BF 225 625 hour service Vancouver Canada

Just an update on a few issues that I have discussed here before. I just posted on the intermediate shaft bearing( bushing) seperately.

I had the Honda Centre here in Vancouver Canada do a full service at 625 hours. Water pump kit, valve adjustment, leg oil, engine oil, thermostats, internal anodes, and intermediate shaft bearing.

1- shaft bearing(actually a bushing was in perfect shape, no corrosion, grease still intact- not like the horror stories I have read here. The mechanic, who has been servicing the 225 since they were first introduced said he has never seen one fail.We did not replace it. So i shall see. Definitely a must to check when the leg is off for sure.

2-Valves were checked at 50 hours and this is the first time they have been checked since. They were all tight, requiring only minor adjustment, to bring the tolerences closer.

3-internal anodes. He said he has checked them on engines with 1000 plus hours, and has always found them to be almost completely intact. He did not change those either.

4- impellor was slightly deformed after 200 hours. It was replaced, along with the complete water pump kit.

5- All fuel filters were changed 50 hours ago by myself, so no new ones.

6- Leg oil was perfectly clean after 85 hours. I usually change it every 75 hours.

7- engine oil is always red, due to they dye in the fuel here.I change it every 75 hours(usually) He did mention that they do not like mid grade fuel as it has up to 10% ethenol in it, and recommended adding seafoam to the fuel, or buying auto supreme, gerry cans to fill a 200 litre tank, I don't think so.

8- I had some wierd rough start, and idle issues posted here before. The Computer showed the MAP sensor not calibrated properly, and the injectors as well. I guess he did an update, and on restart they both showed as in spec. The rough idle still showed up after about 5 min running time. he is convinced it is an air leak somewhere. I have checked with clear fuel line, and external fuel supply before. Also changed racor,m primary, and high pressure filter and no change to idling problem. Not a big deal as after 5 minutes, it is time to move anyways, and it always run like a top at an speed in gear. I would just leave it, but it bugs me when things are not right.


One note about the flushing with the flush port. I have never felt much water(by temperature) getting to the thermostat housing, or for that matter the top of the water jacket, where the hose to the thermostat leaves the top. You can tell how far the flushing water is getting by the change in temp of the metal from the warm engine. I have noticed that the flush water seems to go further up when the engine is tilted all the way up. But never any change in temp at the thermo housing. I asked the mechanic and he said it does not flow through really at all.

I noticed that there is an allen key grub scew on the thermostat housing that does nothing other than plug a hole. Iasked him what he thought about installing a fitting into each of them with a petcock and an exit hose. When flushing, you open the valve and it allows the water to flow up and through the thermostat housing. Don't forget to close the valves after flushing though!! I will try it and post an update under "flushing" This may have been brought up her before, I'm not sure.

Thanks for that Brian. I read these posts to learn all I can about the Honda outboards and this was informative. It sounds as if you're involved with a knowledgeable mechanic. Something of a luxury in some parts of the country. I will certainly be interested in the outcome of your petcock flushing experiment.

Brian,Ditto on Jimmy's comment.About the rough idle. Is the engine still maintaining about 650 rpm's when it's in the rough idle situation? Does it go away if you forward the throttle slightly to, say, 800 rpm's? If answer to the first question is "no" and the answer to the second question is "yes", there is an adjustment procedure for the idle arm and throttle cables in the shop manual. Had a similar problem a way back, and that adjustment fixed it.

Actually the idle stays constant, but the engine starts to shake a little. Increasing throttle does settle it down, but if you go to about 1100 it starts to surge up and down between 11 and 1300 rpm. I have not started it and brought the revs up to there after he put the laptop on and corrected the MAP sensor and fuel injector settings. I will see when it goes in the water tomorrow. The mechanic is convinced it is in the fuel supply, however I have done the clear fuel line thing, and an external fuel tank, the primary filter drains down no matter what the fuel suply is. I have replaced all fuel lines from the water seperator back to the Racor.. Puzzling. Still it runs great when in gear, not a worry, but I hate it when machinery does not do what it is supposed to do.

Just shootin' from the hip here so don't take it too seriously. Other things that come to mind would be a slight intake leak or a dirty throttle body. These are two instances where "unmetered" air enters the engine and it isn't accounted for in the fuel mapping strategy.Then, as the computer tries to compensate for the "delta" not being quite on the expected curve, she begins to "hunt" or surge.

Spraying carb cleaner around the intake manifold gaskets and vacuum taps and hoses to see if it smooths out during an occurrence is one method of pinpointing a vac leak. Cleaning the throttle body and plate can sometimes help a condition like this but most manufacturers don't want you to disturb the coatings that they come with. You can ask your mechanic if he's ever practiced this or heard of it but don't do it yourself as it could void any warranty you may have.

Like I said, just thinkin' out loud.

Thanks, I will ask the mech. about those points.