Selectrim not working

[TruckDrivingFool]

On new to me boat the tilt works great but all I get from the trim is clicking, at first I thought it was just the solenoids but closer inspection sounds as though it may be coming from both the electric motor and solenoids.

Is there a manual way run the jackscrew to be sure its free or am I just stuck tearing the entire thing apart to find the problem?

From the motor sticker 79' 120 model# 990243s if there is one on the drive that will help let me know and I'll try to find it.

 

[southkogs]

Hey TDF - that should be a hydromechanical shift Stringer 400 drive. It won't have a number beyond that (that I know of). The model number on the motor is what you want to work with.

No manual way to run the jackscrew on the front: HOWEVER, it's a LOT easier than I would have thought to disconnect the silly thing. On mine, I can very easily slide a scissor jack under the engine, support it up, and unhook the from mounts. I did a belt change last year in less than about 10 minutes.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Easy is good to hear, I guess I'll just have to pull it off and check it out.

Glad you mentioned it perhaps I'll change the belt just because I'm there while it's off.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Guess I should ask,

The jackscrew looks to be well greased and not a sign of rust so is it a fairly safe bet that it's the motor that's bad?

 

[southkogs]

In my experience - the motor is the first to go. It's pretty much like the tilt motor. I would yank that motor and have it checked/rebuilt before I did too much else (especially if you've already checked the solenoids). The jackscrew might be fine with just a little grease.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

How should I check the solenoids? Only thing I've done is listened to them clicking.

 

[southkogs]

I had the dude at the shop test mine ... but I was replacin' 'em anyway. I forget exactly what he said, but it was a typical Ford style solenoid. He recognized 'em from the lift top on his Galaxy Sunliner retractable roof

I replaced all of mine a few years ago when I first got the boat. He told me the one was shot, and I figured I'd just do all of 'em at once.

 

[boobie]

To check a solenoid get two jumper wires and a battery. Energize the solenoid on the small terminals with the jumper wires from the battery until you hear it click. Then take an ohmmeter and measure across the big terminals. You should have 0 resistance. Anything more, the solenoid is bad.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Thanks boobie now I can eliminate them as a problem before I dig into the rest.

 

[micawber13]

You can manually, turn the screw and see if its just jammed . I had mine do that once before I realized not to run it all the way to the bottom. What I did was take two ' 4x4s across both sides to suspend the motor while I screwed the main screw to see if that was the problem. I used a racket strap and pulled it up slightly taking the pressure off it. I disconnected it and turned it by hand with a solid rod, then reconnected it and it worked fine since.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Thanks micawber, I haven't had the time to do any checking on it yet but I'll report back once I do.