1997 75hp Mercury OutBoard broken trim...cant lift motor

[melalewine]

how do you release the hydrallic thing....Im not boat mechanic by no means ...woman on her own.....HELP HELP need to take to shop...nned to lift motor

[RRitt]

There is a nylon release valve. It is usually white but sometimes black. It is on the right side of trim system, under the electric motor. Turn it counterclockwise three turns and your trim system should release. The flat edge of a thick metal ruler usually works better than a screwdriver.

If your engine is up now then be careful that it does not slam down and break your arm. If your engine is down then you and a friend can lift it up manually and jam a trim stop or piece of wood up under engine to hold it.

The system is held in place with an upper and lower shaft. If you remove these two shafts (and unplug the wires) then the trim system will fall off of your boat. If you can take trim system off engine by yourself then you can either buy new a motor ($160ish) yourself or send it off for hydraulic rebuild ($230ish). The motor is an easy job but sometimes makes an oily mess. It is really hard to service a mercury trim system without having it take a huge pee all over your workbench.

I think most parts with certified dealers will be listed as NLA (No Longer Available) and you may be forced to buy large blocks of new parts ($700ish) to accomplish a certified Mercury repair. feEbay is a great place to hunt for NLA parts and services.