trim motor oil in mercruiser 3.0

dlogvine

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I was on the lake today and at first could not drop down my outdrive, noticed that trim motor was buzzing but nothing happened, so i looked at the trim motor oil container and it was almost emptyx first im not 100% sure as to what kind of liquid/oil does it use, common sense says should be something similar to the dot 3 break fluid, but again im not sure. Anyways since i had only 1/2 a pint of car 10w30 oil and needed the outdrive down, i poured about a pint of this oil. The trim worked and lowered the drive and then lifted it , but im still very suspicious at this substitute. So my questions are: what could ive damaged, what should i do with the wrong? oil and what should i replace it with? Thx
 

alldodge

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I was on the lake today and at first could not drop down my outdrive, noticed that trim motor was buzzing but nothing happened, so i looked at the trim motor oil container and it was almost emptyx first im not 100% sure as to what kind of liquid/oil does it use, common sense says should be something similar to the dot 3 break fluid, but again im not sure. Anyways since i had only 1/2 a pint of car 10w30 oil and needed the outdrive down, i poured about a pint of this oil. The trim worked and lowered the drive and then lifted it , but im still very suspicious at this substitute. So my questions are: what could ive damaged, what should i do with the wrong? oil and what should i replace it with? Thx

You used the right stuff, 10w30 is what you should use. Sure glad you didn't put brake fluid in it.
 

Chris1956

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Mar 25, 2004
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Brake fluid is not the right stuff for sure, but I thought those MerCruiser units used Dextron II Auto Trans Fluid. You should double check and top it off with the right stuff. 10W30 is not real bad for the unit, just a bit thick in viscosity.
 

alldodge

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Dextron is used in power steering, Merc trim fluid or 10w30 or 40 in trim pump. (From Oildyne manual)
1trim.jpg
 

airshot

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Jul 22, 2008
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Mine states 10w-30 or 10w-40 motor oil right on the top of the pump..
 

dlogvine

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May 4, 2015
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Thx, guess i was double lucky, had the right oil and used it. I will have to check where does this oil leak from.
 

Faztbullet

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Mar 2, 2008
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15,589
but I thought those MerCruiser units used Dextron II Auto Trans Fluid
All Mercury and Mercruiser power trims that are remote mounted with hoses use motor oil, the only ones that use ATV are the self contained outboard units...
 

dlogvine

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May 4, 2015
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832
Now Ive got a hard question, my engine is mercruiser 3.0L serial number 0C860967, Im trying to figure out what is the serial number for the trim motor oil container. Looked at mercruiser web site but in their catalog trim components are missing, unless I should look for the parts to the outdrive. Thx
 
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