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1999 BF130A XD Overheating Issue

N

NSDON

Regular Contributor
Finally launched yesterday, engine started and ran fine, but was not pissing water.

Tried reving it up and got a little bit of flow, then nothing. Got overheat alarm, managed to get it back on the trailer. The pee hole was clear and I could blow back through the hose with my mouth, backed it into the water again, still no water.

Took it home, opened up the thermostat housing, thermostat is very cruddy and seized partially open. Tried oiling it in water, it never moved, heated it up slowly to 190F, will replace it.

History- have only had the motor since last Sep, it has never flowed a hard stream of water, so I replaced the impeller this winter, just the impeller.

Last fall I could not get the motor to piss any water while connected to the muffs, I bought the hose flush attachment for the back of the outboard and flushed it that way.

From what I've read on here, I can/should:
1. run a filament line up through the pee hole and then some compressed air
2. flush down through the thermostat housing with a garden hose
3. If this cleared some blockage, I should then be getting water out the pee hole while doing the flush via the thermostat?


After installing a new thermostat I should be getting water out the pee hole with the muffs?

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Don
 
Hello, I just went through my motor and If the motor is new to you and you plan on keeping it I would order the thermostat for a 2004 BF130 as it opens at a cooler temp then the earlier ones to help the motor run cooler. If your pee stream is weak and your sure your water pump is good then I would remove the water jacket covers and clean out those areas. Look for cracks in the webbing in the water jacket. Be prepared to drill, tap, and possibly helicoil if some of the bolts break. Order new o-ring gaskets and you might want to change out the internal anodes & intake gasket for the water jacket behind the intake manifold which in my case had a lot of salt build up. I did all of this on mine as well as rebuilt the head and it now pees like a race horse. I also changed out the flush valves and springs. Search for BF130 valve adjustment / cylinder head and you might find my posts from last month. Good luck.
 
Also search "bf130 crack locations on my motor" to see where my cracks were that I had welded in my water jacket on port side of motor.
 
I ran compressed air in the hoses at the pee outlets, and then flushed it with a hose at the thermostat.

I got water out the water intakes on the lower end- the 2 screens and the 2 small holes on the lower end. I got one trickle out the pee hole for a couple of seconds, then nothing.

I changed my impeller only.

With what I did with air and flush, should I get water out the pee holes?
 
There is a valve in the water jacket cover behind the intake manifold / vapor seperator tank that may not allow compressed air to be blown backwards through the system in that area. Your motor is 19 years old and if it has been used in salt water and not knowing if it has been flushed properly by the previous owner I would spend the time and money to clean out the water jackets after doing a compression test & leak down test first. I am having trouble uploading photos on this site so if you want to PM me an email address I will send you the ones I took.
 
It was running fine last year, the plugs were very clean but I replaced them anyway, and even now it started right up without any issues except the overheat issue, so I don't think there are any issues with compression in the cylinder bores.

Our boating season here in NS is short so this motor likely has very low hours I am guessing. Plus, I don't want to do a lot of possibly unnecessary work in July when I will only be getting a few months of enjoyment. I can investigate other possible issues later. Getting a local shop to do anything right now means waiting several weeks or a month, more boating season gone.

Thank you for your input, at this point I'll be installing a new thermostat and then trying the muffs and see if I get any flow. From what I have read, that old thermostat was discontinued, replaced with a new part number, then replaced again, so likely its that 004 BF130 thermostat that you recommend that is now being supplied for the 130's?

Don
 
I bought mine used in 2016 and it ran great with no issues until May of this year. When I first bought it in 2016 I replaced the water pump and thermostat for the model year which is 1999. The local Honda dealer since then said to run the newer one and to be sure to order the one for a 2004 because if I order the one for a 1999 then that's what I would get which will run hotter. I plan to take mine out for tuna and wanted to do all I can to make sure it is reliable. Good luck with yours!
 
Remove the thermostat, unhook the tube from the pee hole, it's connected with two other tubes with a plastic tee. Remove the tee and crank the engine with muffs on. Make sure you have good water flow to the muffs and crank the engine. Check for water circulation at the tube that runs from the back on the engine to the front. If you have water flow then to water pump is working. If not, I would dare to guess the impeller rotation is backwards.
 
I'll try that.

Would my test with a water hose feeding water into the thermostat housing not have been able to push water through that tube that runs from the back to the front? And then out the pee hole?

Or does the impeller put more pressure through the system than the garden hose?
 
Not necessarily! Look inside the tee also I'm willing to bet it's clogged with sediment from salt build up in the engine.
 
So I disconnected the 2 hoses on the Tee and I blew air into the long one, I could feel the air pressure pushing against my hand at the open thermostat housing. Not the same with the short hose from the tee, no air pressure moved through that one- maybe it has a valve that prevents that?

I covered all the openings on the bottom end with tape and ran a gallon of vinegar through. I flushed again with fresh water through the flush plug.

I might have had a small trickle come through the telltale hole, the long hose that is, that allowed air pressure through.

My next action will be to run it on the muffs and see if anything gets pumped through. If nothing I'll take the bottom end off and check to see if I have the impeller in right or wrong.

If I do that is there one passage I can plug that will close off any water movement from the top end to the bottom end? My thought is, do that and fill the top end with vinegar and let it soak for the time it takes to check the bottom end.

Thanks for the great help.

Don
 
Last edited:
Ran it on muffs, nothing.

Removed lower end, the impeller looks like it's installed correctly. The groove for the key is up, the key is there on the shaft.

See anything wrong?

413950509.jpg
 
It looks like it's running the right way. The housing looks a little worse for wear. What does the baseplate look like? I had water issues with mine from minor grooves until I replaced the metal liner for the impeller and the metal baseplate.
 
I didn't realize the impeller was so sensitive to minor scratches, but while I had it apart, I cleaned the baseplate and made sure the housing and plate were as clean as possible. I used some Hylomar blue (I use that stuff too) on the o ring and put it back together. I'm now getting some water from the telltale on the muffs, so I'm going to launch it again and see how much it puts out.
Guess it wouldn't hurt to get a new baseplate and metal liner and check the water pump housing too.

Thanks again for the help.
 
I ran it in a barrel, it didn't go well. Just a small dribble from the telltale.

But a lot of water coming out the from above on the front of the case extension (25" model), just above the pitot tube in the pic below. I assume that is not normal and the water pressure from the pump is getting pushed out there instead of going up into the block? I let it run a while at 2000 rpm, what little water was coming out of the telltale got barely warm, I do have the new thermostat installed. I got no overheat alarm after running it for about 4 or 5 minutes.

It seems to be not pushing water up into the block from the water tube , I do have a new water tube seal installed.

I'll have to drop the lower end again and see what is happening above the water tube in the extension and above that where it feeds into the block.

I'm getting educated for sure, please let me know if I missed something simple here, please.

Thanks,
Don
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Dropped my lower end, my water tube, seal, and extension look fine.

With the bottom end removed:
1. I ran water through the flush hose, it came out the water tube only and very freely. So that seems free, no real blockages.
2. I then removed the thermostat and ran compressed air up the water tube, it freely produced air out of the thermostat housing.
3. I ran my hose into the thermostat housing and water easily came out below, both from the water tube in the impeller area and from the exhaust area.
4. In no case except with the outboard running did any water come out the telltale hole. And while it was steady, and warming up a bit as the motor ran, it would take a minute or 2 to fill a cup.
5. With that large quantity of water coming out from the pitot tube area, it seems like the water is being pumped in enough volume, but just not making its way up through? No reason to buy more parts for the water pump area?

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I'm thinking since it has some water moving out the telltale, run the flushing hose for a half hour then start it and run it again in the barrel, both with the thermostat remaining out. Run it at about 2000 RPM and maybe it will clear some more?

Don
 
Replace the water pump completely, then you know that part is working correctly.
Make sure the tube from the pump that connects to the mid-section is aligned properly.
 
So added 3 gallons of white vinegar to the barrel and ran it for 15 minutes at 2000 rpm, then 10-12 minutes at 2800. The water temp in the barrel got to 126F, the intake runners got to about 120-130F, and the hottest spot I could find anywhere on the block was near the oil filter at 145F. Everywhere else was 120-130F.

I got no alarm for an overheat.

This was with no thermostat.

The slight dribble out the telltale never changed.

When I turned the key on after this running, the 2 lights by the key come on (oil pressure and alternator) and you get an alarm for 2 seconds, the red check engine light comes on and goes off and the red overheat light comes on and stays on but goes off when it starts. What happened originally when I launched the boat and found this problem was a continuous overheat alarm and a red light.

There is a good flow of water up out of the lower unit from around the shift rod and from a small hole in front of the shift rod and behind the pitot tube.

Is that normal?

I did put a new water tube seal ring in and it looks fine and it is not out of place.

I guess I could replace the other parts of the pump but any other thoughts are welcome.
 
Now what?

Installed a complete new impeller kit, gasket below the water pump housing, above it, new impeller cover, new impeller, new pump liner, o ring, impeller housing, and water tube seal ring.

Turned key on, all 4 lights worked as they should, started it easily, ran it on muffs, nothing out the telltale but a few drops. Thermostat is still out.

Water came out the center of the prop and all 4 small holes, 2 on either side on the lower case.

After running a while at 2000 rpms, the overheat light and alarm did not come on. But after turning the key off and back on, the overheat light stayed on.

Any suggestions on what to do next?
 
One other thing, I do have a small dribble coming out of the drain hose connector, about as much as is coming from the telltale.
 
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