1997 johnson 40hp tilt/trim

[mauryc]

Folks,

Wondering if you could help me diagnose a problem. On the above referenced motor, I had a leaking top seal on my trim unit. I removed the unit and replaced the top seal and assorted seals on the hyd. ram - see below:


I also replaced the electric motor as the brushes were sticking.

I have zero leaks and the unit does not leak down (slowly lower over time). The trim works perfect going down but recently has begun to struggle going up. It's also much louder on the upswing also like the pump is starving (just a guess). I'm thinking it's something on the pump side. If I go up and down quickly, I get much better response going up, at least for three or four seconds. On the above diagram, which of the parts on the pump side would/could cause this problem? I assume the answer will be "just replace every seal", and that's ok, but there are ather things (valves, etc.) on the pump side that I don't really know what they do. Any insight on those would be helpful. BTW, I repainted with 03' emblems if anyone notices.......

Thanks in advance,
Maury

 

[RRitt]

Re: 1997 johnson 40hp tilt/trim

keep a plastic bottle with pointed tip. fill the reservoir to bottom of filler hole with system fully raised. Personally, I actually overfill the reservoir and then let it dribble out into a cup. Do not overfill the reservoir because you can split something with internal pressure when the system is lowered. Cycle the system 2-3 times and wait 10 minutes for any air bubbles to float up out of gears. check fluid level again and top off as required.

If directional problems remain then it is either the motor, the positive feed into blue relay, or the check valves. The J/E single ram can be finicky about changing directions if the check valves are imbalanced. More likely it would be the motor or a faulty connection though.

 

[mauryc]

Re: 1997 johnson 40hp tilt/trim

Thanks RRitt. Electric motor is brand new. Fluid is filled to specs. Swapping relays doesn't help. Can you provide more info on "imbalanced check valves"? I'm drawing a blank..........

 

[RRitt]

Re: 1997 johnson 40hp tilt/trim

The check valves prevent fluid from getting out of ram and back into reservoir. One check valve should be closed and the other open in order for the piston to move. if the check valves seal too loosely or too tightly then the shuttle actuator does not reliably open the drain valve and the system gets stuck trying to change direction.

but you never messed with the internals of the system so there is no reason for sudden change. It is more likely a corroded connection in the relay box. One of the relays has a green wire and one of them has a blue wire. Both of them have a fat red wire providing high amp 12V. the most likely cause of your problem is the fat red wire feeding into the relay connector with a blue output.