2hp Honda outboard restoration in photos

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steve66

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Hi. A few weeks ago I bought a 2hp Honda Outboard off a fellow forumite. I thought the engine would be perfect for a step by step repair/restoration guide. Hope you may find it intetesting20171222_122802.jpg20171222_122827.jpg
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The engine was showing signs of storage but overall first impressions were promising
 
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Corrosion on the fasteners was fairly good for this age. From 1998 to 2000 Honda used zinc plated fasteners and tend to survive slightly better in a saltwater environment as was the case with this engine. Later models use untreated mild steel and usually corrode with just the mention of seawater.
 
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Powerhead removed fairly easily. As can be seen extensive corrosion to the rocker cover and air guide. Corrosion to rocker covers are a common issue .If you find you are getting oil leaks the majority of the time its caused by this.
 
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Also once the powerhead had been removed from the clutch assembly ,it became apparent that the clutch unit had been immersed at some time in its life as seen by the rust on the clutch bell. Usually the clutch bearing seizes and you lose drive to the propeller. This unit wasnt seized but the bearing was rough so was replaced. As shown on previous photos the actual clutch shoes were in good usable condition and just needed to be cleaned. In usual day to day running clutch shoes usually last the lifetime of the engine.
 
That's good timing, just picked up a 2007 version of one of these. Already done the stainless steel bolt conversion from e bay and given it a good clean but that rocker cover looks bad dire.

Pete
 
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I thought I was doing very well do far...no sheared bolts. Unfortunately even with copious amounts of heat, patience and penetrating oil you will end up snapping some. This is what happened with the rocker bolts. Fortunately these are not too bad to drill out. I tend to start with a 2 mm cobalt drill in a drill press and work my way up size wise until I can retap. A tip whilst doing this is to leave the rocker cover in situ whilst you are drilling to avoid contamination of swarf into the engine internals
Once tapped and swarf cleaned away remove the old rocker and reset the valve clearences. This is very important with this model as it doesn't have any actual valve seats. This is part of servicing but due to the work involved is usually overlooked. I set inlet and exhaust to 0.15mm. The other photo is showing a new rocker cover and stainless bolts fitted also a used good condition air guide
 
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Now its time to tackle the carburettor. These are tempremental at the best of times. On a carburettor of this age until you take the bowl off you don't really know if its worth saving. The cast pick up tube that the float bowl bolt has a habit of corroding the carb body due to dissimilar metals. Fortunately this one was ok. Another issue is seized jets. This had a seized main jet and idle mixture screw. With a little patience, gentle heat and penetrating fluid the idle screw came out easily. Unfortunately the main jet was a different matter. I had to drill it retap and clean. Whilst disassembled I fitted a new emulsion tube, main jet, pilot jet, o ring and float bowl.
 
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Clutch unit and powerhead reattached with stainless bolts. I replaced the engine cowl with a new one to smarten up the appearence. Fitted a new plug and replaced engine and gear oil. I also fitted a new safety lanyard and gave it a once over before a test run.
 
Hi Pete. Fitting stainless makes jobs like this so much easier. If your concerned about corrosion around the rocker you can coat the underside of the rocker with spray grease through the air vents inside the recess of the handle at the front of the engine
 
Strewth, you'd think a Honda would have bettter construction standards.......I had been thinking about buying a 2.3 for our tender but after seeing the issues you've had, no way!! Clever work by the way, I've never really got the measure of drilling out studs, it usually goes VERY wrong......
 
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