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Honda BF50A oil leak

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pgshields

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First I want to say after the
-bogging down
-then wiring
-then starter
-then water pump tube/water pump
the boat ran great. It peed harder then it ever has and ran like a champ. I pulled it out of the water and noticed some oil from right below the engine cover and also around the sides.


There was no oil I could find under the engine cover so I am assuming its a seal under the motor/ near the oil pan? Does this sound right? Would best way to find it be run it and try to trace it down? I checked my oil and noticed I hadn't lost pretty much any. Thank you guys for the help as always!
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I think you should be able to see the source of your oil from under the engine cover. I KNOW some of those are an absolute disaster under there, making it nearly impossible to see anything. So I'm going to suggest you clean it up best possible, then break out the trash can w/water and fire it up while keeping a close eye on it.

BTW - congrats on getting to the bottom of your water circulation issue! -Al
 
Obvious question but I'll ask it anyway....
Was there spillage during an oil change episode?

If so, lather, rinse, repeat.

Good luck.
 
That's pretty much what I was thinking. Or occasionally, the rubber o-ring used to seal the oil filter sticks to the block when the oil filter is removed. If that's not unusual enough in itself, you fail to notice that's happened and screw the new filter on mashing the 2 o-rings together. That's a guaranteed leak if you've never done it.....

In any case, that area below the filter collects a lot of crap, and it's crammed full of the tilt wiring. Can be tough to spot anything going on in that area unless it's pretty clean.
 
I think I may have found it. I think the reason it was coming from the sides is because I had tilted motor up and the angle threw me off of real location.

Anyway I put the boat in the trash can and ran it this morning and noticed oil leaking from the cylinder head cover. It’s leaking just out one side though at the bottom. I noticed the screw holes look like they have melted to a degree on that side. Could the cylinder head cover and gasket combo be the problem?
 
Sure enough.
That's a classic source of leakage.
But....
...I don't think I like the "melted look" thing though. That indicates to me she's been run pretty hot at some point.

Then again, you say she runs ok so maybe no big deal.

Looks like you're going to need a new rocker cover though in order to get a good seal from the new gasket. $120 coconuts plus $20 gasket...
...OUCH!

Hopefully you can work a fix with that one to avoid the cost.

Good luck
 
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Thank you for the response! I think when I was having the water pump issues with the tube not going into water pump was the over heating issues that caused it... let’s hope. Lots of coconuts but lots of fun times!!
 
Agree, that's not too unusual on an engine that been really hot. My experience, when I get a valve cover melted like that, the head gasket is often cooked as well. Beware!

If that cover isn't too badly melted, I've used them over with a new gasket. It's worth a try? And by the way, regarding new valve cover gaskets, they do not require any sealant anywhere. Make sure the groove in the cover is clean, install the gasket, and snug it up. Only rarely do they leak in my experience...
 
5EA98E38-7500-4076-9F2E-4DA7A76587FE.jpgLooks like I’m still getting oil leaks around these seals. I’m assuming there isn’t any easy way to replace these seals other then pull the whole head?? Thank you
 
Oil pan gasket?
That's a fiber gasket.

I would hate to think it got so hot that it caused THAT to fail!

Yes, I think that you will have to "unstack" the primary gear case to replace that.
But I'm not the 50 expert here by any means.
 
The top circle is a drain. The opening is just visible, but the green lines block it from view if you don't know it's there. Anything that collects under the cover is SUPPOSED to drain here, though over time they plug up with crud pretty easily/frequently.

The bottom circle is where the mid section joins the bottom of the motor. There's a metal gasket there. If that gasket is leaking, it's not too big a deal as it's just exhaust gasses for the most part. There is no oil there at that seam.

To change that gasket, you would also have to remove the oil pan, as the same gasket serves both. You'll see it after removing the mid section, which requires you to drop the lower unit, the lower 2 motor mounts (easy), and the bolts seen in the pic. That releases the mid section, and you'll be looking at the oil pan at that point. Another row of bolts to drop that (after draining the oil!) and you can start clean up on the gasket surfaces to reassemble!

I would look into the torque values for both the pan and the mid section as you don't want to break any of these bolts off, or have leaks when you're done. The gasket is installed DRY. Does not need any sealant anywhere.... -Al
 
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