2011 BF225 forward gear missing tooth

Hello All,

I have a 2011 Honda BF 225 with ~225 hrs on the motor. Bought in 2018 with only 40 hrs. Boat has been running fine. When doing my 100hr maintenance I found a significant amount of metal on the drain plug. Previously noticed a slight knock coming from the mid-section and figured it was associated with the midshaft bearing. With the metal shavings now realize the knock is likely radiating up the vertical shaft from the lower unit. Removed the carrier today and found a complete tooth missing from the forward gear. I feel I can do the repair myself but not sure if I have to re-shim? (Instructions not in the Seloc book.) Or is this something I should take to a shop to have done? Thanks for any thought or recommendations.

I have no experience on this bigger stuff, but have plenty on the Honda mid size motors (35-90hp). Knowing that stuff as I do, I would have a tendency to replace the broken gear, rinse the inside of the case very carefully to make sure there's nothing in there that doesn't belong there, and reassemble the way it came apart - using new seals while in there.

That's me though. Just a shade tree retired hobbyist that likes working on this stuff.....

Well-----You would think you have to replace all the bearings that had all the metal bits go through them-----Pinion gear / forward gear / bearings and shimming required.

Too, full rebuild/ reshim essential or you'll be doing it all again very soon

Ditto on the rebuild. The bearings HAD to have taken a beating from the metal particles and I wouldn't care to guess how long the main bevel gear might last after pounding against that forward gear.

I would love to see a failure analysis on this one! Especially since it sounds like you are a responsible owner that does the necessary maintenance.

Good luck whichever way you go.

Agree with needing a complete rebuild. If you want to assess the level of difficulty, start reading at Chapter 12, Page 14 of the shop manual. Link to a copy is attached below....

http://planbmarine.com/wp-content/u...ice-workshop-and-repair-BF175A-BF200A-BF2.pdf

It's certainly beyond my level of competence.

BTW - that mid-shaft bushing seldom fails on 200's & 225's built after mid-2007. Honda redesigned the midsection so more lubricating water gets to it.

I know it's easy for me to sit here and offer advice while you're staring into the money abyss of fixing your outboard. I do feel your pain though.

I just want to add to everything else that's been said about this is that, if you decide to have this done rather than doing it yourself, you will really want to put some effort into vetting the shop you contract with.

There are so many hack "outboard repair" shops out there....and not just a few with "Authorized Honda Dealer" shingles hanging up....that will do a very poor job of everything except spending your money. You must be very careful about where you take this even if it means driving farther than you want to.

Again,
Good luck.

Thanks for all the replies,
I feel this failure came from the boat sitting for so many years somehow. I'm a very reasonable boat operator. Usually just cruising around at 3800-4300 rpm and never aggressive going in and out of gear. Really feel perplexed as to why this happened. Always stay up-to-date with the maintenance.

I feel this re-shiming is out of my skill level. For context, I've replaced the port power head on this motor myself. Called 3 local "Honda Authorized" shops in my area and did not feel any confidence in there skill level. None of the shops said the have the shim tools. One shop said they just replace ever lower unit that has any issue. The other two shops said labor cost will likely stack up and be close to cost of a new unit. So, lack of support to re-build the lower unit in my area and risk with re-building my self I'll likely buy a new unit. Boats.net has them for 3k....... So, guess I'll bite the bullet and get one. Starting to feel like this motor is a Lemon or I'm just full of bad luck recently.

That's pretty poor, seems the days of fixing things are fast disappearing. These gearcases can be rebuilt cost effectively if the correct tools are available. Having said that though, you will be better off with a new one than a badly rebuilt unit

Or you could find a used unit for much less.

I see them quite often as the Honda 225 is so ubiquitous.

I don't know where you are but, for example, there's a guy in New Hampshire that parts out 225's and there's a complete 2008 225 for $1500 with a bad engine just south of Providence R.I.

I saw both of those ads on the.Boston craigslist.

Just a thought.

I have thought about going used but i live in south central florida and there is not a large used market here. Hondas are not very popular down here. I'm going to keep searching the net but likely will go with a new unit.

Is there a way to determine the shaft length? I measured mine from the lower unit housing to top of shaft and its ~ 28 inch. I assume that its the 30" shaft and they measure the entire shaft as if it is out of the lower unit housing?

I've always measured from the bottom of the transom clamp to the top of the cavitation plate.
I don't hang big Hondas so I don't know if that applies to your 225.

On the smaller outboards it typically comes out in 5 inch increments because of how boat hulls are kind of standardized.

15" is short shaft
20" is long
25" is XL
30" is XXL...and so on.