More Honda woes. (Different, but related to previous rant)

[mk2]

I have EXACTLY the same problem.

Oil leak from under the valve cover. Water tube clogged and engine overheated... valve case cover melted around the screws... oil sleek.

I cannot believe they made an outboard without overheat alarm, but it is true, Honda 50 HP does not have one. You have to look over your shoulder every minute to make sure the water is still running.

I did not fix the problem yet, still waiting for parts, ordered the cover and gasket from boats.net. Will give it a try this weekend.

[John McDonough]

I have a 1997 Honda motor.. bought in 1998.. brand new installed it myself on 26X. I have used and abused the motor for about 11 seasons now. Never a problem.

A few years back I was using a 30 gallon can to check engine while on trailor. I had motor running for about 30 minutes and I heard the engine buzzer sound. I noticed the water was steaming. I assumed this was the high temperature warning.
I also found myself motoring over a shallow mud flat. I started to raise the engine to prevent damaaage to prop, as I was raising the motor I remember the same buzzer sound. Maybe you have a wire disconnected somewhere.

Maybe this winter I should replace the water pump and fuel pump... Preventive Maintenance..

[Boblee]

I guess you can get a lemon with anything but this case seems to be a bit more both with the non disclosure of the motors origin and the bad workmanship and/or the cover up of what was wrong.
Personally I would be contacting Honda and politely tell them what has happened but also let them know the world is watching how they look after their customers and their faulty product or bad dealer network.
We have had a continual problem with our 2006 etec which was breaking? down under load, even after continual visits to the dealer this caused us to abort many trips, including our original plan this year.
This year after 4 years and over 400 hours I finally spat it and contacted the head office for BRP Aust, the motor was taken into another dealer in another state where we were at the time and while he could identify the problem he could not find out what was causing it, to cut it short after me politely? doing my screw BRP Aust to their credit replaced the powerhead with a brand new 2010 one and it now runs perfectly (fingers crossed after about fifty hours).
Bob

[ralphk]

I have a 1996 Honda BF-50 and have heard the alarm on 3 occasions.

This may help. Check the drive really carefully. These engines have THREE intakes.
You see 2 with the decorative grilles on the vertical plane under the prop shaft. There is a third intake horizontally on the underside where the unit flares out.
I don't know how else to describe it.

Chris' posting below reminded me that one of the seasoned "experts" at our yacht club, walked me through how to winterize the engine about 5 years ago.
We fiddled and farted for a couple of hours with earmuffs and hoses, but kept overheating the engine.
When I replaced the impeller, the dealer showed me the secret of the third intake.

The problem when using earmuffs is that people in general don't know how to use them correctly with the Honda outboard. They have to be sealed properly and flowing a good amount of water. You're surely going to get squirted to get this to occur! Even then, it takes several seconds for the impeller to prime, which during this time it's running dry. When earmuffs are used improperly, the outboard could be running alot longer with a dry impeller. If there is no water coming out of the peehole, then you're asking for it. My garbage can approach ensures the impeller never runs dry.

-Chris

It's very possible that by tilting the engine, you exposed the horizontal intake and the cooling loop ran dry.

Ralph k.

PS
Although I think my engine may have lost a bit of it's original "snap" it still performs very reliably after 12 years.
Top speed loaded for cruising is 15 Statute MPH. There are no plans to replace it.

[opie]

Couple of things......

- Honda 50 (BF50A) outboard does have an overtemp alarm and indicator light. (See page 11 of manual to see where mine is..)

- Honda increased the size of the engine water indicator fitting about 2005 or so (this fitting is not the one on the cowling). (See old threads for details.) This new fitting should be installed in all Honda 50's since the original fitting would clog up at the smallest piece of grit.

[argonaut]

Ahhh.... another "Kinda Fonda Honda story to warm the cockles.

The best day of my Mac boating career was the day my POC BF50A finally had a coronary while I was motoring back to harbor.
I went from 3 running cylinders to 2.... then one..... then none... as a huge oil slick surrounded the stern of my boat and the pervading perfume of burning oil and plastic filled the air. Ah, it was glorious! I eventually managed to get a cylinder running at maybe 500rpm and limped hom ...it gasped it's last breath at the dock and I coasted to a siding.
The melted valve cover gasket was the final nail in the coffin. I dumped it and picked up a Yamaha.
It's a fine motor the Honda. Three highly easy-to-clog carbs that are a nightmare to work on and make you do ridiculous things to avoid cheesed carbs, plastic valve covers, the screwiest cooling system ever designed (I replaced impellers like every 2 months...) and a parts network that tries it's best to make you feel lucky to be -able- to pay more than anybody else for parts and be happy you got them at all. It doesn't get any better than that! Well except for maybe Mercury,Yamaha, Tohatsu, Evinrude, Mariner, and British Seagull.
The bright side is you now have the freedom to get a good outboard.

The only thing I'd use a Honda 50 for is a mooring.

Signed.... YammaHappy in Florida.

...but I'm not bitter.

[ukauction]

I am suprised people seem to have had issues with Honda's, I have a Honda Pilot and its a great car, I would have expected their attention to detail would have followed into the marine applications. Anyhow - I have a Suzuki 4-stroke, so far seems like a great engine, also has 3 water intakes, one hidden up under the horizontal. In the Suzuki manual they recommend 'putting a piece of duct tape' across the intake pior to flushing the engine. That makes for lots of fun since my Mac sits on a boat lift... interesting upside down contortions....one would think they could have designed something better than 'use duct tape'

[waternwaves]

hondas are very good at what they are designed for.

DAily use.

Those tiny little injectors, carbs, passages etc give fantastic fuel economy, however, they are also prone to gum up easily with current generation fuel.

The smaller the motor, the more difficult to prevent gum formation.

Older styles,. with large injectors. passages, jets.... take a little longer to gum up. Most of us are not lucky enough to use an outboard every week and new fuel every month.

[Kelly Hanson East]

When I bought my 2002 from Art Reiders at Havencraft (unaffiliated with the one mentioned above) he talked me out of the Honda and into the EFI Mercury....thanks Art!!! RIP.

EFI is worth every penny for weekend warrior sailors like me...the starting and running are fantastic.

[c130king]

I am no motor head but my 2-stroke Mercury is also a "champ" in my book.

On 3 Sep I turned the key for the first time since 1 Jan...over 240 days. Engine had been fogged before I put it away. Fuel tank was 7/8 full and had the appropriate amount of Stabil put in...but it was plain old 87 Octane unleaded gas (probably with 10% Ethanol...from the base gas station).

Squeezed the bulb to get the fuel flowing...found out my fuel filter was loose so I tightened that up. And then...

Fired up on the first try...YES!!!!!!

Love my Merc. But there were two Hondas on our recent Jax Mac Get-Together. They were very quiet. I like the quiet of the 4-strokes.

Cheers,
Jim

[Rick Westlake]

Ahhh.... another "Kinda Fonda Honda story to warm the cockles....

The only thing I'd use a Honda 50 for is a mooring.

Odd ... I "inherited" a '99 Honda 50 with Bossa Nova. I haven't had any trouble with it whatsoever, aside from replacing the fuel-tank hose. Could it be fixin' to swarm me?

Alex (the P.O.) did advise me to run the carbs dry at the end of each outing. I haven't done that every time, but I do so when I think it's going to be a while before I use the engine again. I do detach the fuel hose at the engine and at the fuel tank when I come back to the ramp; and I've installed a fuel-water separator, "just in case" (see Mods).

Alex also said the "pee-hose" didn't work very well. I found it was clogged at the lower fitting. Now I unplug the pee-hose from its lower fitting and check it for debris, when I check the oil before launching. I may remove that lower fitting and run a hose long enough to slide through the fitting hole in the bottom case. That lower fitting is just a debris-catcher on any engine, IMHO.

I use the Honda cooler-wash attachment, because I could not get a pair of "ears" that fit to my satisfaction. It is more of a nuisance than ears, because I have to duct-tape over the screened intake ports on either side of the lower unit. I wash out the engine when I'm "running the carbs dry", on the trailer, and I monitor the pee-hose and the exhaust-port of the propeller while it is running that way. I do go through a lot of duct tape.

Maybe I've just been lucky.

[Laika 26X]

It would be interesting to get true quality numbers on all the different brands. I doubt any come close to six-sigma, but knowing if 1 out of 100 were good , 99% quality rate, would you as a consumer live with that?

My first '02 26X had an '01 Honda on it, and for almost 3 seasons , no issues. Yet I had a Honda shop do all the yearend work, including replacing the impeller. I remember people on the board back then recommending we do a yearly impeller change, all of that came to a yearly $550 price tag from the shop. I boat on the Great South Bay, Moriches Bay Long Island, where you go from 7 ft to 1 ft in a heartbeat. So swapping the impeller yearly in this mud/sand puddle made sense.

Now my second ‘02 26X I purchased this May has a '03 Honda on it, and I had issues for the first two and a half months. Combination carb/busted spark plug. Did have a mobile marine mechanic diagnose and fix it at the dock. Now that I’ve seen it done, I'm pretty sure I can do it myself in the future. But it still hurt monetarily. I also put the fault on myself for NOT replacing the filter or dumping the gas! (Bad Ed, stoopid Ed)

I would probably go with a different brand when (not if) I repower. I plan to keep LAIKA for a loooong time. I would look for something with better (finer) control at the low end. Also, apparently these newer engines can interface with your Electronics via NEMA, at least that’s the impression I get from my GARMIN 540 manual, but I didn’t really research it yet.

The point is, if brand X has 98% Quality rate, and brand Y 99%, which would we choose all based on price? Are marine engines up in that quality range? Can it be like the stuff we hear on the "News”, that we only hear of the bad issues? How many Hondas are out there that are working fine compared to what we hear?

Gathering these facts would be a decent (if even possible) project!

Bottom line is, I’d rather have the Outboard issues than the Inboard issues/commitment like I had on my ’78 Bristol 29.9 for the past 8 season! Even a prop wrap required going over the side, which is a serious issue in 4 ft waves at night! Thank you polypro-line tied to the bucket!!

FWIW, Yard cost for yearly maintenance on that Yanmar was on the order of $600, $150 when I did it myself. Add storage, hauling, painting and everything else the yard gets you for and you truly learn the meaning of commitment! For how I boat, there is no finer combo between man and boat than what I have now….hence the return to a Mac. I’m an “X” man plain and simple.

Yeah boys, right, wrong or indifferent, outboard issues come what may…I’ll take ‘em, and my 26X….anytime.

“Sub” Ed

[SkiDeep2001]

I have had numerous Mercs and Hondas, from 110 down to 6 horse for over 40 years and still have both brands, newer models now. Over the years I have had very few issues with either except for operator error (bad/old fuel, failure to flush after salt water run, etc...) I think most engines are built to a pretty high standard and the determining factors are price,2/4 stroke, torque, noise level and owner care/maintenance. You may occaisionally wind up with a 'Monday built' motor that will give you constant headaches but that is pretty rare, IMHO. Rob

[Kelly Hanson East]

You should buy the engine for local service as much as these other issues, or commit that you will do it yourself and buy the service manual.... Before you need it

On edit - do people really recommend a yearly impeller change on Hondas?? That would make it completely non-competitive in Cost of Ownership if you get tagged for 550 USD each year.

I run the Merc BF in sand and mud and shallows, it has a 3 year MFG impeller recommendation, which I am currently 2x over on time...I get a good pee stream and carry a spare and tools to replace at all times. (and have a backup kicker motor)

[SkiDeep2001]

You should buy the engine for local service as much as these other issues, or commit that you will do it yourself and buy the service manual.... Before you need it

You're right, but since I try to do most of my own repairs I didn't think of that as being important, but yes, if you are in an out of the way location and do not do your own work, then local service would be right up there. And as for manuals, I usually have the manufacturers plus Helms manuals. The Helms are hard to beat for point by point instruction. Rob