1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

HAWGHUNTER88 · Apr 5, 2009

How do you add oil to the tilt and trim? The tilt and trim works but bleeds off. The unit looks sealed?

jerryjerry05 · Apr 6, 2009

Re: 1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

There shoud be a plug on the side of the motor housing.Lower the motor and remove the screw.Put oil in the hole till it comes out.Then cycle the pump and do it again.
It sounds like the pump is ok but there is a seal leaking.

Does it drift all the way down or stop at the trim position?
If it leaks all the way down the pump probably has a leaking seal.
If it stops at the trim position them the tilt ram is probably bad.

Good luck,J

RRitt · Apr 6, 2009

Re: 1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

if it goes up halfway and stops lifting without any bleed down then probably fluid low. Filler plug needs to be tight enough to keep out water and not vibrate loose into lake. Anything more is overtightening and does more harm than good.

if it bleeds down then it is probably valve body.

Bleeding down to trim is meaningless. Force tilt and Force Trim are same hydraulic circuit. If either one is bad then both drift down. Geometry and displacement make trim sink more slowly no matter which part is defective. If your trim sinks rapidly then it is probably blown trim piston seal simply because that is only common ailment that allows fluid to pass that rapidly.

http://home.comcast.net/~netsvc/Docs/Tips.htm

HAWGHUNTER88 · Apr 6, 2009

Re: 1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

It was working good up and down and would stay up but when it hit the plunger it would not stay it droped slowly. Thinking there may be air in the line or pump I took the screw out yesterday and oil came out and now the motor will bleed off when tilted all the way where befor it would stay until I pulled the screw out. I did what you said to do with the motor down and oil drained out of the hole and some air it works faster but still bleeds off when up all the way up. The pump is louder now but works faster. Do I need to let all the oil out to the top of screw threads.

RRitt · Apr 6, 2009

Re: 1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

If the system bleeds down without leaking oil onto ground then something is broken. No ifs. No ands. No buts. System bleed down = something inside is broken.

It will slowly but surely get a little worse until one day you can barely get on/off trailer. The more you mess with it then the more likely you are to turn an inexpensive repair turn into an expensive one. Top off the fluid and live with it until you are ready to have valve body rebuilt (under $150).

HAWGHUNTER88 · Apr 6, 2009

Re: 1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

Is the motor to be on full tilt to bleed the system and let in fall when I pull the filler screw? The tilt works fine all the way up. When it's all the way up it bleeds off about a 1/2 foot down and stops. And when I bring the motor down to the trim then it bleeds all the way down slow. So when I'm running the boat I must keep raising the trim to get max speed. All I did yesterday was to take the filler screw out while the motor was in the raised position. And now it will raise up all the way fast and easy but slowly drops down 1/2 foot and stops. I did this to see if there was air in the system because the trim would drop all the way down. Is this an easy fix ? or do I need to take it to a boat repair shop.

timdan94 · Apr 6, 2009

Re: 1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

lower the motor all the way down then check the oil level. it should be up to the fill hole when in the full down position. to bleed it out fill it in the down position, then raise and lower it a few times. check the oil. if needed add oil and repeat. do this until you have oil at the fill hole after raising and lowering it.

RRitt · Apr 6, 2009

Re: 1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

Top your system off per timdan's directions. That's all you can do. Your valve body almost certainly needs rebuilding and if you try to do it yourself then you will almost certainly mess it up. Top it off and live with it until it is unbearable. Then get it rebuilt or replaced.

HAWGHUNTER88 · Apr 8, 2009

Re: 1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

Do I leave the plug out while I'm doing this or put it back in befor I raise and lower the motor? Thanks for all the feed back.

RRitt · Apr 8, 2009

Re: 1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

hmmm .... it does not matter with Prestolite (1970-1992). However, as you tilt engine down the fluid level rises inside reservoir. The oil may come up out of filler hole and make a puddle on the floor. As long as you watch out for that then it doesn't matter if you top off raised or lowered - with or without plug installed. After you have it topped off then you need to put the plug back in so that water doesn't splash into oil. Tighten it only enough so that it won't vibrate back out. Too tight and you might strip the threads.

forcemilton · Oct 29, 2010

Re: 1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

I have a problem if anyone can help.. I have an 85 force that the power trim module works fine but the tilt will not go up. It will go down and it will hold in the up position without slowly coming down but it will not go up once it passes the trim unit.The motor will trim up and down with out a problem. I can push the button and help the unit up but it will not move on its own. I have drained the fluid and replaced the fluid but still no change. The boat hasnt been sitting I have using it 4 or 5 times a month. The problem began on the water one day.

RRitt · Oct 30, 2010

Re: 1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

It sounds like the spring in your pressure regulation circuit has rusted. It takes 10X more PSI to lift the motor with tilt ram than with trim. Try putting on a new or rebuilt valve body and see if that fixes your problem. If it does not then you will need to rebuild your rams and keep an eye out for rusty bypass springs on the tilt piston.

1985 Force 85hp tilt/trim

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