2003 Honda 20hp Died And Won't Pull

[scrampbell]

Hi All,

Motor was running well cruising at about 80% throttle when suddenly it was as if I slowly throttled down to 25%. I took it down to idle and tried to throttle back up just to see what it would do. It didn't do anything and it died seconds later with two squeeks with the last two turns of the motor. An excessive amount of oil showed up in the water and when I tilted it up, oil dripped out of the cowling. It's a pull start and the pull rope won't budge much at all now.

I haven't had a chance to take off the side casing to get a good look at it, but the bulk of the oil seems to be in the forward starboard part of the engine, below the muffler and forward of the carb.

Anybody have a good idea of what this is?
Is a crack in the cylinder likely and would it result in such a quick result? I've had problems with debris in my fuel, but just replaced the fuel filter (it's on the fuel line). Could a big piece of debris break the o-rings (which would explain the fact that I can't pull it at all)? Would a bad line cause anything that even remotely matches this description (it would explain the oil in the engine compartment)? I believe that there are other pieces of the engine that run off the cylinder (the impeller?) so maybe if one of those things was broken it wouldn't allow the engine to turn... does that make sense?

Thanks a ton for your help and time!

 

[Mas]

Re: 2003 Honda 20hp Died And Won't Pull

I'm thinking the motor seized from loss of oil. Any sign of increased temp before dying?

Remove spark plugs to see how they look.

MAS

 

[hondon]

Re: 2003 Honda 20hp Died And Won't Pull

You have low oil pressure protection built into this engine that limits your power then shuts the engine off but will not prevent you from pulling it over after it stalls.You have similar overheat protection.Pull off the side covers and pull the spark plugs and see if you can then pull this thing over without the kids,dog,inlaws,especially wife,standing behind it.If you can now pull it over look at what is in that liquid now pouring out of at least one of those cylinders and is now on the shop floor 15 feet away.Oily with no beads of water?Check your oil level.It should only be BETWEEN the holes on the dipstick.Beaded up water in there?Take a fuel sample right out of that carb from that pink hose that comes out the back of the float bowl.You drain that bowl by opening the flathead black screw at the front of the floatbowl.Let us know what you find.

 

[scrampbell]

Re: 2003 Honda 20hp Died And Won't Pull

Update/Resolution:

Getting the motor unseized:
First things first, PB B'laster is the best product on the market for getting your seized motor unstuck. After our local certified Honda dealer mechanic said that it was kaput and it wasn't worth the time, we took the advice of a friend and sprayed PB B'laster into the cylinder through the spark plug holes and let it sit for a few hours. We were then able to take off the entire recoil assembly from the top of the motor and break the it free with big wrench.

Diagnosing the cause:
Compression checked okay in both cylinders (125psi in one, about 110 in the other). After staring at the motor for some time, we decided to oil it up, put on the muffs, and give it a crank. It fired on the first pull!

It sounded fine and ran like it used to and our mechanic friend pointed out the slow pee hole action and felt the engine block which was blazing hot after only a couple minutes worth of running. So we shut down the motor, pulled off the lower unit and took out the impeller. The impeller pump was pretty much mangled with one whole "tooth" missing and part of another (the missing tooth would later be found below the impeller pump in what I think is the water intake area).

Parts arrived yesterday so I can't say for sure that this is fixed, but I will update again after replacing the impeller and testing.

Thanks!

 

[scrampbell]

Re: 2003 Honda 20hp Died And Won't Pull

Forgot to mention the bill for fixing this motor that "wasn't worth our time." I know that a 20 hp tiller steer, pull start motor isn't exactly tops on the Dealer's priority list, but their suggestion to "throw the old one away and buy a new one" really got under my skin.

1 hour's fee for the dealer to 1) take out the spark plugs and look at them, 2) check the oil (which had been blown back out the carb when the "event" took place), and 3) verify that it was indeed seized: $75.00 (value: worthless)

1 Can of PB B'laster which unseized the engine: < $10.00 (value: much greater than $10)

1 Pump Kit, Impeller plus shipping: $60.00

 

[scrampbell]

Re: 2003 Honda 20hp Died And Won't Pull

RESULTS OF TEST RUN

Okay, so we took the boat out and it fired up and ran well for about 5 minutes then we noticed a slight knock. Went to idle and throttled up again and knock started to get worse and worse (louder). So we shut it down.

My friend, the owner of the boat, hasn't messed with it since then (because he is convinced that it's going to be a lot of time and money to get it fixed). So we don't even have a diagnosis (he doesn't even want to check the compression).

Can anyone give me your thoughts about what the problem is given the history? A bearing maybe? Could it just be a secondary ignition caused by deposits left from the first overheat and seizure? Thanks a ton for your time!

 

[scrampbell]

Re: 2003 Honda 20hp Died And Won't Pull

-bump-

Can anyone share their thoughts about what's causing the new knock?

 

[scrampbell]

Re: 2003 Honda 20hp Died And Won't Pull

Hey boat motor geniuses. A few years ago, I posted this thread about a 4-stroke honda that overheated and siezed (impeller failed). We got it unsiezed and it ran, but started to make a knock or a tick within a few hundred yards of the boat ramp which got louder and louder...

Well, we finally got it on the workbench today and I've got pictures below. The inside of the cylinders look pretty good to me. The walls look very clean and smooth, with no signs of marking.

The pistion head and the cylinder head look to me like they have a lot of black char looking deposits. Can you give me your opinion? Do we need to take this thing apart further?

Thanks in advance!!!

View attachment 176614View attachment 176615

 

[55evinrude]

Re: 2003 Honda 20hp Died And Won't Pull

Hey boat motor geniuses. A few years ago, I posted this thread about a 4-stroke honda that overheated and siezed (impeller failed). We got it unsiezed and it ran, but started to make a knock or a tick within a few hundred yards of the boat ramp which got louder and louder...

Well, we finally got it on the workbench today and I've got pictures below. The inside of the cylinders look pretty good to me. The walls look very clean and smooth, with no signs of marking.

The pistion head and the cylinder head look to me like they have a lot of black char looking deposits. Can you give me your opinion? Do we need to take this thing apart further?

Thanks in advance!!!

View attachment 176614View attachment 176615

Pictures do no work. but if the motor was knocking it was probably the connecting rod bearings gone. only way to find out is to dig into the motor.

Nathan

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: 2003 Honda 20hp Died And Won't Pull

Lack of propper lubrication, high rpm and water pump failure is a very bad marriage. Strip that engine down to check for worn parts...

Happy Boating