Honda 4 stroke frustration

tommays · Jun 2, 2009

Its is a combo of EPA regs that make for much leaner running motors with TINY jets and E-10 gas that has a real short life

Running them out of gas is NOT good as it leaves a lot of fuel in carb to dry up ,most motors like my Tohatsu have a drain screw that allows the carb bowl to be COMPLEATLY drained

Sailm8 · Jun 2, 2009

I have the 2 hp and hate it. If you don't have a need to run it at least once a week it will not start. My solution, a second carb. I keep it soaking in cleaner and swap it out before I plan to use the motor. This was the best 50 bucks I spent on this motor. Only 2 bolts and the fuel line and throtle linkage to unhook and replace. Takes about 10 minutes. I put the old one in the soaker and put in the new.

I still plan to sell the motor since a Nissan 2 stroke came with my dingy and starts everytime.

Tom Monroe · Jun 2, 2009

My Honda 9.9 4-stroke is a 2000 model. When it's running, it's a great motor. Quiet, efficient, powerful. To keep it running, you just have to develop a fetish about your fuel and tanks. I don't use fuel that's more than a few weeks old. (The stuff that gets a few weeks old works great in my lawn tractor.) I put a good, high capacity in-line fuel filter on the supply hose to supplement the one on the motor. I thoroughly clean the tanks inside and out every year.

I've also found that just running the thing for 5 minutes getting in and out isn't good. If you open it up and leave it run at full or 3/4 throttle for 15 minutes or so, it seems to clean everything out. Gasoline motors in general do not tolerate a light duty cycle very well.

None of this is a panacea. I've still had to have the carb overhauled twice in the past five years. I'm taking a class this summer to learn how to do that myself.

Tom

timvg · Jun 2, 2009

I have 2 horse Honda for our dinghy that was purchased in 2001. It doesn't like old fuel, but as long as the fuel is a couple of months old or less, it always starts for us. Since the fuel tank of my 2hp is small, I figure I'm not using the boat enough if the fuel gets old.

When I return from a boat trip, I always poor the leftover fuel from my 1 gallon containers into my car. That way, I am always putting fresh fuel into the outboard.

Stu Jackson · Jun 2, 2009

Try the C25 Association website

http://www.catalina-capri-25s.org/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=2

These guys are experts on outboards.

oldiesrocker2001 · Jun 2, 2009

I had much the same problem with my 4stroke Merc. I use fuel Stabil but haven't yet put in a second filter "outboard" of the outboard as I had planned for this year. My fuel tank is a 6-gallon remote even though it's for a small motor that I fill in the beginning of the season(for me that's May) and empty at the end into my tow vehicle. I also found that if i travelled and placed the motor on it's side properly I still had to be careful that the carb didn't flood by tipping the lower end too high when coming out of the van(cost me hours of head-scratching-"getting fuel;getting spark - what's wrong?). With the ethanol level used today you do have to be fanatical about your carbs and tanks. I keep my tank empty in the off season and open the vents a couple of days before first season use to make sure the inside stayed dry. Since my new knee will probably prevent me from sailing this entire season i'll have to drag the motor out and run it near the end of the season and hope for a smooth next season.

Gail R · Jun 2, 2009

The Honda 4-stroke 2 HP is a total POS

comfortzone said:
I bought a small new Honda 4 stroke from my marina about 5 years ago and I've had varying degrees of problems every year.

Welcome to our world!

The marina staff, and they sell only Honda's, say just about anything can foul the carburetor on the 4 strokes; dust, bad gas, water, spiders (they've used all of these excuses).

Sounds about right. Our carb is fouled again just minutes after having been cleaned out for the umpteenth time. The (%)$#@! thing nearly got tossed overboard.

Are 4 strokes really this unreliable?

Yes, the small Hondas are indeed that unreliable.

Did I get a lemon?

Sounds like it, about 80 percent of the small Hondas are lemons.

Are there special precautions or maintenance I should be doing? Thanks!

I don't know if there is any amount of PM that can be done to make these POS motors reliable.

I have way too many stories about problems we've had with our Honda 2HP. Parts on it starting rusting out within a month of purchase. The exhaust system needed to be retrofitted less than a year later. Spark plugs for the things are nearly impossible to find and insanely expensive. The thing leaks oil all over the place, even when it is stored according to instructions.

Along with being unreliable, they are LOUD!!!

Last straw was this spring, when the carb was fouled, cleaned, then fouled again after only minutes in operation. We took the $(#)@! off and put our old reliable Mariner 2-stroke back on.

I don't know how small yours is, but the 2 HP is nothing but trouble. We had a 10-horse Honda (older 4 stroke) that was reasonably trouble-free. But the little ones? Never again. Ever.

This, from someone who loves her Honda Civic!

Edited to add: I trust our 31-year-old Atomic 4 way more than I trust that Honda.

mcaswell · Jun 2, 2009

Wow, a 2hp Honda was on my wishlist... glad I saw this thread. Our current 5 year old 3.5hp Johnson (2-stroke) runs fine, but I was thinking that it would be nice to have a 4-stroke, so I could just use fuel from the same container as the generator instead of having to carry a separate small container for the gas/oil mix. But, weight is important (the Johnson only weighs 30 pounds), so the Honda 2hp seemed like just what I was looking for. Guess I'll stick with my 2-stroke!

--Michael

timvg · Jun 2, 2009

And to add to my previous reply, yes I have had to have my carb cleaned out several times. My 2hp outboard only got reliable once I started religiously using only new fuel.

Ross · Jun 2, 2009

This thread is a complete surprize to me because Honda land based engines are among the best. The little generator engines can sit for months as can the engines on small construction tools.

Napa Ed · Jun 2, 2009

"Our carb is fouled again just minutes after having been cleaned out "

That's not the fault of the motor.

Clean you tank, jerry can whatever and fill the OB tank using a filter. If you want to run gummy gas with water and particulate, get a 2 stroke.

Taylor · Jun 2, 2009

Water cooled / Through-the-prop exhaust

Gail R said:
Along with being unreliable, they are LOUD!!!

The 2HP Honda four stroke is air cooled and does not exhaust through the prop, and in my limited experience it is a loud engine. That's a deal breaker for me. The Tohatsu range is all water cooled, and from 4HP up is through the prop exhaust.

Disclaimer: My dinghy relies on 8 1/2 foot spoon blade oars. For longer distances we use a kayak.

tommays · Jun 2, 2009

Every modern outboard has the same issue

Way back when you had and adjustable high and low speed carb jet right on the front of the motor with enough movement to pass allmost anything and then adjust it again

NOW there all tiny fixed sizes even gas inboards have a seal on the factory idle mixture Adjustment that you have to destroy to move it the 1/4 needed to run correctly

Gail R · Jun 2, 2009

Napa Ed said:
"Our carb is fouled again just minutes after having been cleaned out "

That's not the fault of the motor.

Clean you tank, jerry can whatever and fill the OB tank using a filter. If you want to run gummy gas with water and particulate, get a 2 stroke.

Think again. The skipper is meticulous about stuff like that. The engine is a POS. I's offer to sell it to you, but I wish to maintain my integrity.

larryw · Jun 2, 2009

Lot of opinions here. Comfortzone, you probably have a stuck float. Run some carb cleaner thru it, if that doesn't work, tap the side of the carb with a screwdriver handle. I had a 2 hp Honda for a few years, never had a problem with it, and a 7.5 hp Honda, same thing. I have a Honda generator now. Jetting is an issue; my bike needed a re-jet after pipe and airbox upgrades and the plug over the mixture screw had to be drilled out.

kloudie1 · Jun 2, 2009

That is a shame but I have a couple of buddies who know about engines and they have the same problems with the 2 HP.. I had a 1978 Honda 7.5 HP that was really a fine engine.. It was the engine for a 23 foot “Spirit” sailboat and got quite a bit of use. The engine stayed on the boat bracket and the boat was in a slip year round, so it wasn’t stored inside. It failed to start only twice in the 12 years I owned it. Once was when a bug made a nest in the carb bowl vent line and caused flooding; the other was when the little micarta cam follower on the points wore enough to not let the points open correctly. Of course, gasoline is VERY different today compared to what it is today. I religiously used the carb bowl drain when I left the boat, and never had a problem with the carb being fouled. The engine got a tune-up every spring

Benny · Jun 2, 2009

Don't choke when they ram an electric outboard down your throat.

sailingdog · Jun 2, 2009

I've had excellent luck with my Honda outboard, but it is a larger one, 20 HP, and the auxiliary for my boat. For my dinghy, I use a 3.5 HP Tohatsu, which has been pretty bulletproof.