Honda 2009 Engine Bug

Just received a bill from my mariner regarding repair of engine. They tell me while boat/engine was hosted up in boat house, dirt dobbers/insects entered engine causing it to jump timing and bend all valves. ??? Do not know what to say. Anyone have any advise before I pay them 2600. for the repair?
Does not make sense on two fronts. 1. how would bugs get to timing chain/belt if engine is not disassembled. 2. Honda boat engine intended for use while fishing and on a lake with bugs having such a problem. Has Honda got a design problem?

Re: Honda 2009 Engine Bugs, Really Bug Problems!

Re: Honda 2009 Engine Bugs, Really Bug Problems!

pyzonusa said:

just received a bill from my mariner regarding repair of engine. They tell me while boat/engine was hosted up in boat house, dirt dobbers/insects entered engine causing it to jump timing and bend all valves. ??? Do not know what to say. Anyone have any advise before i pay them 2600. For the repair?
Does not make sense on two fronts. 1. How would bugs get to timing chain/belt if engine is not disassembled. 2. Honda boat engine intended for use while fishing and on a lake with bugs having such a problem. Has honda got a design problem?

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help, please

Re: Honda 2009 Engine Bug

They have a responsibility to you to justify the charges. Did you request an estimate before you authorized work to be done, or maybe give them a limit? Your mariner?

Re: Honda 2009 Engine Bug

did not give authorization of any type or know the repair was in progress till i called and was told engine was at machine shop. this was three weeks after the boat was picked up by mariner personnel.

just got back from viewing the engine with dirt dobber infestation. told and showed dirt dobbers entered through intakes on cover, entered the cover over the timing belt, which has several open accesses, built dirt nest on timing gear where belt rides. this seems as though it could happen, maybe. told once the nest where built on where the timing belt and timing gear meet it caused the timing belt to jump sever gear, over four, when the engine was attempted to start.

also told marina mechanic called honda marine corp, in alpharetta, ga and talked with Peter Gonzalez who told him to check if dirt dobbers were present and honda knew the issue. also said honda would not pay for repairs. design flaw if i have ever seen one.

any ideas

Re: Honda 2009 Engine Bug

reference above message. infestation was 4 or 5 dirt dobbers

Re: Honda 2009 Engine Bug

Any time you lose the timing belt on any interference-fit motor (including cars), you risk bending valves, etc. Not specific to Honda in any way. Certainly no way Honda could possibly consider it a warranty issue.

Re: Honda 2009 Engine Bug

pvanv said:

Any time you lose the timing belt on any interference-fit motor (including cars), you risk bending valves, etc. Not specific to Honda in any way. Certainly no way Honda could possibly consider it a warranty issue.

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Thanks Paul. Honda marine engines are designed to be used in a lake/water environment. Bugs and water/fishing are everyday part of the environment. Looking at the engine the air intake on the cover has a direct intake unobstructed vent to housing of timing belt and gear. No screen or filter. We checked new engines at dealer and this is also the case. Can dirt left by these bugs cause the timing belt at the timing gear to jump timing. If so does this situation where dirt can result in jump timing point to Honda having a design flaw? If so then the current designed Honda engines cannot be used near a lake or lifted in a boat house without possibility of damaging engine as a result of bugs infiltrating the engines timing housing. Please give me your experience and advise. I know very little of this and currently trying to get knowledgeable in this area.

Re: Honda 2009 Engine Bug

AFAIK, all belt-driven cams have this characteristic of being open to the atmosphere; It's not just Honda. For example, the Tohatsu/Nissan/Mercury 4-strokes of 8 hp up to 30 hp are gear-belt driven cams. Likewise, the TLDI motors have a belt-driven compressor that has an exposed belt. The "Achilles heel" in your case is that your motor is interference-fit, and any time the motor is cranked without the cam turning, you risk the valves colliding with the pistons.

I remember having a car that would not start, back in the 1980's. Seemed like a dead battery. Just a click, and no cranking of the flywheel. After all, the car was sitting for a few weeks, so it was plausible that the old battery might have failed. Wasn't a bad battery. Also wasn't anything electrically wrong with the starter or solenoid, and the motor was not seized. In fact, squirrels had stuffed nuts into the bellhousing of the clutch/flywheel. That wasn't Opel's or GM's fault. It was nature. The car was intended to be used outdoors, of course. But sitting for a few weeks was all it took. Similar to your situation. Unfortunate and frustrating, yet it just shows nature at work.

I have also had a mainsail chewed through by mice. I'm sure they got no nutritional value from the dacron cloth, and the very dry cellar was not known to be a haven for rodents. Yet, over a winter's storage, they managed to chew a hole in it. Nature again. If I had been able to catch that mouse, I sure would have sent him to meet his maker... But I could not fault North Sails for a design defect.