BF225 SB#56 repair

Congratulations! Looks like y

Congratulations! Looks like you are doing good...

Hope you cleaned any debris out your oil pickup screen before you put it back in.

Try to keep you motor tilted up enough so that the exhaust reliefs (The two ports in the mid rear of the engine that go through you plastic lower covers are several inches out of the water.

You can also check your bottom port spark plug after you run it a few times and check for water.

That water is probably related to the water injestion but may be something else.

"that's a question i'v

"that's a question i've been meaning to ask referring to your comment about keeping the exhaust idle ports out of the water. obviously when using the motor, i'm at the mercy of the mount, but when it's moored at my dock, should i be tiling the motor up and out of the water? my prior boat was an I/O, so tilting the motor out of the water really wasn't an option. my dock/slip is covered and the overhang of the roof is sufficient that the entire boat is covered.

as to your last comment, i sure hope and pray that i've solved the water problem with this repair."

"You may be able to keep the p

"You may be able to keep the ports out of the water when you are underway if you trim the motor up a little so it is straight up and down and not tilted in. If the ports are still underwater, you might try raising the motor one hole on the transom. I can see from your pictures that it is in the top hole now.

The service bulletin indicates how high the ports should be out of the water to prevent the problem. It think it is about 4.9 inches (check to be sure). Sometimes you have to compromise...

If you raise the motor too much, then you can run into cavitation and cooling problems.

I can not tell what the rest of your boat looks like. It looks like a pontoon boat of some sort. I also am wondering why the dealer said that the shaft was too short. What does the boat manufactures recommend for shaft length? If you call them, they can tell you and they can also tell you what hole to mount in on.

I would tilt the motor out of the water when not in use just to minimize the skum that can accumulate on it."

"i took the boat to my local h

"i took the boat to my local honda/premier dealer. they felt the boat should have a 30" shaft and stated that on any premier pontoon they sold with a honda motor it had a 30" shaft. they contacted their honda rep. because my motor was out of warranty and honda refused any warranty consideration for the SB#56 update. that dealership then refused to do the update to the motor citing liability reasons. they felt that since the shaft was too short that even with the exhaust update, it was still at risk for water ingestion. with the motor trimmed all the way in, i measured about 3.5 inches from the bottom of the idle exhaust port to the waterline. looking at the waterline that has formed on the motor while it was sitting at my dock for the past 5 months, its about 5-6 inches with the motor trimmed basically in a vertical position.

i was able to track down a mechanic that worked at the dealership in tennessee where the boat was initially sold. he said all their pontoons went out with a 20" shaft. i'm not sure he's the sharpest tack in the box, but he seemed adamant that they never spec'd a 30" shaft.

i haven't tried playing with the height of the motor. it looks like they've tried alot of the holes and settled on the lowest one. my guess is that they had problems with cavitation. not sure though.

with the motor tilted out of the water, will there be any drainage issues? what if the temps go below freezing? thanks."

"Yes, there are drainage issue

"Yes, there are drainage issues when the motor is tilted up. If the temperatures are going to be freezing or below, the motor should be lowered to the vertical position. Otherwise, the water in the exhaust portion of the gearcase may freeze, expand and crack the gearcase.

I can understand where the dealer is coming from re: liability.

I would still call Premier direct(1-800-815-6392) and talk to their customer service people. Have your boat serial number and model handy. They should be able to tell you the details on motor shaft length and placement. That way, the case is closed on the shaft length issue.

It looks like the motor height is close the way it is (should be 5.9 inch clearance), as long as you keep the motor trimmed at least vertical. Most motors on pontoons do not need to be trimmed all the way in anyway. Vertical position is probably about where it runs best anyway. Only you can be the judge of that."

"you are correct, vertical is

"you are correct, vertical is about the "sweet spot" for this particular boat/motor combo. good idea about calling premier, i'll do that.

thanks, brian."