hydrolic motor trim stuck

I just bought a 1978 century boat with a 351 windsor omc setup....
well this boat has the trim that moves the whole motor and trims the drive up and down..... last week i went to trim it and it trimmed up then just stopped??? the motor is working but the trim is not? im not sure if it out of fluid or what to do i never had this kind of set up on a boat.... please help!!

Re: hydrolic motor trim stuck

Im SO not completly sure about that set up but I have a few ideas.

Check fluid level to be sure your not low or out of fluid.

There may be air in the system. Id suggest bleeding the fluid to be sure there is no air in the system. How to go about that I havent got a clue. I just wounder how handy you are and if you look the boat over you may be able to find the oil lines and can see how they are attached to the trim system. If you can dissconnect them at the trim system you can run the pump till oil bleeds out of the lines to insure there is no air in them.

Hope that helps some. I know there will be some experts on here real soon.

Re: hydrolic motor trim stuck

If you hit the switch and it does nothing then its probably the solenoid. Most of the time it will just click. If the trim motor is running but the motor is not lowering or raising, then it is probably low on fluid. There are two solenoids, one for up and one for down. Could be the solenoid is bad but more than likely just a bad connection. Take the nuts off, clean the posts and reinstall. If you are low on fluid the trim will still work but it may not come all the way up or go all the way down. The system is self priming and bleeding, just add fluid, run it up and then down, then add more fluid. Keep doing it until the reservoir (on the bottom of the trim motor) won't take any more and runs out. I'm pretty sure you have the select trim similar to mine. I have the Chevy, I think they are the same. Although some fords came with a jack screw set up but that wasn't hydraulic.