Logo
FULL SITE MENU

Cowling alignment

S

sea bee

Member
What's the secret to getting the two halves aligned of the cowling you need to remove to get to one of the bottom spark plugs on a 2003 225hp outboard. All the alignments look good except the space at the rear joint. The tongue and grove along the gap are aligned but still leave an 1/8" or so space. The bolts have a shoulder so there is no way I can see to adjust the covers. Any thoughts???
 
In the shop manual, there is a specific order for putting those bolts in, but even that doesn't always work. Unfortunately, I do not have my shop manual with me at this time, so I can't give you the sequence.

Here is a trick I worked out in the past (and I'm sort of embarrassed that I had to resort to this.)

Insert two flat blade screwdrivers into the exhaust ports. Then wrap a ratchet strap around the engine. The screwdrivers keep the ratchet strap from slipping down the curved back of the engine. Be sure the have a towel or other protection where the ratchet actually sets against the cowling.

Tighten the ratchet until the split is closed and tight. Then use a heat gun to heat the area all up and down the split, out 6 to 8 inches on each side. Run a thin bead of silicone down the split. Let it sit overnight, or as long as you can. If you can let the engine sit out in the sun for a day or two, that is even better.
 
chawk_man

Thanks for the reply, I have the sequence which really didn't get the job done, I just needed someone to tell me the "rest of the the story" and give me the confidence to try it.
Thanks
Andy
 
You might want to first just loosen all of the bolts a bit, then apply the ratchet strap to make everything line up, then tighten it back down. That alone could solve the problem. If it doesn't, pull out the heat gun.
 
aristakat, the weather in NJ is pretty crummy for the next week or so, but I will post results after I give it a try, however chalk_man is normally right on the money with his advice.
 
Just finished and the results were OK. First tried the straps (2 outboards) and tightening in the proper sequence and that didn't get it done. Put the straps back on and hit cowlings with a heat gun for about 8 minutes each and left the straps on the rest of the afternoon and night. The next day when I released the straps both outboards were acceptable, but not great. The split at the joint, that I could originally insert a credit card into the engine compartment was gone on both engines. Although the tongues are in the groves, they are not in by much, however, I don't feel the need for a bead of silicone. I plan on repeating this process in the summer when it's much warmer and I expect much better results. Our days in NJ have been in the 50's and the nights in the mid 30's. I did put a 1" by 1'" block of wood over the split and under the strap to get a better closure at the joint. Thanks Chalk_man
 
Glad it worked for you. Well, at least partially. That cowling is a real PITA. In about a month or so, I will be pulling another 100 hour maintenance on my engine. At that point, I'm going to consider installing a SS spring latch (or two) between the two halves. Honda should have done that in the first place.
 
I also have to resort to the bead of silicon trick.

chawk_man said:
In the shop manual, there is a specific order for putting those bolts in, but even that doesn't always work. Unfortunately, I do not have my shop manual with me at this time, so I can't give you the sequence.

Here is a trick I worked out in the past (and I'm sort of embarrassed that I had to resort to this.)

Insert two flat blade screwdrivers into the exhaust ports. Then wrap a ratchet strap around the engine. The screwdrivers keep the ratchet strap from slipping down the curved back of the engine. Be sure the have a towel or other protection where the ratchet actually sets against the cowling.

Tighten the ratchet until the split is closed and tight. Then use a heat gun to heat the area all up and down the split, out 6 to 8 inches on each side. Run a thin bead of silicone down the split. Let it sit overnight, or as long as you can. If you can let the engine sit out in the sun for a day or two, that is even better.
Click to expand...
 
Back
Top