Plugging Honda when using ears

argonaut · Post by **argonaut** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 7:07 am

Before I drop her in the water I clamp the mouse ears on & do a test start. Hondas have an extra third inlet vent that has to be plugged or your mouse-ear supply water runs out of instead of into the engine. It's under the anti-cavitation plate, not sure if Mercs & other brands have this. Has anybody figured out a clever way to plug this outlet using or is everybody doing what I do & using duct tape? Tape works but doesn't seal perfectly & leaves adhesive goo behind.

Frank C · Post by **Frank C** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:19 pm

FWIW, the Suzuki owner manual recommends covering the cav-plate port with duct tape.

PeteC · Post by **PeteC** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:25 pm

I started designing a quick attach cover. After a little while I gave up and decided to stick with the duct tape until someone else comes up with a slick/quick design.

For now I just keep a roll of duct tape stored with the ears.

Sloop John B · Post by **Sloop John B** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:35 pm

So who knows about additional water intake on other motors?

Yamaha just seems to have the two, on the sides of the lower end, behind the black plastic grille. When you take the plastic off, you discover it's just one opening, that you can stick your finger through to the other side.

Lloyd Franks · Post by **Lloyd Franks** » Sun Jul 24, 2005 4:12 pm

I don't tape when I use the rabbit ears. I thought that taping limited the flush to the lower unit, and not taping flushed both top and lower...Did I get it backwards. If so, suprise, suprise. Story of my life

argonaut · Post by **argonaut** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:34 am

The inlet under the anti-cav plate is just a tube connected to the two side inlets. If you use the ears the water just flows out the anti-cav inlet instead of up into the water pump where you want it to go.
There's no separate flushing the lower unit, least not on the Honda 50, you want moving water from the pickups to the pee hole.

When I hear "flush the lower unit" I picture replacing the hydraulic fluid that protects the gears.

BK · Post by BK » Mon Jul 25, 2005 7:37 am

I had a discussion on using duct tape on the cav-plate with another Mac owner down at the marina and he said the Suzuki 50 does not need to be put down all the way into the water and can be flushed at an angle using the ears but keeping the cav-plate out of the water. He pointed out that the manual says that when going through a shallow area you can lift the motor up so the propeller does not hit the bottom.
I disagree with this and feel the motor should be straight up. The oil is not circulating at an angle.

dennisdl · Post by **dennisdl** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 8:27 am

For what it's worth, when I got concerned about water not coming out the "pee" hole (turned out to just be plugged up - probably salt or ???), a couple of mechanics told me not to be 'alarmed' about that. They said the 'pee' hole stream is JUST an indicator - and that 90-95% of the water actually exits through the exhaust - which makes a lot of sense... Any opinions ??
My question to you folks - how often do you replace the IMPELLER ??
I read somewhere that it should be done every 2 seasons ??
My motor has over 6000 hrs. - is that a lot?? (for a 1997)
Any feel for 'lifetime' of a motor? - the mechanics swear by Honda !?!?

Catigale · Post by **Catigale** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 9:30 am

The result of the last thread on this, IIRC, was people replaced somewhere between 1 and 10 years.

Mercury (makers of my 50 HP BF EFI 2002) recommend replace impellor every 300 hours.

6000 hours seems like a lot. Thats 36000 miles at 6 mph logged or a tad over 5000 miles per year since 1997....I hope you have replaced your impellor.....a few times !!

Frank C · Post by **Frank C** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 9:46 am

Dennis, your question is valid and the answer is a little convuluted.

I just replaced the impeller on my 2000 Suzuki DF60. According to the tachometer multi-indicators, the motor has between 150 and 200 hours (they blink in different patterns to show engine hours). When I finally got to the impeller, it was in pristine condition, as expected, even though I'd been "abusing" it, according to one tech advisor.

Sidebar: the DF60 has a flushing port where you can attach a garden hose. My "abusive" practice (for 5 years) was to let the outboard idle & flush for the 10 or 15 minutes that I rinsed down the boat. Unfortunately, while the engine gets plenty of cooling water, this practice makes the impeller run dry! ... but my impeller looked just like new.

So, my uneducated stab at your basic question - the impeller is pretty robust on this Suzuki, and didn't need to be changed. The story twists though. According to the Suzi-tech, I'm supposed to "check" the impeller every season. The reason is that my boat is used mainly in salt water, which will gall or corrode the gearcase bolts. (Note - this motor is always stored on trailer and flushed every time it's used, but mostly used in coastal waters). Unless those bolts are removed annually, there's a risk that the dissimilar metals (steel bolts, cast aluminum housing) could seize over time, making the process enormously involved. This happened to me even though the gearcase has a beefy anode that was still obviously healthy.

The process is braindead simple for anyone who's ever changed a starter or waterpump on his car in high school. My seven gearcase bolts showed signs of galling, but at least they came out with coaxing. Unfortunately, 3 of the 4 impeller housing bolts twisted off in the gearcase casting. It was costly and time-consuming to fix. So I'll probably go ahead with his recommendation and disassemble it each year, or at least every second year.

So a word of experience ... if your outboard is four or five years in salt water use without having this maintenance, I'd recommend paying a certified dealer to change the impeller. It will take him only 30 minutes - if he's willing, stand by and watch.

dennisdl · Post by **dennisdl** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 4:48 pm

My mistake in the reply before - the meter I was reading was not 6000 hours- I was going by my unreliable memory - more like 4000 - but, after talking to the PO the meter is not Honda "standard" feature - but one he added - which measures time that the ignition switch is 'on' - and in fact may be more like 400.0 hours - a considerable difference !!!
Also he thinks that it's only been 2 years since he had the impeller replaced.... The reason I took interest in this note string is because I had a situation indicating 'overheating' yesterday when I was out on the boat motoring. The red warning light came on and the motor suddenly dropped speed - a good thing if it was actually overheating ! Don't know for sure if it was due to impeller or not. The PO said he has heard of situations where it might be the thermostat being 'salted' up...
In any case, I am taking it in to a techie for check-up, etc..
I did have a coincidental (??) situation where the warning system started "beeping" instead of being continious buzzing - which, according to the manual indicates a situation where the tilt indicator and throttle position are at "odds" with each other...
Apparently, this can only happen on older (?) models of the BF50 like mine (1995 - 1999?) and the feature is not on the newer models. It costs a couple of hundred bucks to fix and is of dubious value - another case of over-engineering !?!? by the ingenious Japanese Honda designers...
Anybody else run into this one????

Erik Hardtle · Post by **Erik Hardtle** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:52 pm

Ok... I have a Honda 50, and I have replaced the impeller TWICE just this year because of lack of water flow from the "ears"

HERE IS THE SOLUTION YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR:

Rubbermaid/roughneck Plastic Storage Container

My wife uses them for attic storage... so I grabbed one.
You can get them at walmart and lowes, just fill with water above the cavitation plate and no more worries.

To empty the water just put it in forward and gun it for just a second... just watch the edges...

Greg · Post by **Greg** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 7:18 pm

Frrank,
That inspection should be done after the end of the sailing season... right?

Greg

richandlori · Post by **richandlori** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 9:31 pm

Now I am starting to worry here!

I have a honda 50 and bought the Wash out adapter, which screws into the lower unit right next to the oil plug! If you asked me, this is a CRAZY design just begging for water in the OIL. Anyway at $30 it was overpriced and WORTHLESS. When I attach the hose and start the motor, I can't get hardly any water into the motor and no signs of engine "peeing". I just use the rabbit ears and have always had plenty of water flow? I think this by the Peeing? Am I risking burning something up, or blowing impellers?

Rich

cbhinkel · Post by **cbhinkel** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 10:08 pm

I've had a couple of Honda 50hp motors and have never needed to use duct tape to properly flush the motor. I use a rabbit ears or a clean 35 gallon garbage can. When using the rabbit ears, you need to make sure a good flow of water is coming out of them and that they are sealed a best as possible against the lower unit until boiling hot water squirts on you from the pee hole!

The impeller is a weak point of the Honda motor and if you have ever run the engine dry, there's a good chance damage might have occurred. To provide a safeguard against getting stranded with a busted impeller, I have added a water pressure guage that is tee-d off of the pee-hole hose. It shows about 2-4psi at idle, 10psi at 2000rpm and over 25psi at WOT. I feel strongly the water pressure guage would be good addition to anyone's boat.

Chris Hinkel
"GATO DIABLO"

MacGregorSailors.com

MacGregorSailors.com

Plugging Honda when using ears

Plugging Honda when using ears

Bucket of Water

Water PSI guage