ringoluther
Recruit
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2009
- Messages
- 1
Hi everyone!
I want to start by apologizing for this long message but I want to give all the information I feel is important as I am confident that one of you wise boaters can help me with my problem.
My boat has a 2005 Honda BF 90 (carbed). It only has about 105 hours on it and has always run flawlessly and was maintained properly. I was forced to store the boat for about 18 months in the Dallas, TX area (ethanol has become a normal additive at all stations). Before putting the boat away I took all the precautions that I knew to take. I treated the fuel and topped off the tank. I ran the engine on muffs and pulled the fuel supply until it died. I then drained each carb to make sure I removed as much fuel as possible from the motor itself. Lastly I pulled the plugs and fogged the cylinders.
A couple of months ago I was finally able to put the boat back in the water for the first time. The first thing I noticed was the fuel primer bulb took many more pumps than usual to firm up and never really got as firm as I thought it should have. The boat started right up, I idled it high for a few moments to warm it up and then backed it off the trailer pretty normally. It died a few times idleing in the no wake zone but always started right back up. When I tried to throttle up for the first time in gear, it wouldn't rev past 3000 rpm and often not past 2000. It would out of gear with no load but not in gear and was even worse when trying to put it back on the trailer. If I tried, it would start to die until I backed the throttle down. One thing I noticed was the primer bulb getting soft with the motor running and pumping it seems to help get the rpm's up a bit. To me, it seemed like fuel starvation problem somewhere between the motor and the fuel tank. Bascially, the soft primer bulb led me to believe the motor was using the fuel faster than the fuel pumps could refill the carb bowls.
The first thing I did was drain all the fuel from the carbs (all 4 were full), the tank, added fresh fuel treated with Seafoam, replaced the fuel filter, inspected the fuel line and the check valve in the primer bulb. I even removed the check valve in the fuel pick-up tube as it seemed to be sticking a bit. When I tried it the next time, it did seem to get a little better the more I ran it and a few times even teased me as though it was going to take off as it should only to start bogging down again. One thing I haven't done is replace the fuel fitting that connects the fuel line to the motor.
Obviously, this has something to do with the long storage but I'm having trouble believing it's a "bad" fuel issue or a related carb issue since they were completely drained. I also used the fuel that I removed from the tank in my truck with no problems and I stored some lawn equipment in a similar fashion and they are working perfectly.
I'm really hoping someone out there is familiar with the 2005 and earlier Honda motors and can help me diagnose this problem.
I really appreciate any wisdom or advice someone might have.
Thanks!
I want to start by apologizing for this long message but I want to give all the information I feel is important as I am confident that one of you wise boaters can help me with my problem.
My boat has a 2005 Honda BF 90 (carbed). It only has about 105 hours on it and has always run flawlessly and was maintained properly. I was forced to store the boat for about 18 months in the Dallas, TX area (ethanol has become a normal additive at all stations). Before putting the boat away I took all the precautions that I knew to take. I treated the fuel and topped off the tank. I ran the engine on muffs and pulled the fuel supply until it died. I then drained each carb to make sure I removed as much fuel as possible from the motor itself. Lastly I pulled the plugs and fogged the cylinders.
A couple of months ago I was finally able to put the boat back in the water for the first time. The first thing I noticed was the fuel primer bulb took many more pumps than usual to firm up and never really got as firm as I thought it should have. The boat started right up, I idled it high for a few moments to warm it up and then backed it off the trailer pretty normally. It died a few times idleing in the no wake zone but always started right back up. When I tried to throttle up for the first time in gear, it wouldn't rev past 3000 rpm and often not past 2000. It would out of gear with no load but not in gear and was even worse when trying to put it back on the trailer. If I tried, it would start to die until I backed the throttle down. One thing I noticed was the primer bulb getting soft with the motor running and pumping it seems to help get the rpm's up a bit. To me, it seemed like fuel starvation problem somewhere between the motor and the fuel tank. Bascially, the soft primer bulb led me to believe the motor was using the fuel faster than the fuel pumps could refill the carb bowls.
The first thing I did was drain all the fuel from the carbs (all 4 were full), the tank, added fresh fuel treated with Seafoam, replaced the fuel filter, inspected the fuel line and the check valve in the primer bulb. I even removed the check valve in the fuel pick-up tube as it seemed to be sticking a bit. When I tried it the next time, it did seem to get a little better the more I ran it and a few times even teased me as though it was going to take off as it should only to start bogging down again. One thing I haven't done is replace the fuel fitting that connects the fuel line to the motor.
Obviously, this has something to do with the long storage but I'm having trouble believing it's a "bad" fuel issue or a related carb issue since they were completely drained. I also used the fuel that I removed from the tank in my truck with no problems and I stored some lawn equipment in a similar fashion and they are working perfectly.
I'm really hoping someone out there is familiar with the 2005 and earlier Honda motors and can help me diagnose this problem.
I really appreciate any wisdom or advice someone might have.
Thanks!
