honda bf8ah tilt problem

Good morning, I am hoping that someone out there on this forum can give me information on how to resolve my motor tilting problem. when i want to tilt it,either up or down, it will tilt fine but the horizontal bar that slides into the notches won't lock it in position unless i move the bar manually & it is not easy to hold the motor with one hand & move the bar with the other while leaning over the back of the boat.There doesn't seem to be anything missing according to the diagram on Boats.net. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated & I thank you in advance !!

Well, I'm pretty sure I'm not getting the gist of your complaint and I don't have an outboard here to look at to try and figure out what might be happening.

If you could supply some photos that might help.

But I just wanted to say that you can latch the outboard in the full up position with the little "flip lever" located on the upper, starboard side of the frame. Locking it that way should free up both of your hands for making any adjustment while leaning over the transom.

If this answer completely misses the mark, I apologize.

Good morning & thank you for answering & i apologize for my clumsy explanation to my tilt problem. I can't take a very good picture of the tilting mechanism on my Honda bf8ah motor so i can only try to explain it differently. Yes, i do have the tilt lever on the starboard side of the motor with a"tilt" & a "run" position & that works fine but my problem is that if i want to raise or lower the motor i cannot stop the motor in any of it's three locking,tilting positions without reaching back,under the "tilt lever & moving the horizontal bar that catches on the locking dogs ( for lack of a better word) https://www.boats.net/catalog/honda...in-bacl-1000001-to-bacl-1099999/swivel-case-2 It seems like there should be a spring on the tilt bar to pull the horizontal bar in towards the dogs or clutches but it seems like every thing is there that i can see with the ***** eye with the motor on the transsom. It used to work just fine but not now. Ihope this helps but if it doesn't i will see if i can get a picture of it & post. Thanks again !

Well, I've tried to figure out what might be happening with your tilt but I'm afraid my lack of experience with the older 8 hp is showing. I have worked on and used the mid 2000 BFD models but none earlier than '03. The tilt on the older 8 is different than the ones I'm familiar with.

One question I have is the #12 spring in the parts link you sent. It looks like it may be obscured somewhat. Can you clearly see that spring? And is it exerting force on the mechanism as it should?

That spring being defective is my best guess at this but it's just a guess.
I think if it was a binding or lube problem you wouldn't be able to make the engagement by hand.

I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you.

Good luck though.

Sounds like your missing a spring.

eneusiis said:

Sounds like your missing a spring.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, i've been told on numerous occasions that i'm missing a couple of screws so i'm thinking a missing spring might not be out of the question ! The problem that i'm having trouble with is locating the # 12 spring because it's hard to see where it's at with the boat on a mooring. Do you know what part numbers would connect to the spring ? the diagram isn't clear to me at all. Thanks

Hello & thank you for trying to figure this out & you are correct,the #12 spring is in a obscure place especially with the boat on a mooring, i can't get into the correct position to check it out but i will be beaching her on a sand bar in a day or so & might be able to get a better look at it. i am not understanding what part numbers the #12 spring would connect to as the diagram is unclear to me. Can you help me with that & maybe knowing what it connects to number wise i might be able to figure it out. Thanks a bunch !!

Well, I'm GUESSING it will be attached, on one end, to the tilt release handle linkage and to the item you're manipulating by hand on the other. BUT it's just a guess.

The bottom line is that you're probably going to need to pull the motor into the cockpit to figure it out.

If it were me, I would either make a crane out of the boom (done it many times but you have to trust the gooseneck) and cradle it aboard OR get the strongest, most surehanded young man I can find to do it for me.

Don't forget to drain the oil first! You may need to lay it on the wrong side or even turn it upside down....again....
...the boom as a crane.

Good luck

jgmo said:

Well, I'm GUESSING it will be attached, on one end, to the tilt release handle linkage and to the item you're manipulating by hand on the other. BUT it's just a guess.

The bottom line is that you're probably going to need to pull the motor into the cockpit to figure it out.

If it were me, I would either make a crane out of the boom (done it many times but you have to trust the gooseneck) and cradle it aboard OR get the strongest, most surehanded young man I can find to do it for me.

Don't forget to drain the oil first! You may need to lay it on the wrong side or even turn it upside down....again....
...the boom as a crane.

Good luck

Click to expand...

i have a 2" tubular solar panel arch on the back of my boat that i drilled through & installed a 3/8" stainless eye bolt hanging downwards directly above my motor that i hook a block & tackle to that i use to release the motor brackets from the mount & then i can lift the motor up in the air & look for the problem there or just take it off the boat & deal with it at the house. Hopefully it will be a missing or bad spring but i thank you for all of the help & i'll let you know what the problem turns out to be, if you're interested i'll post an outcome. Mick

You bet I'm interested!
Wishing you total success and looking forward to your solution.