Logo
FULL SITE MENU

Honda BF60 2014 mod - camshaft bearings failure

K

kanor

New member
Hi

My BF60 suddenly lost power and started making very loud valve ticking noise. No temp or oil warnings.
After tearing the cylinder head apart it is clear that all camshaft bearings is damaged, worst the topmost bearing (see pictures).

How can that suddenly happen with no oil and cooling problems?!?

Anyone else had camshaft issues with this engine type? Known/common issue and/or weakness?

IMG_20210707_203145.jpgIMG_20210707_203246.jpgIMG_20210707_203236.jpg

br
Roald Nakstad
 
Thanks for the advice. If low oil-pressure, what about damage to other parts of the engine, crankshaft bearings++ ?
 
Took engine to a workshop specialized in rebuilding any kind of engines. They were shocked when they discovered how tiny the oil-passage through the head gasket was. They have never seen such a small hole before. A tiny fragment of deposit can easily block it resulting in no lubrication to cam and vents. That is a plausible cause in my case they said.

So, why have Honda made this so small when the oil flow in any way is restricted by the possible amount passing bearings in the head?

Design-flaw ?

What about making the hole bigger in the new gasket when rebuilding the engine to prevent future problems of this kind?
 
Have you tried talking with Honda customer service? I'm pretty much completely DIY,(I HATE dealers!) but in a situation like this one, I'd be pretty tempted to seek professional advice/service - and not the type making 15.00 an hour on a seasonal basis......

The thought is, there are a lot of Honda 60 motors in service. I would like to know if this is a chronic problem, or if there's a service bulletin outlining the issue/cure for what happened to yours. If not, THEN I'd be tempted to open that hole just a hair, with the knowledge there are so many others running without issue....

Edit: forgot. I wanted to mention the 40's and 50's have a similar restriction, but it's in the form of an aluminum plug with a similar sized hole that's inserted into the block at the top left when looking at the block with head removed. -Al
 
Last edited:
I have tried to contact those responsible for Honda import to Norway where I live, but they just call me off saying that I should take it with my local dealer (!?) A dealer who barely is capable of changing oil an filters, and doesn't answer phone or e-mails :-(( So I feel a little left on my own...
 
Got this update from the shop where I just ordered new parts:
Well, that makes me start to wonder a bit...


ScreenHunter 583.jpg

If this engines runs so flawless, why is camshafts sold out all over USA, AND why has Honda updated the head partnr twice, from 12210-ZZ3-000ZA --> 12210-ZZ3-010ZA and now 12210-ZZ3-020ZA ??
 
kanor said:
I have tried to contact those responsible for Honda import to Norway where I live, but they just call me off saying that I should take it with my local dealer (!?) A dealer who barely is capable of changing oil an filters, and doesn't answer phone or e-mails :-(( So I feel a little left on my own...
Click to expand...


Call them back and share the fact your local "dealer" appears to be out of business or something. Ask (demand?) them to suggest a dealer who might be a little more responsive. You shouldn't necessarily have to be there in person. Anyone with half a brain should be able to see what happened when looking at your pictures. Explain you're looking for help, not somebody to do the work? I don't think that's asking for too much....
 
Occasional among how many motors? 1 of 10, 100 or 1000 ? And those cases with oil-pump fails, has these motors ended up with a blown head/camshaft as mine did?
 
To check without running and measure pressure, I have to tear the engine all apart. That's a lot of wasted labor if it is ok. So the plan is to first get a new head and camshaft mounted, start it up under carefully monitor that oil is coming to the head, and run oil pressure test. If low pressure, then tear the engine totally appart to check/replace a failing pump. What exactly fails in the pump?
 
Last edited:
I can speak only of the 40's and 50's I work on regularly. Despite having worked on some that were severely abused, I have not worked on one with a failed oil pump. Not sure if that's worth a thing when considering a 60 or not. -Al
 
BF60 oil pump is completely different to the 40/50. It's driven by the crankshaft and very susceptible to damage by water or contaminated oil ,ie fuel diluted oil.
 
All I'm trying to say here, is check the oil pump, cam bearings don't fail for no reason. Do not just go and install a new or reco'd head, the cause is not through design fault.
 
So, if i decide to tear it all apart to verify the oil pump before replacing the head, what do I look for to determine that the oil pump is gone without the ability to measure running oil pressure? Something broken? Wear?
 
I'd be looking for unusual wear - like scoring, galling, signs that the pump ingested something or suffered due to lack of lubrication.

Noteworthy maybe, is the fact that if they've moved the pump from a cam driven location to a crank driven location, it's turning twice as fast as it used to.....
 
Back
Top