Motor running, water hose not on - Stupid is ----

O

OUTRIGGER

New member
Honda 90 4 stroke. During the winter while the boat is out of the water I run the motor every few weeks, and disconnect the gas line and let it run out the gas.
Yesterday I hooked up the hose and ran it for a while, turned the motor off and turned the water hose off. later I remembered I did not disconnect the gas line, so I took it off and started the motor....forgetting to turn back on the water. It ran for just a few minutes and then the alarm (overheat I guess) went off. I turned it off and let it cool for a few hours. Hooked the gas back up, turned on the water, and started the motor.
But NO PEE STREAM. Have I destroyed something? Is their anyway to get water primed so it will do as it should?
Thanks for your help.
 
I assume you tried using motor muffs. These should push water into the pump and be pumped through the motor. If no piss stream, and you said you were getting a "Motor Hot" alarm, you have probably melted the vanes of the impeller in your water pump. You will probably need to change out the impeller and housing. If particles have shredded off of the old blades and lodged inside the motor, then you have other problems. Good luck!
 
My Honda BF90D manual says:

Do not run the motor when flushing the motor with a garden hose or the motor may be damaged.

If you want to run the motor out of the water you should use muffs so that there is water in the impeller.
 
I agree with all of the comments. You try running it a large refuse containers or barrels filled with water. I would still pull the pump

Too bad there isn't an inspection port for a borescope
 
Even when using muffs problems can occur. Last spring in early preparation for our SE Alaska cruise following storing the boat for the winter, I started the motors like normal with a garden hose & muffs. All the past years, I turned the water volume up, to the point there was a lot of extra water flowing out from where the muffs sealed with the lower unit water intake. After reading that to much water pressure on the muffs could take out the seals, I decided this time to back off the flow. A few minutes later the engine alarm went off & before I could shut off the motor the pee flow stopped. Upon inspection found the impeller housing & pump pretty well cooked, so I imagine you will find the same when you replace. My muffs on the 40 hp Honda's fit fairly loose, so there was very little chance of over pressuring, but even though extra water was still flowing out from the muff connection point, the water flow was not enough.

Jay
 
Yes, if you weren't using muffs before and were simply threading the garden hose to the motor you should not be running the motor.

you simply need to start servicing you cooling system. Time to remove the impeller. Don't bother putting it back in, even if it looks good. They aren't that expensive, put a new one in. If there is any debris, clear it out, then try again.

You likely damaged something in your water jacket if it doesn't come back to life after this. That may be something to call the pros in on.
 
On the Honda 40s you have to also tape over the inlet port (1 in by 2 in approx) on the bottom of the cavitation plate when using muffs.

Regards,
 
After you install a new water pump kit and see a good piss streem run the carbs dry, pull the bowl plugs to drain remaining gas and tuck er in tell spring. In my view running the motor every few weeks does nothing for longevity.
 
breausaw":17u6rt28 said:
After you install a new water pump kit and see a good piss streem run the carbs dry, pull the bowl plugs to drain remaining gas and tuck er in tell spring. In my view running the motor every few weeks does nothing for longevity.
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I agree with this mostly. If you are likely to use the motor in the winter, and it isn't very cold where you store your boat (like indoor temps), there wouldn't be much issue with keeping your boat running all winter.

If outdoors in cold temps you increase the chances of condensation in your tank introducing water into your motor, and the added wear that comes from starting an engine cold, and the simple opportunity for facepalm moments (the more times you do something the more opportunity you have to screw it up) aren't really worth the issues.

I'd add that running the motor until the fuel supply in the carbs is exhausted to the point that the motor stalls is really a useless thing to do in my opinion: unless you drain the bowls there is still fuel in the carbs, and a lot more air, so the opportunity for condensation IN the carburetor exists. You can clear your jets when you do this, but it isn't really reliable in that regard, and so you can still end up with varnish. This is especially true in engines with multiple carburetors. One may clear of fuel sufficiently to stall the engine, but the others still have passages full of fuel, so varnishing can occur.

It should be clear to you now that your current system has some flaws that are going to cost you time and money. My strong advice would be to either stabilize that fuel and keep your boat running through the winter or drain the carbs properly, fog and winterize your boat and wait til spring.
 
Thank you everyone for your replies and help. Indeed I always use ear muffs, which have always work great (except when you forget to turn on the water).
So repairs are in order.
Thanks,
 
We have boat service people here who offer a winter check deal, they start the engines every couple of weeks or so and let them idle for 20 minutes. They are not doing anything but major harm by doing that! Diesels mostly and very bad. Outboards maybe less bad but still, you want to make them hot, burn condensation out of the fuel and oil. If you're going to not winterize, go and actually put on the miles to keep your engine good or just stabilize the fuel and leave it be. You're wallet will thank you
George
 
In the future for flushing, get or make a flushing attachment for your flush port and just flush the motor without running it. That works for us and was endorsed by our Honda mechanic. In the winter, I agree with George and treat the fuel/winterize and leave it alone or just get out on the water and use it periodically. We use ours all year but it does sit for a month or more over the Xmas period and maybe another month+ between Feb and April for other trips. We treat the fuel all year just to keep it ready for any periods of unplanned, non-use.

Greg
 
I don't fog the cylinders but I adamantly use good, fresh, marine fuel stabilizer in every fill and for winter hibernation I use the storage ratio. Keep the batteries on the charger during winter. New oil/filter, fuel filter in the spring.
 
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