Honda 5518 left rear wheel locked up

timsch · Dec 16, 2022

A buddy is giving me his Honda H5518, which hasn't run in a few years. I was inspecting it to see if I could pull it home or if it needed trailering. All wheels turn except the left rear. It appears to be engaged with the transmission. It's in neutral and the parking brake is off, AFIAK. The parking brake is a push down thumb lever so I can't tell too much about it. I didn't see a cable going to the wheel from the p-brake. Perhaps the "brake" locks the transmission at that wheel?

Any suggestions?

TomIn · Dec 17, 2022

I'm just a bored geezer and know nothing about Honda tractors.

A Google search shows the owners manual online. Page 70 of the manual states that the tractor may be damaged by towing behind another vehicle. The manual also has instruction for setting and releasing the parking brake.

You can also find good parts diagrams online. It appears that the 5518 was made for several years with the typical changes, added feature, and improvements over the years. The diagrams didn't give me a clue as to how the parking brakes actually functioned, but did suggest that many parts are no longer available

https://www.hondalawnparts.com/honda-rt5000-h5013-h5518-tractor-parts
Owners Manual

timsch · Dec 17, 2022

Thanks for the reply. I hadn't noticed the warning on page 70, although with a manual transmission, I can't help but think this is a CYA warning.

I looked through that manual yesterday and information regarding the parking brake was pretty minimal it appeared. Looking through the manual again after reading your post, I did find it and see now I wasn't releasing it properly. I'll check again this morning with fingers crossed.

timsch · Dec 17, 2022

I was hopeful that I wasn't releasing the parking brake, but that turned out to not be the case.

I lifted the rear, made sure it was in neutral, and tried to spin each rear wheel. Right side spun, left side remained like it was still engaged to the transmission. Pressing in the clutch didn't change this.

TomIn · Dec 17, 2022

Could you clarify your terminology? I've always thought of the clutch as something between the engine and transmission. If
the clutch is depressed, there is no power to the transmission. The input shaft of the transmission engages the output shaft
through a set of gears. Neutral is the place where the gear train does not connect the input shaft with the output shaft.
For a wheel to be driven, it must engage at least the output shaft of the transmission.

Have you tried any of the other garden tractor Honda forums? How about the Honda Tractors Facebook group?

It might be helpful for a more knowledgeable person to know which model you have. Is it two wheel or four wheel drive?
Does it have a locking differential?
Honda Tractors Facebook Group

timsch · Dec 17, 2022

Sorry for any confusion. We have the same understanding of what a clutch does. The reason I brought it up was because I said the wheel acts like the tractor is in gear. I can turn it slightly back & forth and see the driveshaft to that wheel turning as well. I pressed the clutch to see if the wheel would free up, indicating that it wasn't in neutral after all.

I did post this also at tractor_forum_com and got some responses, but that wasn't in a Honda specific subforum. I see now that there are some Honda specific forums I should have found 1st.

Thanks for your attempts to help. Much appreciated.

TomIn · Dec 17, 2022

My mind thinks in terms of the 1950's and 1960's cars that I worked on as a teenager. I searched youtube and found some
videos posted by a fellow who was working on the clutch on. a Honda 5013 (which is somewhat similar to your 5518). The video
didn't answer your questions, but it reminded me why I don't own or work on any tractors made in the past 35 years.
Honda 5013 videos

Honda 5518 left rear wheel locked up

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