look throughout motor and of plastic cap, was able to put it all back together again...Glad to say it now starts first pull and purrs like a kitten. Another Honda saved..
Thank you Grumpy and Bigted, much appreciated.

A good result in the end Paul, another one saved with a simple to fix problem.

Your research is what solved this one, Paul, rather than our suggestions. Before sending my last post I wondered if anyone had been inside the crankcase, read your posts again, and decided nobody had, which meant the centrifugal governor was not a suspect. Your phone call discovered that the engine had been in the hands of a lout, which meant all logical back-tracking on history was useless. I wonder if he did any other harm inside the crankcase? Like removing the piston and rod, and reinstalling them backwards, or with half a pound of grit in the big-end bearing? Frankly, in that situation I'd be tearing everything down and checking it out in some detail. It's already a miracle if he got the camshaft timing right.

Ah yes, the old 'neanderthal mechanic' [NM] problem, as an automotive engineer mate puts it.

A bit like the old motorcyclist joke;
Q. What does a Harley-Davidson toolkit consist of?
A. A half brick and a cold chisel; hammers are just too high-tech for a Harley.

As grumpy says, if there's even a suspicion that NM has had the cases split, a teardown & inspection is strongly recommended.

And sometimes it is one of those know it all wet behind the ears youngsters that had royally messed things up.

I agree with Grumpy and Gadge in that you got to approach these repairs at least as if it came in box like a jigsaw puzzle.

Btw I have received one rider this way a few years ago. I couldn't believe it so disassemble for a simple problem. What really got me is that he complained about my small fee I charged just to put it back together in an useable working condition.

Hi everyone
Did do excatly as you have all suggested. Tore the whole motor apart and gave it a full rebuid.Running even sweeter now.
Got my hands on a good 2nd hand Davey pump, thoroughly checked it out first, bolted it on to motor and guess what,, sold it back to original owner for a small profit,and with the assurance that if anything does ever go wrong again, he is to bring it back to me.
Thanking you all for your help and advice,,much appriciated.

Thanks for keeping us posted, Paul. A Honda horizontal crankshaft engine on a Davey pump should be a very good firepump, or whatever kind of portable pump he needs. I'm surprised you only made a small profit, that should have been a good value-adding exercise.

I'll close the thread.