'98 Johnson 130 fastrak tilt/trim stuck

Hi all, new to the forums. I've done several searches here to find an answer to my specific problem but had no luck. I just did a complete rebuild on my t&t system and was in the process of bleeding the system when I ran into a problem. After several cycles of running up and down and adding fluid I let the engine completely down. The reservior cap was off and lots of foamy fluid spurted out. When I tried to raise it again it wouldn't go. It's stuck in the totally down position, probably low on fluid now and full of air, and I cannot even manually raise the engine via the manual release valve. I even hooked a ratchet strap to it and tried to lift it with everything I had but it will only move about 1/4". Does anyone have any idea what may be holding this thing? Would REMOVING the manual release valve help? I just need to get the motor raised back up so that I can refill it and continue the bleeding process. Thanks.

Re: '98 Johnson 130 fastrak tilt/trim stuck

Welcome to iboats.

We will assume that the motor is trying to raise the unit? You can hear it spinning?

Topping up the resevoir, installing the cap, and cycling up gets no results?

Re: '98 Johnson 130 fastrak tilt/trim stuck

Yes the motor is running. Was raising and lowering fine before I bottomed it out. Unfortunately, with the motor fully down, the reservoir is covered and I cannot access it to fill it.

Re: '98 Johnson 130 fastrak tilt/trim stuck

OK, Can you run the motor in the up direction and lift the LU by hand? I was able to do this with my '98 Johnny 150HPV6. if that doesn't work, run the pump in the down direction until it loads up a bit, and then run it in the up direction and lift it by hand.

Failing these, you need to pull the lower pin mount and lift the lower and PTT unit, in preparation to repair/rebuild.

Re: '98 Johnson 130 fastrak tilt/trim stuck

Ok problem solved. I removed circlip and removed the manual release valve completely and that allowed me to lift it by hand so that I could refill it with fluid. I'm in the process of bleeding it PROPERLY now (with the reservoir cap on) and everything seems fine. Thanks for your comments.

Re: '98 Johnson 130 fastrak tilt/trim stuck

No "bleeding" necessary. Run it up & top it off. As you use it a few times it will self bleed any air. Then check the level with the motor in the full up position. Top off with the proper fluid as needed.

Re: '98 Johnson 130 fastrak tilt/trim stuck

Dhadley, On my '98 Johnny, I have found that the air and PTT fluid mix when the fluid is low, and you cannot fill it properly due to the volume of air in the fluid. I find it necessary to run the tilt all the way up, and let it sit for 10 minutes, to allow the air to bubble out. I can then refill the PTT unit and cycle again. After another 10 minutes or so, I can fill it some more. Some finite number of cycles are required to get all the air out.

Re: '98 Johnson 130 fastrak tilt/trim stuck

If your fluid is constantly getting low, something is wrong. If you lose fluid, you're gaining air. Once filled the unit should stay full almost indefinately. If you're constantly introducing air into the system you will need to add & cycle thru a lot.

Re: '98 Johnson 130 fastrak tilt/trim stuck

We're also assuming everyone is using the correct fluid.

Re: '98 Johnson 130 fastrak tilt/trim stuck

It stayed full from last April until last week, then it needed topping off.