Barn find: twin 225's with 30 hours

Helping a friend buy a "barn find" boat that has twin 225s on it. Motors are 2003 and apparently only have 30 hours on them (I'll hook up Dr H to confirm), and the boat has been sitting in dry storage since 2009.

Aside from obvious fluid/filter swaps, water-pump, valve-adjust etc, racors, new fuel etc. what else would you be worried about if it's been sitting that long? Possible bargain find or run away?

2003's with only 30 hours is going to have significant issues. These engines do not take kindly to long set ups. The bearings are all likely dry, so you may want to get some good batteries, pull the plugs, pull the kill switch, and crank them for a while to get oil circulating. Someone else may have a better solution for getting oil to the bearings. When set up and let dry like that, you are also likely to have an issue with the trust bearing. When that fails, the engine is toast.

Attached is a list of issues with the 225. Note that there are two pages.

View attachment Honda Gripe List_Updated 7_12_19.pdf

The exhaust tubes should be replaced with the upgraded ones per Honda SB # 56. That SB is too big to upload on this site, so send an e-mail to me requesting a copy of SB #56. [email protected].

When you change the water pump, closely inspect the mid-shaft bushing and lubricate it. And every time you change an impeller, inspect for wear, or wobble. If that bushing fails, it can eat a hole right in the front of the lower cowling.

Pull all electrical connectors and check for corrosion - especially those three big ones plugging into the ECU.

Exercise the tilt/trim and look for leaks around the hydraulic cylinders. The seals have likely dried out. Same for hydraulic steering ram.

That's top of mind. Hopefully others will kick in with a reply.

Also, since you're not concerned with warranty, use 25W-40 FC-W oil - 8.2 quarts with new filter. That will go a long way to saving your thrust bearing.

And get a Helm shop manual. You're likely going to need it. Be sure to get the one that applies to these earlier engines. It's about $126 on e-Bay, if you can still find one.

Thanks chawk_man. Will relay the info - sounds like high risk on the thrust bearings. I suspect they will be more inclined to “run away” than celebrate over a bargain find.

If you have the right equipment, you can measure the play in the crank shaft by gently prying up the flywheel. Maximum play = 0.0186 inches or 4 mm . With only 30 hours, I suspect that there is no problem with them at this point. And that heavier oil should keep them better protected.

0.4 mm

Bobmech - thanks for the correction. Fat fingers strike again.