BF130A rusted mount frame

My boat is a 2001 World Cat 266LC, kept on a lift at my vacation home in Cape Coral, FL. I use it for several weeks at a time, approximately three times per year. I have less than 300 hours on the twin 2001 Honda 130's, and although they just went through their latest annual service with no surprises, the motor mounts have surface rust that flakes off if left unattended. The Honda mechanic told me he sees that a lot on this particular model. He estimates approx $2K per motor to replace the mount frames as it would require a lot of labor hours. As there is a lot of metal in the mount, he recommends I keep running them, frequent visual inspection, and rinse off with fresh water after each salt water outing. I keep the boat on a lift, btw.

The mount frame is item 1 in the diagram below. The rust is on the horizontal part of the frame.

Is the $2K per motor to replace reasonable? Any idea on the part cost and hours estimate? Am I OK to hold off with just flushing it with fresh water and frequent inspection?

Sounds like you have a predicament....

First of all...that part alone is about $300. I have never changed one out, but it appears that it could be very challenging, depending on the amount of rust. Here is a link to a pretty detailed post of one of the members who took it upon himself to change it out. http://www.marineengine.com/boat-fo...lace-steering-arm-(DIY-BF130)&highlight=bf130

You might want to PM him to get his estimate on total time involved.

Only you and/or your mechanic can determine if it is safe to continue using it as it is. You have to determine....how strong that piece is. If it is just surface rust, like you said, then cleaning and painting and lubricating may extend its like. If you lose your steering at high speed......well you know....

Mike

Thanks hondadude. I've reached out to yamaham. What would you use to paint that item and can that be done with the part in place (e.g. without dissasembly)?

Hi raduray, sorry to hear about your situation and the fact that with two motors it will be double the fun. In order to have a solid opinion on the matter I would need to see the current condition of the parts. Not only was my steering bar part of the mount frame roached, but the vertical tube was nearly seized as well, adding to the difficulty of removal. Your cost quote is a little high but if you aren't going to do the work yourself, if you aren't the kind to tackle a job like this, then I would say waving a check like a magic wand is probably worth it. I had to buy new tools, research for hours, place orders, ask favors and get dirty almost every day for a few weeks. Which also meant the boat was out of commission the entire time as well - a problem if you're seasonal.

In the end it all came out wonderfully and I wouldn't hesitate to do it my way over again, because that's my preference. The redesigned mount frame shouldn't suffer the same corrosion issue as quickly, if ever, and I learned a lot about my engine in the process.

Also total OEM new parts cost for just items related to the mount frame replacement came to just over $400 shipped. Some pieces took nearly a month to arrive, but I also used sources offering free shipping where I could to cut down on expenses.

Thank you, yamaham. I'll post pictures when I get down to Florida mid-December.
Do you have a ball-park estimate for the amount of labor hours a trained Honda mechanic in a marine service shop would require to replace the mount frame?

I was quoted 7 hours @ $95 "if it comes apart easily". And it wouldn't have, even with specialized factory tools there would have been LOTS of cursing and heavy objects used. Sawzall and bi-metal blade was a real problem-solver for me.

I'm back down in Florida, all the relatives are finally gone, and I've finally had a chance to take a picture of one of the rusted motor mounts - see below. On reviewing it, and reading some other threads, I guess it's not that bad. Not that much metal loss. I'm going to spray it with Permatex Rust Treatment and then coat it with a thick layer of marine grease. Will continue to rinse it off after each salt water outing.

That's definitely aged but still looks like it has plenty of metal for years more service. Get a long screwdriver in there and tap it with a hammer to see how it feels. Some flakes may fall off but if you feel a solid 'thunk' then it's not a great worry. Have a look at the bottom mount as well, make sure there's no significant swelling (part 16 in the above image). And if you have the ability, it wouldn't hurt to trim it level, disconnect the steering linkage, and see if it pivots by hand. It should not take much force at all, if it's in good shape internally. There's a grease nipple to keep it lubricated.

I tried the tap test and it's solid. The bottom mount looks fine. I did add some grease to the fittings. I don't have the aptitude to futz around with the steering linkage. Steering had been heavy (hydraulic steering with two motors), but I just added a power steering pump, and that works great.

yamaham said:

That's definitely aged but still looks like it has plenty of metal for years more service. Get a long screwdriver in there and tap it with a hammer to see how it feels. Some flakes may fall off but if you feel a solid 'thunk' then it's not a great worry. Have a look at the bottom mount as well, make sure there's no significant swelling (part 16 in the above image). And if you have the ability, it wouldn't hurt to trim it level, disconnect the steering linkage, and see if it pivots by hand. It should not take much force at all, if it's in good shape internally. There's a grease nipple to keep it lubricated.

Click to expand...

Sounds great, enjoy the weather!

Before you put Penny one into this engine, take a look at the power head where the cylinder head meets the engine block on the port side. If the head gasket is pushing out, don't waste your money.

I know this engine's reputation, but it has good compression and, according to Honda, it has had all recall work done. The previous owner had all annual services done, and I just had my first annual service as owner, including replacing the impellers. No problems found other than replacing thermostats. My only gripe, aside from the motor mount rust issue, is that they whine a bit in idle.

See the picture I just took of the head gasket in the area you mentioned. Gasket (black) is nice and flush all the way down

I've been lurking on this forum for a few years now. I'm in South Florida and have an 01 BF115. I've read the two threads about the rusted mount frames with interest, as mine is roughly as rusty as the one pictured above. All I'm doing for now is keeping the portion that I can reach smeared with grease after each outing. I hope for the best on the "forked" part that you can't really reach with the hose or grease, as that part looked totally disintegrated in yamaham's thread.

-E

Well it's hard work due to the difficulty of getting corroded pieces to come free, but if you can change brakes and other maint items on your automobiles then taking the outboard apart is totally manageable. It certainly went back together like lightning once everything was within tolerance again. Hope you guys are getting some time on the water. I've tested it once and been rained out once and that's it.

Mine are rusted even worse then that photo. But they are still holding well. I don’t think paying someone is worth it. Doing it yourself I’ve heard is challenging. Hard to get the old rusted parts to free up. End up buying a few extra parts and more time. Not worth it to me. I have two. If one fails, I lose steering. I have another one to get me home.

to preserve the life and monitor for failure, I did this.

sprayed them with Flex Seal. Keep that salt water away. Grease was getting messy.
then sprayed them with white primer paint
then sprayed then with Honda outboard paint.

this is keeping the salt water away from the metal. The surface is also easier to monitor. That metal is pretty tough. Has anyone heard of one failing or breaking? I’ve only seen ugly photos, no bad stories....... yet.

For anyone doing this in future, I would suggest removing all the flaking rust completely and using a product like POR-15 preparation and paint process or something similar. It’s a paint that reacts with rust and would stop the rust. It uses an acid wash to set the rust, then a cleaner to remove the wash, then rinse thoroughly with water. All these processes can be done with a brush.

Tou can then topcoat with whatever paint you want, POR has no UV protection, it will stand up to sun but will lose its gloss. It comes in grey and black.

I live in the rustiest area in North America, this is used on car frames and in marine, the local marine supplier carries it as well as auto places. It’s very rugged stuff and actually needs a little surface rust in order to adhere to metal.

In my experience covering up rust with a sealer is not a good thing, the rust keeps rusting inside. Just try painting over rust using normal paint, it flakes off in no time. I don’t know which Flex Seal product you used so I may be off base here.

For regular rust prevention, I’d suggest spraying with something like Fluid film to prevent rust on anything, it sticks well and you can wipe off any excess and can be sprayed into all those hard to reach out of site areas. In Canada, we can gets spray cans of Rust Check, I use it on things prone to rust. This is what I’ve used on my rusty bits on my 130. It’s still solid amd I haven’t done the POR.