I've just bought (online) a new Castel lawnmower with a 5.5 hp Honda engine
and notice that the engine is bolted to the aluminium deck by three bolts.

The engine has four evenly spaced mounting holes but one of them does not
line up with a hole in the deck therefore the span between two of the
mounting bolts is approxiately 180°.

Should I be concerned about this??

"AAG" wrote in message
news
I've just bought (online) a new Castel lawnmower with a 5.5 hp Honda
engine
and notice that the engine is bolted to the aluminium deck by three bolts.

The engine has four evenly spaced mounting holes but one of them does not
line up with a hole in the deck therefore the span between two of the
mounting bolts is approxiately 180°.

Should I be concerned about this??




Yes.

Is the Aluminium plate a casting or a sheet plate? A casting could split, a
plate tear.

How far out of line is the 4th hole?

Is the plate drilled and tapped or a clear hole for a bolt to go through
then a nut on the underside?

Could the hole be made to line up with the assistance of a smaller round
file?

Have you contacted the seller and raised your concerns? This should be done
before you do anything yourself, but I have a feeling that if they sent it
out like that they couldn't care less, BUT, they could be a fine company, be
concerned and exchange it for you.

Mike

--
H.M.S.Collingwood Ass. Llandudno 20 - 23 May Trip to Portmeirion
National Service (RAF) Ass. Cosford 24 - 27 June Spitfire Fly Past
H.M.S.Impregnable Ass. Sussex 1 - 4 July Visit to Int. Fest of the Sea
RAF Regiment Assoc. Scarborough 2 - 5 Sept. Visit to Eden Camp

"Mike" wrote in message
...

"AAG" wrote in message
news
I've just bought (online) a new Castel lawnmower with a 5.5 hp Honda
engine
and notice that the engine is bolted to the aluminium deck by three
bolts.

The engine has four evenly spaced mounting holes but one of them does not
line up with a hole in the deck therefore the span between two of the
mounting bolts is approxiately 180°.

Should I be concerned about this??




Yes.

Is the Aluminium plate a casting or a sheet plate? A casting could split,
a
plate tear.


The deck is a single aluminium casting with four strengthened bits for
engine fixing.



How far out of line is the 4th hole?

Nearly the width of the hole. At the moment it would nearly be possible to
poke a 1/8 th inch drill through.



Is the plate drilled and tapped or a clear hole for a bolt to go through
then a nut on the underside?

Could the hole be made to line up with the assistance of a smaller round
file?

Definitly not. It is too far out and drilling or filing would move the hole
out of the strenghened area. There does not seem to be any scope for
loosening off the others and moving the engine slightly as the holes need to
line up exactly.



Have you contacted the seller and raised your concerns? This should be
done
before you do anything yourself, but I have a feeling that if they sent it
out like that they couldn't care less, BUT, they could be a fine company,
be
concerned and exchange it for you.


Yes I've just emailed asking about this and they replied:

" I can confirm that the positioning of the engine to the deck is normal.
this ih how all the Honda engines are fitted to machines. "

He is saying that all Honda engines are mounted by three bolts with one hole
left unused!!!

snipped

Have you contacted the seller and raised your concerns? This should be
done
before you do anything yourself, but I have a feeling that if they sent
it
out like that they couldn't care less, BUT, they could be a fine
company,
be
concerned and exchange it for you.


Yes I've just emailed asking about this and they replied:

" I can confirm that the positioning of the engine to the deck is normal.
this ih how all the Honda engines are fitted to machines. "

He is saying that all Honda engines are mounted by three bolts with one
hole
left unused!!!


The hole alignment is probably so they can use either a Briggs and Stratton
or a Honda engine on the same mower deck. If you've got it in writing that
this is how it is meant to be secured, then I wouldn't worry, although it
might be worth getting confirmation from Castel and or Honda (Honda customer
service can be reached at http://www.honda.co.uk/contact/contactForm.jsp) as
it's them that will be providing the guarantee.

HTH

Cheers

Nick
http://www.ukgardening.co.uk

"Nick Gray" wrote in message
...
snipped

Have you contacted the seller and raised your concerns? This should be
done
before you do anything yourself, but I have a feeling that if they sent
it
out like that they couldn't care less, BUT, they could be a fine
company,
be
concerned and exchange it for you.


Yes I've just emailed asking about this and they replied:

" I can confirm that the positioning of the engine to the deck is normal.
this ih how all the Honda engines are fitted to machines. "

He is saying that all Honda engines are mounted by three bolts with one
hole
left unused!!!


The hole alignment is probably so they can use either a Briggs and
Stratton
or a Honda engine on the same mower deck.

Yes it seems quite likely that it is designed to take more than one type of
engine but it looks like this particular Honda engine is not one of them.

If you've got it in writing that
this is how it is meant to be secured, then I wouldn't worry, although it
might be worth getting confirmation from Castel and or Honda (Honda
customer
service can be reached at http://www.honda.co.uk/contact/contactForm.jsp)
as
it's them that will be providing the guarantee.

Yes that sounds a good idea. Thanks

"Nick Gray" wrote in message
...
snipped

Have you contacted the seller and raised your concerns? This should be
done
before you do anything yourself, but I have a feeling that if they sent
it
out like that they couldn't care less, BUT, they could be a fine
company,
be
concerned and exchange it for you.


Yes I've just emailed asking about this and they replied:

" I can confirm that the positioning of the engine to the deck is normal.
this ih how all the Honda engines are fitted to machines. "

He is saying that all Honda engines are mounted by three bolts with one
hole
left unused!!!


The hole alignment is probably so they can use either a Briggs and
Stratton
or a Honda engine on the same mower deck. If you've got it in writing that
this is how it is meant to be secured, then I wouldn't worry, although it
might be worth getting confirmation from Castel and or Honda (Honda
customer
service can be reached at http://www.honda.co.uk/contact/contactForm.jsp)
as
it's them that will be providing the guarantee.

I emailed Honda and here is the reply:
"Honda manufacture the engine it is up to the
user how they fit this engine to their product."I faxed the Castel
distributor who phoned back saying that three is normal.Mower works well so
I'm happy, but still puzzled.

I emailed Honda and here is the reply:
"Honda manufacture the engine it is up to the
user how they fit this engine to their product."I faxed the Castel
distributor who phoned back saying that three is normal.Mower works well
so
I'm happy, but still puzzled.


Pity they telephoned. I would press them for a written answer. If they are
confident 'it works well' then they would be perfectly happy to put pen to
paper.

I have got things either done, or prevented things from being done, purely
by writing and having the written word returned following a letter from me
with a sting in its tail. As an example, we were all fed up with the Gas
Board for ever digging the road up to repair an old Gas main. "Put a new one
in" I suggested. 'No money and the trouble is that the gas leaks out and
gets into the drains so it makes it hard to find'
Letter to Gas Board. "With reference to the old Gas Main, one of your
engineers explained that Gas leaks are difficult to find because leaking gas
gets into the drains. May I respectfully point out that in the Pedestrian
Underpass, there is a drain and some 7 feet above this is the Electric Train
pick up. Is this not a disaster waiting to happen?" Copied to the Rail
Company
The road was closed and a new gas main was fitted the following week. As I
have said before, I am a *******, don't tussle with me ;-))

Mike

yes that's the common fitting practise for all mower manufacturers, as
they generally don't make an engine of their own they use whatever
moter they choose be it briggs, honda, tecumseh whatever. even our
icon 2 stroke manufacturer over here they make 4 stroke models and
they do the same as they don't make a 4 stroke motor (and even with
their low quality chassis i ahve never seen any problems) they use b&s
motors.

but i have never seen any problems related to them only having 3 bolts
when fitted to good quality frames. we don't see too many cheap steel
framed models here but in my life as a mower mechanic i only saw maybe
one case of stress cracks around the engine mounts on a steel deck and
that probably had more to do with abuse than use.

doubt they'll put anything in writting and at the end of the day for
waht cause i would wonder, if a cahssis fails under warranty and the
machine hasn't been abused then the mower manufacturer should
replace/repair it, if they don't then that becomes and issue between
the consumer and the maker.

at the end of the day if you buy quality you get reliability and all
mower makers make cheap versions for those that buy on price.

if you have the facilities and capacity to do so and you would feel
more confident in the mower then fit the 4th bolt. in most case you
need only drill a hole n the chassis in some cases there may be one
there. when working under the deck of the mower follow the
manufacturers safety advice at all times.

len
snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.

" I can confirm that the positioning of the engine to the deck is normal.
this ih how all the Honda engines are fitted to machines. "

He is saying that all Honda engines are mounted by three bolts with one
hole
left unused!!!


From here, and without seeing it, I find that very hard to believe and I
would need a lot of convincing that everything is in order

"AAG" wrote in message
news
I've just bought (online) a new Castel lawnmower with a 5.5 hp Honda
engine
and notice that the engine is bolted to the aluminium deck by three bolts.

The engine has four evenly spaced mounting holes but one of them does not
line up with a hole in the deck therefore the span between two of the
mounting bolts is approxiately 180°.

Should I be concerned about this??


UPDATE

The vendor has contacted me by phone and tells me again that all lawnmower
engines are held on by only 3 bolts and that this is to reduce the chance of
putting stress on the deck if it, or the engine base are not quite flat. I'd
be grateful if anyone could confirm or contradict this.

"AAG" wrote in message
news

"AAG" wrote in message
news
I've just bought (online) a new Castel lawnmower with a 5.5 hp Honda
engine
and notice that the engine is bolted to the aluminium deck by three
bolts.

The engine has four evenly spaced mounting holes but one of them does
not
line up with a hole in the deck therefore the span between two of the
mounting bolts is approxiately 180°.

Should I be concerned about this??


UPDATE

The vendor has contacted me by phone and tells me again that all lawnmower
engines are held on by only 3 bolts and that this is to reduce the chance
of
putting stress on the deck if it, or the engine base are not quite flat.
I'd
be grateful if anyone could confirm or contradict this.

Hmm, interesting.

I'd have thought that the stress on the deck would be the same whether using
3 or 4 bolts, but any stresses would be more evenly distributed using 4
bolts. An engine base is meant to be bolted to the deck, so why would they
ever manufacture one whose base isn't 'quite flat'?. It also begs the
question that if all the availably engines are only held on with 3 bolts,
then what is the extra hole in the deck for?

Having said all that, I've just been out and checked my mower (8 years
old) - a Briggs and Stratton on a Mountfield deck and it's only held on with
3 bolts!!! - forming an 'L' shape. There isn't a spare hole in the deck
though.

It's probably still worthwhile contacting Honda or Castel, just to get
confirmation from the horses mouth.

Cheers

Nick
http://www.ukgardening.co.uk

Nick Gray wrote:


Hmm, interesting.

I'd have thought that the stress on the deck would be the same whether
using 3 or 4 bolts, but any stresses would be more evenly distributed
using 4 bolts. An engine base is meant to be bolted to the deck, so why
would they ever manufacture one whose base isn't 'quite flat'?. It also
begs the question that if all the availably engines are only held on with
3 bolts, then what is the extra hole in the deck for?

Having said all that, I've just been out and checked my mower (8 years
old) - a Briggs and Stratton on a Mountfield deck and it's only held on
with 3 bolts!!! - forming an 'L' shape. There isn't a spare hole in the
deck though.

It's probably still worthwhile contacting Honda or Castel, just to get
confirmation from the horses mouth.

Cheers

Nick
http://www.ukgardening.co.uk

Perhaps these engines are only mounted with three bolts for the same reason
milking stools only have three legs: On an uneven surface, all three legs
will always touch the ground. Add a fourth, and the stool rocks. On a
lawnmower, if the deck is not perfectly flat, or gets bent out of shape, a
fourth mounting point would suffer from more play away from the deck and
wouldn't be solid as a three mount point design. Just a theory!

--
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.
War is peace.
-- George Orwell

"Nick Gray" wrote in message
...

"AAG" wrote in message
news

UPDATE

The vendor has contacted me by phone and tells me again that all
lawnmower
engines are held on by only 3 bolts and that this is to reduce the chance
of
putting stress on the deck if it, or the engine base are not quite flat.
I'd
be grateful if anyone could confirm or contradict this.

Hmm, interesting.

I'd have thought that the stress on the deck would be the same whether
using
3 or 4 bolts, but any stresses would be more evenly distributed using 4
bolts. An engine base is meant to be bolted to the deck, so why would they
ever manufacture one whose base isn't 'quite flat'?. It also begs the
question that if all the availably engines are only held on with 3 bolts,
then what is the extra hole in the deck for?

Having said all that, I've just been out and checked my mower (8 years
old) - a Briggs and Stratton on a Mountfield deck and it's only held on
with
3 bolts!!! - forming an 'L' shape. There isn't a spare hole in the deck
though.


Amazing. Perhaps they are right then. Thanks for looking. Anyone else???


It's probably still worthwhile contacting Honda or Castel, just to get
confirmation from the horses mouth.

Have emailed Honda and intending to contact Castel or distributor once I can
get their details.

UPDATE

The vendor has contacted me by phone and tells me again that all lawnmower
engines are held on by only 3 bolts and that this is to reduce the chance
of
putting stress on the deck if it, or the engine base are not quite flat.
I'd
be grateful if anyone could confirm or contradict this.



3 holes/fixings yes, if they equally spaced.

The practice of the milk maid's stool holds fast here, 3 legs and stability.

I would like to see the fixing holes 120 degrees apart, not 90, 90 and 180!!

Mike

g'day,

it's quiet common for engines to only have 3 mounting bolts in certain
applications, b&s usually end up that way if they wanted 4 bolts then
the chassis would be made to accomodate that. and with 3 bolts firmly
fitted nothng can happen well in all my years of mower mechanicing
i've never seen any problems.

if you have the warewithall then you can always drill another hole and
fit anothe bolt, might be a bit like wearing braces on your undies
though hey chuckle.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

my e/mail addies have spam filters you should know what to delete before you send.