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2018 BF200 tell tail

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DABUTZ

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Last weekend after running my boat all day long with no issues. when I got back to the marina I went to flush the motor and The tell tale was bubbling and not streaming water. Upon investigation I found the small rubber line that goes from the cooling system to the tell tale port had an obstruction in it. I cleaned out the obstruction put the boat in the water and the tell tale works perfectly but my problem is the obstruction was a small piece of metal. How concerned should I be?
 
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DABUTZ said:
Last weekend after running my boat all day long with no issues. when I got back to the marina I went to flush the motor and The tell tale was bubbling and not streaming water. Upon investigation I found the small rubber line that goes from the cooling system to the tell tale port had an obstruction in it. I cleaned out the obstruction put the boat in the water and the tell tale works perfectly but my problem is the obstruction was a small piece of metal. How concerned should I be?
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How do you know it was a piece of metal? I have picked up small pieces before that were actually coagulated sediment. Regardless, I would check the oil for any milkyness.

Since it is new, you have warranty available, but I do not know how hard it is to pull the boat and get it checked out.
 
it's a piece of aluminum 3/16" so its too big to be sucked through the lower unit screen. i'm trying to upload a pix but no luck.
 
debris.jpg
 
The only thing it could be is the remains of an internal anode, if they have been changed then don't worry about it.
 
iang6766 said:
Apologies, being a 2018 motor it can't be an anode, could be just something left in the water jacket at assembly
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I know it's new, but start tracking back to core parts between hoses. For example, the VST may have a chunk gone somewhere (no idea how). That piece looks too big to pass from the block to the final tubing IMO. No matter what, save that piece!
 
Agree mostly with Ian. I have been told that the plant where these engine blocks are made is highly automated. Sometimes, the flushing process is not complete and metal particles can remain in the block. I had personal experience with this after may dealer found metal particles in my oil at the first warranty service on my BF 225. Honda replaced the short block.

If small pieces of metal are confined to just the water passages, likely no harm will be done. However, given that it's a new motor, I would take it back to the dealer, show them what you found, and ask (demand?) them to change the oil and run it through a filter to make sure there is not something more serious going on. Also, have them cut open the oil filter and carefully inspect for metal particles.

While you are at it, ask them to drop the bottom leg, pull the t-stats, and do a power flush of the cooling passages.

One final thing - have them check the magnetic filler plug on the lower unit. A new engine will have small pieces of gear metal stuck to it, which is normal for a new engine, but you don't want to see any large chunks like shown in the picture.

Just my 2-cents worth.
 
I performed the 20 hr. service just before I started the tell tail investigation. The lower unit magnetic plug did have the normal small shavings on it and I didn’t notice any abnormalities in the engine oil, as a matter of fact I was surprised at how good the 20 hr. oil looked. Chawk_manthanks for your input, I’ll be calling Norfolk Marine to schedule the cooling flush.
 
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Roger that. Next time you change the oil, say, at the end of season, run it through a paper filter. Coffee filters work great, but it's slow going. Multi-layered cheese cloth, if you can ever find it, would be faster. Also, cut apart your oil filter (messy) and do a close inspection.

BTW - didn't know Norfolk Marine was a Honda shop. I think that they were all Yamaha when I last looked, which was quite a while ago.
 
I still have the oil and gear lube in my catch container so I’ll strain it with a coffee filter to see if there is any debris in it.

Norfolk Marine is Yamaha and Honda now, not sure when they added Honda.
 
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