Honda BF-40A Maintenance Requirements

[FormerLeftCoastCamper]

We recently purchased a 13 foot Boston Whaler with a Honda BF-40A Honda Outboard. The outboard is about 10 years old. The motor appears well cared for and runs out well.

The steering is stiff. I have a Teleflex 10 foot No Feedback steering cable and helm assembly on order.

I have a couple of questions about the maint required on the outboard.

1. The maintenance interval for the oil is 100 hours for a change and 200 hours for oil and filter. This seems very frequent. Is this correct?

2. Most other maintenance is 200 hours, spark plugs, lower unit, filter etc. This also seems very frequent. Is this correct?

3. I could not find a recommended maintenance interval for the timing belt. Does the timing belt need to be replaced regularly?

4. Most important question; Is the engine in the 40 hp Honda an interference engine? Will the pistons hit the valves if the timing belt breaks and the valves get out of time with the pistons? I know most if not all Honda car engines are this way.

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Regards,

FormerLeftCoastCamper

 

[psteurer]

Re: Honda BF-40A Maintenance Requirements

Your post does not say if you have an owners manual. If you do not, you can download one from here for free based up the motor's serial number: http://www.honda-marine.com/owners/OwnerManuals/OM.aspx?modelGroup=BF40

The maintenance schedule you outline below is correct with the exception of the lower unit oil. I think it is every hundred hours (not the 200 hours you cite below). Let's look at this 100 hours in a little more depth. Say your average speed for your boat is 30 mph. That means in 100 hours you would have traveled 3000 miles. Also, remember that unlike a car, you are probably cruising at 4000-5000 rpms compared to maybe 2500 rpms. If you look at this analogy, 100 hours is not too frequent. It might even be too infrequent. I would recommend you change your filter with every oil change. The spark plugs might be a different story. You can probably go more than 200 hours on them.

I hope someone else can add some information on the timing belt. The regular service interval for the belt is to have it inspected I think every 100 hours. No mention of replacing it. I would like to know also if the valves get crushed by the pistons if the timing belt breaks. The timing belt on the 40/50 hp Honda's are easy to inspect and I presume replace. They are right under the plastic top that protects the flywheel.