BF225 whining noise at idle

Greetings fellow Honda owners,

I am having a new issue that I hope somebody can help me with.
I have a 2003 Honda BF 225 with 3300 hours on it.
The engine has been meticulously maintained since I bought it new.


This summer the engine began to whine at idle speed. This is an intermittent whine that only seems to happen at idle speed when I shift from neutral into gear. The whine will disappear once I increase the RPM.
The whining noise is loud and very noticeable.

The engine runs great, the alternator is charging and the water pump is pumping plenty of water.

I have replaced the alternator belt, adjusted and tightened the timing belt and there was no change.

I recently completed major maintenance to include new thermostats, oil, filter, spark plugs, coils, fuel filters, impeller and lower unit oil.

The whine started three months ago and was very intermittent, but lately the whine is occurring almost every trip and needs to be addressed.


Any help would be appreciated,
Thank you!
Ben

If you have a stethoscope, try to isolate where the whine is coming from. You can also use a long screw driver with butt held to your ear to probe around.

Two possible culprits...

1. the mid-shaft bushing which will be about halfway down the drive shaft - about 6 inches above where the lower unit connects. Take a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44ZaDzNck1I

2. The thrust bearing or angular bearing in the lower unit. See items 20, 21, and 22 at:
http://www.boats.net/parts/search/H...003/BF225A3 XA/PROPELLER SHAFT (1)/parts.html

If the noise is coming from the engine itself, and not the lower unit, then you are going to need to check play in the main thrust bearing. You do that by using a bar to lift the flywheel and measuring the play. If you need to do that, come back to us and I'll look up the maximum allowable play.

Thank you for the response... I had never heard of the bushing issue until now. I've researched it and hopefully that's all it is....
The bushing/washer/c-clip has been ordered and I'll instal early next week. I'll post update

thank you

Well, I think it would be best to determine if that is where the whining is coming from before ordering parts.

chawk_man said:

Well, I think it would be best to determine if that is where the whining is coming from before ordering parts.

Click to expand...

I figured it would need to be replaced anyway (14 year old motor).
I tank tested the motor and sure enough the whine was coming from the drive shaft bushing.
Dropped the lower end this morning and removed the old bushing... The bushing was in very poor shape.

As soon as I finished cleaning out the salt build up with a round 2" wire brush (exactly like the video) the doorbell rang. UPS showed up with the new parts! Got it mounted back in and the lower unit back on.

Tank tested it again and she's whine free...

Thank you you for steering me in the right direction... My problem is solved.

Great to hear that. Great work!

Lots of folks who had the earlier model 200's and 225's had that problem. If left unfixed, that bushing will start wobbling and literally eat a hole in the front of the casing. The problem was fixed sometime in '06 or '07.

So.....
I wonder......
Did many owners ignore the warning whine until a hole appeared in their case?
Or.....
We're you VERY fortunate to get a warning and then intelligent enough to heed it?
At any rate, GOOD JOB!

Guys,
Sorry to raise this ugly subject again. Just changing the water pump and took a look at the area the bush sits on the drive shaft and mine looks like its been on a metal lathe polished to a mirror!
It seems its a metal to metal bearing surface! - what keeps it lubricated and cool - going to coat and pack it in grease but can't see that lasting long?
Will prob just start changing the bush when i change the water pump ie every year as its quite cheap.
Anyone know what the fix was my motor is a 2006?
Thanks

Well, the long term fix is apparently to replace the lower cowling which allows more raw water over the bushing to cool and lubricate it. The grease is not likely to do much good, although it may halp. Aristikat had this problem several years ago on one of his 225's and had to replace the lower cowling because the bushing deteriorated and ate right through it. When he got the replacement, upgraded cowling, he noticed that it had bigger water passages, compared to the original. You might search his previous posts for comparison pictures he posted.

The short term fix is to remove and inspect it every year or whenever you change the water pump, just as you said. Apparently, the upgraded cowlings were installed from sometime in 2007. My late 2007, VIN BAGJ-1500767 has the new cowling.

I believe, if you find the photos aristkat posted, your shaft looks way better than his did. It's been awhile but I seem to recall his shaft looking galled and "chewed" in that bearing interface area.

The shiny, polished look was probably what Honda was going for when they put these two metals together.

The bronze alloy (probably lubricant impregnated) bushing, riding against hardened carbon steel, sort of acts as it's own "lube" as you would expect the softer metal to ablate and leave the steel polished just as you've described. The only thing I might caution you about against slathering a bit of marine grease on it for a "wet" start up would be not to use so much that it could get in those water passages and plug them up for a time.
Because, like chawk said, that's what keeps things cool down there. I would definitely use some assembly grease but very sparingly.

Thanks missed that lubricating hole in the water tube - will check that. Hidden away on page 13-4 of the shop manual.
All rather naff....