Sea Bee - Welcome to the Forum. There are some really good and knowledgeable folks that hang out here.
The filter change will be a bit messy. I still haven't figured out how to get the filter off without dripping a considerable amount of oil down behind the electronics cover at the base of the filter. The shop manual recommends that you stuff some shop towels under the filter before screwing it off, but that doesn't completely prevent a good bit of leakage. The only thing that I found that half way works is to trim the engine all the way down, then punch a hole in the very top of the filter and let it sit for a while. Then when you are ready to remove the filter, loosen it just enough to turn it off by hand, tilt the engine all the way up with a shop towel over the hole you punched, and quickly spin off the filter, liberally using shop towels or paper towels to catch the spillage.
For anyone else out there who has a cleaner method, I'm all ears.
As for using an evacuation pump, I would recommend against it - you never get all of the old oil out. And why even bother? Draining the oil on that engine is really simple. Level the engine. Remove the cover over the drain plug. Flip the cover over and fit it in it's slot that forms a slew. Then screw off the drain plug. A trick is to have a large drain pan sitting on a table or stand just under the drain slew - otherwise it will initially come out very fast, making a large ark of oil, then lessen to a trickle. Remember that you are draining over 8 quarts of oil out of that engine.
IMO - synthetic is not better. You change the oil every 100 hours or every season, which ever comes first. That is an absolute must to keep these engines in good running order. Synthetic is just throwing money out the window. There are some folks out there who have argued that synthetic oil is actually bad for that engine. Do some research on the Internet and make your own decision.
Yes, the manual says 10W-30 with an API of SG or higher. But my dealer, who is very good, is now recommending 25W-40 for the big Honda's and Yamaha's once they are out of warranty, especially for engines that are laid up for several months at a time.
You should contact Honda Marine in Atlanta - 770-497-6400 to see if they have any record of Service Bulletin #56 being performed on your engines. Have your engine serial numbers ready. That service bulletin is for changing out the exhaust tubes to prevent blowing those expensive HO2 sensors and possible hydro blocking of one or more cylinders, which can destroy the engine.
If you are not sure of the status of the water pump impellors, I would recommend that you install a new kit or an entire new water pump.
Ditto for the high pressure fuel filter. The HP fuel filters do not seem to last very long on these engines and they are the source of numerous performance problems.
Other things I do at the 100 hour maintenance interval...
1. Always change the oil filter - I know the owners manual says every 200 hours, but I do it every 100 hours. If you have a hard time getting the Honda filter, then use the NAPA Gold 1356.
2. Drain the VST. The procedure has been posted many times on this forum. You can search for it or send me an e-mail at
[email protected].
3. Check the lower unit oil for proper fill and for signs of water intrusion. If in doubt, change it. Again, that is very easy to do.
4. Every 200 hours or every season, pull the plugs, inspect them for problems (they should all be light brown), then re-install with a little high temperature grease on the threads. That keeps them from seizing in the aluminum heads. When you change plugs use NGK-IZFR6F11 iridium tipped plugs only.
5. If you have Racor-type fuel-water separators installed (which you should) drain them. If they are more than a couple of years old, replace the filter elements.
6. Check that there is no water accumulated in the bottom of your onboard fuel-water separator. The engines prior to 2007 do not have an electronic warning system on the separator, so you need to visually check it.
