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New to me Honda 9.9 having issues

J

jlwardn

New member
I just bought a fishing boat and it came with a nice Honda 9.9. I believe it is a 90's version based on BF9.9A and BABS in serial number.
I first ran it on muff and motor started on 2 pull and ran nicely. I noticed water was not coming out of the pee tube. I immediately shut if off. I thought it was because I was running it on muffs. I then got a large new garbage basket and filled it with water. Still no water coming out hose. Since I am an excellent google diagnose mechanic I kept seeing that I needed to look at the water pump/impeller. I watched a video that told me to check the intake screens for rubber debris. I did have debris. Problem solved.....Well after taking off the lower unit and inspecting the impeller I noticed that it was 100% intact and looked perfect. Not new but near new. It seemed everything was as it should be. Impeller was installed correctly with veins curved the right direction. I put it all back together and thought I must not had enough water in container. I bought a 55 gallon barrel and put a drain on it. For certain I had enough water this time.....still nothing out the pee tube. Back to google and this forum. I blew out the tube with compressed air and knew it was not blocked since lots of air/bubbles came out of the water in the barrel. Started motor again.....still no water.
Now What? Spring is coming and after spending the winter cleaning and improving the boat, I need a flawless working motor.
 
Just a few thoughts and pointers:

1.) If running on muffs, you need to have the grate on just above the propeller tapped off.
2.) If running on a tank, the entire lower unit needs to be under water (above the cavitation plate). (I assume you did this).
3.) New or not, and being from the 90's I would be replacing the ENTIRE water pump housing, seals and impeller. I don't care how new it looks. If seals are bad, you could have problems, if the housing is bad, you won't get proper water flow. Its inexpensive peace of mind.
4.) You may have a faulty thermostat, pull it, replace it and the inlet water gasket.

Doing those things are pretty cheap insurance and should resolve your issues. Also, one other thought is that you may be missing the key in the impeller for the shaft. Was the key there? If not, then that is your problem ;)

You can find replacement parts on this site or www.boats.net. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
eneusiis said:
Just a few thoughts and pointers:

1.) If running on muffs, you need to have the grate on just above the propeller tapped off.
2.) If running on a tank, the entire lower unit needs to be under water (above the cavitation plate). (I assume you did this).
3.) New or not, and being from the 90's I would be replacing the ENTIRE water pump housing, seals and impeller. I don't care how new it looks. If seals are bad, you could have problems, if the housing is bad, you won't get proper water flow. Its inexpensive peace of mind.
4.) You may have a faulty thermostat, pull it, replace it and the inlet water gasket.
Doing those things are pretty cheap insurance and should resolve your issues. Also, one other thought is that you may be missing the key in the impeller for the shaft. Was the key there? If not, then that is your problem ;)

I agree with you that replacing everything is cheap insurance.
I now know my 9.9 is a 1997 BF9.9AM. It appears not all parts can be had. When I removed the lower unit and inspected the impeller. Everything seemed like it was in order and sealed up fine. I noticed the notch in the impeller and the key in the shaft. I ran motor in large barrel with plenty of water. The only think I have not ruled out is the thermostat. Unfortunately I though I would check it out. I first took off the tube on the housing. It was brittle at the end attached to the nipple. It cracked and is split now. I tried finding a new tube on this site, amazon, ebay and directly from Honda. No tube available. National back order with Honda and no ETA. Even if I ordered every other part....the tube and a new key are not available.
Click to expand...
 
Hi,
The impeller drive key is a 16mm × 12mm Woodruff key. It shouldn't be too difficult to find OR I would fashion one out of a larger sized one.

SameO with the water return tube...make one. Find some hose that fits the nipple and then use a smaller hose to put inside the larger hose. Use a gasket making sealer called Right Stuff to adhere and seal the connection.

I do this sort of McGyverimg all the time and it works.
You have to if you're going to run old iron of any kind.

Don't be surprised though if you still have water flow issues. You could have a blockage at the water tube to engine block interface. Especially if this is old salty motor.

Your air bubbles test may not tell the whole truth since air will easily go where water won't sometimes.

These old engines can be fixed of these problems but it may take more inspection and work than you probably had planned for.

Good luck.
 
Ditto on Jimmy's advice. Also, it's been a very long time since I ever worked on a small outboard and it was an old 9.9 Evinrude, but here are a few other thoughts...

First, determine if you are really over heating using an IR heat gun on the cylinder head as the engine is running in a barrel. If so, with the lower unit off, do a high pressure flush from the thermostat opening.

Second, I recall that occasionally, when filling up the test barrel of water with the lower unit already in it, I would get an air lock which prevented sufficient water to get into the water pump housing. Tilting the engine up and down a few times and briefly starting and stopping the engine a few times would fix it. I've also had this happen on a BF 50 that I help friends service every year.
 
If your outboard has a flushing port, try hooking up a garden hose and walk away for half an hr. Then try barrel test again,leaving hose turned on. I have had experience over the years of having what I call "mud flies" go up the indicator tube as far as the engine to build a mud nest to lay eggs. A long shot but stranger things happen. Good luck.
 
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