care of a honda 90

[terraplane]

OK, I'm going to be a new owner, April, of a 22" with a 90 Honda.

I have never owned an outboard of any kind.
I am an experienced boater...diesels...trawlers. Ford Lehmans

So, all of you experienced guys..what do i do right and wrong?

I take possession, first day...etc.

What are the things to watch for?

I keep reading about water, carburetor failure, etc...What to do?

In short, for an new Honda owner, what are the ideas for the first six months of the break in period?

Any help, appreciated.

tom/terraplane

[CAVU]

Terraplane,
I owned a 98 Honda 90HP for six years on an Arima and never had any problems. I put over 600 hours on it. I had a fuel/water separator for it and always run stabilized fuel through it. I ran it dry in the fall, drained the carbs, and stored it for the winter (4-5 mo) without any carb or fuel issues. IMHO the best and smartest thing to do is to read your owners manual and follow the break-in rules, which if I remember were pretty simple. Good luck.

[starcrafttom]

Rule one, is the out board pissing? Rule two, see one. really if the intakes get covered (sea weed, plastic bags,wasp nest) then the water is not coming out the piss hole and you are going to burn up a engine. the hondas have a alarm if they get warm but several of my old motors did not so i got in the habit of checking the piss water. kind of like checking your mirrors while driving. every ten seconds or so. lots of things can go wrong but over heating is the fastest and most costly, blown head. also new water pump impeller every year and a spare in the boat.

[dogon dory]

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author

[Pat Anderson]

Guess I don't disagree with what other folks have said, but one thing that has not been mentioned - after every cruise remove the fuel line at the engine and let it run until it dies from starvation. I usually do this while fresh water flushing with the ear muffs (I have / had twin 40s). I also put Stabil in every tank except during the height of the season. Burning the gas out and being sure that whatever little gas is left is stabilized will go farther than anything else to assure trouble-free starts the next time you go out.

[Larry H]

Tom,

This may be stating the obvious, but, NEVER START THE MOTOR DRY!!

Even ten seconds of dry running will fry the water pump impeller!

The other obvious thing is PUT IN THE DRAIN PLUG BEFORE LAUNCHING!

Congrats on your new boat.

[starcrafttom]

ok show of hands here , how many of us have launched with out the plug? Me at least 3 times in 30 years in different boats. once my son , then 6, was holding the rope to a 12 fter while i parked the car. when i got back to the dock he was holding the rope feeding ducks and the boat was on the bottom of the ramp. only 3 ft and my gear was floating around.

[Sneaks]

[Otter-BelleHavenMarina]

Tom,

1. Breaking in period is first 20 hours. (Don't know if you are having an engine hours meter installed - I did and have found it very useful. Otherwise, you should keep a log so you have some idea of when you should get it serviced.) Vary your rpms those first 20 hours and stay away from wide open throttle. After first 20 hours, take it in for the standard service. Nearly any outboard mechanic can do these standard services, but the reason to take it to a certified Honda mechanic is in case there is a warranty or non-standard issue discovered. They will be able to deal with it there and you won't have to haul your boat somewhere else.

2. The next service will be at 100 hours or at the end of your main boating season, whichever comes first. On the Chesapeake, you can operate your boat year round if you wish. I think this is an advantage to the engine. Underuse is more of a problem than anything else with outboards. In cold weather months when I will not be using the boat as much, I add Sta-bil fuel additive to the tanks and try to keep the tanks near full. Gasoline deteriorates after a few weeks and Sta-bil prevents that deterioration. It only works with fresh gas -- adding Sta-bil to old gas doesn't do anything to reverse the deterioration. Instructions for the amount of Sta-bil to add are on the bottle. Keeping your fuel tanks topped off in cold weather reduces the amount of water condensation that occurs with temperature variations.

3. If you keep your boat on a trailer, lower the engine after every use so the cooling water drains out. At temperatures below freezing, any water left in the lower unit/propeller area will freeze and expand, putting stress on those components. If you are keeping your boat in the water during the warmer months, leave the engine raised and out of the water.

4. At the rear of the Honda 90 there is a rubber cover about the size of a silver dollar. This is easily pried off with a screwdriver, car key, or knife. (Put it in your pocket so you don't have to spend an extra half hour looking for it like I do sometimes.) Behind it is a threaded hole, into which you can screw a garden hose connector (available for purchase at Cutter or elsewhere for about $20). Screw this in, attach a hose, and turn on the water for a few minutes. Fresh water flows in and around the lower unit and washes out the salt. If you do this after every cruise in salty or briny water, your engine will thank you. (I don't do it religiously since I am mostly operating in the nearly fresh water of the upper end of the tidal Potomac, but it is recommended. I am religious about it when I operate in salt water.) This flushing connection is NOT the same as ear muffs over the impellers, and you cannot run the engine while you are doing this. The engine should be OFF.

5. Pat recommended disconnecting the fuel line and running the engine out of fuel after every use. I don't think the manual calls for this after every use, but you would definitely want to do it before storage. It is something I do after every use with a small 2-stroke outboard that I use only occasionally with a skiff, and it certainly doesn't hurt. I've learned that if you tie up the boat securely to the dock and put the engine in gear, it will take a lot less time for the engine to go dry of fuel.

I think that's about it. These engines are amazingly reliable. My previous experience with outboards was from 25 years ago, and I was anticipating headaches that have never materialized. The only other general advice I would give to a new owner (particularly one who, unlike you, has never had any experience with engines) is to figure out who at your local marina actually knows what he is talking about. Questions will come up, and many folks are happy to offer advice that is well-meaning but, well, wrong. When in doubt, call up or email your Honda dealer or certified mechanic (or just give a shout to the endlessly patient and knowledgeable Les Lampman who's provided great advice to C-Brats and C-Dogs on these sites for several years).

Cheers,

[Yellowstone]

Terraplane - can't really add much to discussion other than to affirm what has already been written. Put over 600 hrs on Honda 90 and only time the engine neglected me is when I neglected it. Carburators were gummed up from laziness on my part - cost $340 to boil out and get right-really zero problems when the human element is removed.
Comment on whether plug was left out. Happened to me once. Friend I was boating with (blue water sailor) misunderstood my question whether the plug was in before backing the trailer down the ramp. He thought I was saying, "the plug is in." Anyway we launched the boat and tied it to the dock, taking the pickup and trailer to a long term parking area. Upon returning we saw several people looking down into the cockpit. One fellow said, "Your boat has a hole in it." I looked down and could see
several inches of water on the cockpit floor. However, it did not rise to the door's sill. The aft flotation had equalized everything. Jumped in and put in the plug. The bilge pump took care of most of it. Embarrassed? Of course. If there is a moral to this story, it is simply this. On all matters vital, do your own checking.