I went to start my mower with a honda 16hp engine. It started then a loud clank, backfire and now it won't start and smells gassy. I am worried it is a crank or rod. This engine only has about 120 hours on it and 4 yrs old? What to do? it is a honda gxv 530

Pull the plug turn it over and see if the piston is moving,stick a soda straw in the plug hole,If it is it probably is carburation.Does it turn over?Does it make strange noise when turning?

No it won't turn over. It is hard to even turn it by hand. How the heck on a Honda would this happen?

If its under any warrenty take it in.If not and you know anything about engines pull the head & look and then the case(block)But its probably more a pain than replacing.

Not a good sign. Even though Honda makes a great engine, all engines can catastrophically fail. For what it's worth, how old and what level was the oil at?

Well I started looking for the problem. It has a cracked block. There is a 2 inch by1/16th inch crack and oil is seeping out. On a honda engine with only 170 hours on it. The engine is shot. Now what does one do? A $3000 mower that only lasted 4 years.

Oil is at the correct level. I change my oil often and check it every time I mow. I have never seen a problem. Never burned oil. Never used any. During a whole season the oil still looks brand new after the season is over. grrr... I sure hope Simplicity stands behind their product.

The dealer said a new engine costs $1300

Myself, I would call HONDA. Sometimes companies will help one out when they have a bad expierence with one of their products. Always worth a shot.

I talked to a service guy today at one of the dealers that handle Simplicity. Since it is 5 years old he said Simplicity most likely won't do anything for me. He also said honda is the worst company to work with for problems. He said if they give you a 2 years warranty don't even try to call them on 2 years and a day later.

That stinks! It may be worth it to put another engine in if the rest of the tractor is in good shape.