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2003 8HP 4-stroke making squeaky sounds when recoil starter is pulled

whitegreg56

Regular Contributor
This 2003 8HP BFP8D Type XRA is making squeaky sounds when the pull-start handle is pulled.
It's not the recoil starter...I took the recoil off and rotated the flywheel by hand....same thing.
I just took possession of this engine. It's hard to tell where the noise originates.
Could this be normal???
 
Hi whitegreg56,
I was hoping someone would have already answered your question with some prior experience/solution. What I can tell you is that I'm sure that the squeaking is not "normal". I worked on a rental fleet of these for several years and, even though we didn't use the XRA extension, I'm fairly certain of that. So, that brings us to the next question:

Is it something to be concerned about? And, of course the answer is....I don't know. Actually, I could venture to say that , yes, it may be something to be concerned about but PROBABLY not OVERLY concerned. How's that for ambiguity eh? (something I'm fairly good at)

Squeaking is sound and sound is frequency and that usually means some sort of contact. It could be a worn seal lip on a shaft that, over the normal course of use, has started oscillating. Or, for a more sinister scenario, it could be contact between the pulsar, exciter or charge coil and the flywheel magnets. I have seen corrosion cause some "fuzz" (for lack of a better word) to grow up under there and create a little contact. Other possibilities are one or more of the coils has come loose or the crankshaft bearing has worn and there is a bit of "wobble". Much of this can be easily checked out with by removing the flywheel and taking a look. You might need a dial indicator to detect any undue crank end play.

If you take a piece of car heater hose or 1/2" garden hose you can make yourself a fairly decent "stethoscope" to try and narrow the location down to a specific area. I use old broom handles as listening devices too. JUST BE CAREFUL not to get any of that tangled up with the timing belt!

Good luck.
 
Oil level correct ?----------Maybe it is just the water pump impeller complaining that it is dry.----Put it in a barrel with water covering the pump and see what happens.
 
It would be worth giving the cam belt tensioner wheel a spin with your fingers to see if it`s stiff to move as the bearing can fail in them and cause a squeaking sound from the upper part of the engine. It`s worth a quick check anyway just for peace of mind.

Matt
 
Wow Matt! That is a pretty cool website! Thanks for posting!
The Honda twins don't generally have any issues with timing belts. In the 6 or 7 years I worked on them every day, I think I only replaced one belt and that was because the cam drive nut came loose.

WHICH REMINDS ME!!!

WHITEGREG56.... If you hear a "ding-a-ling-a-jing-ping-jingle-ding-ding" sound while the engine is IDLING, then that is what makes that noise....a completely backed off cam drive sprocket hold down nut UNDER THE FLYWHEEL.

I saw this happen to 3 or 4 8 BFD engines. Refer to item #6 in the parts page blow up below. If this has happened to yours, no big deal. It does not usually screw up the crank but you may need to replace the thrust washer, nut and drive gear with key due to "slop".

http://www.boats.net/parts/search/Honda/Outboard Engine/2003/BFP8D3 XRA /TIMING BELT/parts.html
 
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