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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Estimating hours on an outboard - maintenance

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T O P I C R E V I E W
Voyager	Posted - 04/08/2020 : 19:29:52 I�ve been running the Honda 8 since 2006 whilst replacing impellers, water pump housing, thermostat, bottom unit grease and do oil changes. I grease the grease fittings occasionally and lubricate the engine mount. I have no idea how many hours are on the motor now since I never recorded each trip out and back into the bay, day trips to the next harbor over, overnight trips and long weekend trips. I worry about the crank bearings, the long shaft bearings and the bottom unit bearings. The engine exhibits a fair amount of vibration, but it hasn�t changed appreciably over the life of the engine. I guess I could just take the engine apart and check the slack in the bearings. Anybody know how I can estimate the engine hours?
6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
Voyager	Posted - 04/10/2020 : 05:56:57 Thanks Scott for your hours estimate. Normal weeks I might do three trips out to the harbor and it might be more like 1.5 hours so 4.5 hours per week or about 100 hours for that. I�ll take maybe 10 day sails a season and run the engine about 3 hours against tide or wind so another 30 there. And I may do 2-3 overnights and could run the engine another 6 hours for each so maybe 20 more. So 150 per season times 13 years or about 2000 hours. That definitely makes sense.
Voyager	Posted - 04/10/2020 : 05:45:20 Luckily a very smart man purchased the Honda technical manuals for my engine way back in the day. This one does have a mid-shaft bearing. The last time I dropped the bottom unit I checked for play in the shaft, wiggling and working the shaft several different directions. It was quite tight then. As Scott suggests, there are lots of other things to worry about. And when the grim reaper comes for the Honda,well it�s GAME OVER - call TowBoatUS. As Gerry advises, it might not be a bad time to get a professional checkup. Twin Hull Boats in Bridgeport are a Honda Parts & Service shop. Hitchcock Marine in Stratford are good too. I might check their Yelp ratings...
Stinkpotter	Posted - 04/09/2020 : 21:37:01 If by chance your little 25" Honda has a mid-shaft bushing as my 25" Honda 225 does, that could be due. I have mine changed about every three years--it's a potential trouble spot. (But it's a rather different machine.) Your main (crankshaft) bearings should last for several thousand hours if the lubrication is sound, and the lower unit bearings should be fine as long as the lower unit oil isn't contaminated by too much salt water. (Always replace the seals on the fill and vent caps.) The motor will shake a little at idle speed in neutral--it's just a 2-cylinder 4-cycle, so half the bangs per revolution of an old 2-cylinder "smoker". When a little throttle smooths it out, it's a good sign. (I, on the other hand, have to be careful not to inadvertently leave my V6 Honda idling when I leave the boat. )
glivs	Posted - 04/09/2020 : 17:26:59 I do not hesitate to do the normal maintenance tasks but am a firm believer in having a qualified professional service my outboard every few years. They can see things I don't know enough to even look for which, for me, makes the investment worthwhile.
islander	Posted - 04/09/2020 : 12:44:04 Best you could do to get a rough estimate would be to come up with a guess as to how many hours per week you do. For instance if you use the boat say 2 times per week and use the engine say 1 hour per trip then its 2 hours per week. Multiply that times say 24 weeks (6months) and you are averaging 48 hrs per season/year. Obviously change the numbers to fit your boating style but its just an estimate. quote: I worry about the crank bearings, the long shaft bearings and the bottom unit bearings I hope this isn't keeping you up at night If it isn't burning oil or making strange knocking noises and the fluids all look normal and it starts up good then it doesn't sound like its ready for the junk pile just yet. There's worse things in life to worry about. If man made it then eventually it will break. Unfortunately we don't have a crystal ball that tells us in advance when that will happen.
Stinkpotter	Posted - 04/09/2020 : 06:09:46 The motor was new in the beginning of 2002, and I'm very roughly guessing I put 40-60 hours on it between then and selling Passage in 2006. (Are you sure your first year wasn't 2007, after buying her from Bill _______?)

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.