honda outboard problems

[Dora~Jean]

On the original poster's overheating problem, it is possible that when the engine was put into neutral and now without the added water flow pressure of forward movement, the impeller at idle didn't provide enough lift pressure (and thus flow) to the upper parts of the engine which then overheated it. This happens to me when my impellers approach 3 years old and take a set from sitting a few months, still good pee-tube flow, but insufficient flow to the upper parts of the head. I now change them religiously at 2 yr intervals.

I do my own maintenance especially after the dealer replaced the entire water pump when the engine (Yamaha F80) was only 2 years old. Of course it wasn't their fault that the casing broke when they torqued it down. $450 for one engine impeller change w/pump 18 yrs ago. Haven't had to replace a pump yet ...knock on wood.

[kaelc]

For the intermittent alarm we ran hot water through the engine for 5 minutes or so. Also used salt away but hot water really cleaned up the sensor and no more alarms. Good luck!

[srbaum]

Today, I was able to head over to Atlantic Marine, to take a look at my engine, with the heads removed. The block's cooling passages is wasted away, about 70% and even more in several locations. The hole in the right head is about 3/8" diameter.

Without much else to say or look at, I told them that I would not be making further repairs and to scrap the outboard.

Now, on a good note, they have a good but used engine that was removed for a HP upgrade, but it has 700 hours on it. They have an outboard that they purchased, when they purchased all large Honda's from Honda's east coast training facility. These are new outboards, never mounted on a boat, that were used by students, inside of the Honda training facility and can use my existing controls and wiring and does have NEMA 2000. Lastly, they can get me a new outboard, requiring new wiring, instruments and controls.

I will make a decision this evening, on the direction that I'm heading...

[T.R. Bauer]

That sucks. I know corrosion will get mine someday as well.

[srbaum]

T.A Bauer,
I am the third owner of the boat. The first owner was meticulous, but only owned the boat for 2 years and the family had to sell the boat, due to the owners health. I am also meticulous, so it goes without saying, the second owner, did not flush the outboard, after each use.
I got the boat for a bargain price, because of lack of maintenance, so I knew that there were issues and I took care of most of them after purchasing the boat. Problems like severe corrosion internally hidden, was a gamble that I took and it bit me, but I did get 400 hours out of the existing outboard, so all is not a loss, as this is more hours than most get in 8 or so years...

[thataway]

This illustrates why it is a good idea to have a mechanic look at the engines, Pulling a thermostat will usually spot this type of corrosion. Unfortunately there are folks who do not flush after each use. The Honda seems to have more salt water corrosion issues, but there are specific know problems with Suzuk, and Yamaha also.

It is good that you have several alternate choices. Reliability and the use of the boat are so important.

[T.R. Bauer]

As a side note...my 45s are still around after almost 30 years They run fine. Did I get my money's worth? I think so.....lol...

[Hunkydory]

And my old twin Honda 40’s used more in salt water than not were still going strong after 20 years. I hope their replacement, the twin Honda 60’s will do as well & confident they will.

Jay

[srbaum]

So... Spent the last few days, trying to find an outboard. Without being concerned about the brand, had zero luck.
Suzuki, not available till June.
Tohatsu, (Honda rebadged), not available till July.
Honda, not abatable till June.
Yamaha, not available till May - June.
I looked at a few used outboards, but they all were 800 - 1000 hours and you would have to pull a head to check for corrosion and sleeve wear and of course inspect the lower unit for metal and seal condition.
The repair shop where my boat is, had another option. Honda had a technical school in this region. The school was recently closed and moved to another location. The shop that has my boat, purchased all of the large Honda's that were used for training. I ended up purchasing one of these, as it has never been outside and only been used for basic troubleshooting and it has 5 hours of time that the key was on.
The plus side is my prop and spare prop (both are SS) and my harness will be a plug and play. The new engine does have NEMA, so that harness will need to be run, but not a big deal, as I have already set my boat up with NEMA 2000 systems/wiring. It is a 225 with V-Tec, replacing a 200, but the extra HP is probably not important. The down side is that I will not get a 5 year warranty, but something less, but the price reflects this.
The boat will be ready for the H2O next week!

[thataway]

It sounds as if you both lucked out and got a bargain! Good going!

[forrest]

Honda motors do have a corrosion problem around the thermostats due to three dissimilar metals in close proximity. The t'stat is made of copper and stainless while being held in place by an aluminum casting. It is going to corrode there and there is nothing you can do about it other than remove the stat and clean up the corrosion yearly or every other year (or you could stop using your boat in saltwater). Be sure to use never-seize on the bolt threads when reassembling.

[T.R. Bauer]

Every motor ever built has problems corrosion eventually when running in the salt. Outdrives that never get out of the saltwater seem to be the worst victims. And they sure are not cheap!

[Barry Rietz]

I'm with Thomas Elliot on this matter and suggest that you do some investigation of wiring, connectors, and sensors. Use an ohm meter to check voltage and resistances on all the related circuits. I also see there is a notice in the factory service manual that indicates a visual inspection (part removed) of thermostat for salt buildup (and) valve lift by placing in hot water with an attendent thermometer to observe operation. This maintenance was suggested at the 200 hour interval.

[srbaum]

After purchasing the Cape Cruiser 3 years ago, I spent several months going through the boat and related systems. Some of the work done, was to update systems, some was to fix issues and a lot of it, was general maintenance.

There was not a lot of fuel in the tanks, so I drained them, flushed lines and changed all filters. Flushed and changed oil and filter and inspected and pressure tested the lower unit, then replaced it's oil. Replaced thermostats, water pump impeller and removed the side mid section cowling, to gain access to the tell tail hose, as it was clogged. I placed a water hose into the thermostat opening and with the lower unit off, flushed about a cup of ground up oyster shell material, out of the engine. There was zero sign of corrosion around the thermostat openings and none around the lower unit, or the mid section interior.

So, without pulling heads, there was no other sign of issues... It is apparent that all of this internal corrosion happened on the previous watch. I am fortunate, as I really got the boat all-up, for a bargain and I did get 400 hours on the engine, with no other issues.

Regarding corrosion and Honda's, I do work on a lot of outboards and almost every time that I have seen corrosion, it is because the outboard was not flushed after each use. I have seen severe corrosion in every brand, so they all have their issues, if not well maintained.

[hardee]

My Yamaha certified mechanic told me when I first got my boat (80 hours), and used 90% in salt water, that I need to do the fresh water engine flush, 10 minutes minum, 15 is better, and recommended. I will typically flush for 15 to 20 minutes.
Hoping to prevent that corrosion.

Harvey
SleepyC