2002 Johnson 150 Trim & Tilt

I have trim fluid leaking out of the main piston shaft of my engine when i tilt it up out of the water. The fluid is also very pink, almost like pepto/bismol. Somone told me that I had fluid in the unit. Does anyone know what I should do to fix this problem= Do I need to take the boat out of the water

Re: 2002 Johnson 150 Trim & Tilt

Those PTT units use Dextron III Auto trans Fluid. When it is mixed with air, the fluid becomes pepto-pink. You need to replace the trim seals and wiper in the main piston and bleed the unit.

It will be very messy and dangerous to do in the water. I recommend you pull it out. You can disconnect the top pin of the PTT, and prop the motor up with the manual lock, and then work on the ptt unit.

You can buy a rubber seal kit for the PTT pump(~$50). I replaced the main piston oring seals (about 3) plus the wiper, and then bled the unit.

Re: 2002 Johnson 150 Trim & Tilt

Problem is that I do not have a trailer and it will prbably cost me over 200 bucks just to have someone pull it out of the water. Is this something I should address immediately or can it wait if i keep refilling the atf fluid?

Re: 2002 Johnson 150 Trim & Tilt

depending on the amount of fluid leaking u should be ok to use it dont let anyone see the fluid running in the water.. the fine will be more then 200 to pull the boat out

Re: 2002 Johnson 150 Trim & Tilt

Lexus, You might be able to remove th PTT unit from the motor, and take it to the bench for rebuild. To do this you would need to anchor the boat's stern in shallow water. Use two anchors, one off of each stern cleat, so it will be steady when you start hammering.

Run the motor up about 2/3 of the way, and disconnect the PTT wiring from the motor harness. Now remove the connector end by slipping the individual wires out of the connector. Now you can pull the PTT wires thru the hole in the transom clamp. Now remove the top PTT pin keeper and pound out the rod, using a drift. now lock the motor all the way up and remove the bottom PTT rod keeper and pound out the bottom rod. Take the PTT unit to the bench and rebuild it.