Re: 1976 evinrude 85 hp power trim and tilt question
hotwire the trim motor straight to a battery. I am thinking yours should be a 3w trim motor with black, blue, and green. Black is ground. Blue is up and green is down. If it works when hotwired then your trouble will be wiring, solenoid, or switch. I don't think 1976 had trim limiter but it isn't difficult for someone to add one in as part of a trim gauge package. They fail a lot and cause trim to stop working.
Now, assumming that it is broken -
given the year of your engine I would expect that the seals in your rams are close to the end of their lives, the valve body needs rebuilding, and the motor is anybody's guess. The rams, hoses, shafts, and bearings are a great DIY project. The valve body and motor is a terrible DIY project. It takes about 50-100 rebuilds before a person gets the feel for the pumps and starts turning out good work. Look to see if your motor has rust around the two top bolts. Don't take the bolts out. If you do the motor falls apart and is like trying to put humpty dumpty back together. The trim motor never wears out mechanically. It gets oil or water inside. The oil melts all the glue and the windings come apart. The water causes rust and eventually destroys the bearings and brushes. If the motor does need replacing then view it as a single part including valve body. You can find a reman. pump assembly for around $260 which is much less than having your valve body rebuilt now and then buying a motor later.
