Cannot remove hydraulic rams / arms / shafts / trim on my SX drive

HELP :redface:

I am trying to remove the rams on my SX drive and I cannot for the life of me get them off. The fronts are loose but the rears are really stuck on there. I have the type that uses a c-clip and washer. I tried prying the hell out of them, and was starting to rig up some straps to try and pull them off but I dont wanna damage anything. I have already really put some force into this! I removed the ground bolts from the back, even though I am not sure that is necessary. Do I need to trim it all the way up just to remove them from them from the housing or something, are they keyed inside or something? I am not planning to disconnect the lines I just need to pull them off the pivot housing.

I searched everywhere and am really having trouble with this. The manual does say to trim it up but that is just to equalize the fluid before removing the lines.

Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Re: Cannot remove hydraulic rams / arms / shafts / trim on my SX drive

You must boat in salt water. Those bushings build up corrosion and squeeze on the shaft and make things very difficult to get off. Heat helps at times. Once you get them off, get new bushings, clean and paint the cylinders, and GREASE the parts as you put them back together.

Re: Cannot remove hydraulic rams / arms / shafts / trim on my SX drive

I boat in saltwater and had a similar problem, particularly with the ones on the shaft end of the trim cylinders. I had to use a large hammer and move it a fraction of an inch at a time -- lubricating the shaft and then moving it the other way again with the hammer --- getting them to move several inches each way --- grinding off the sides where it was flattened over, and going again. Eventually I got the shaft out and replaced it with a new one --- they are roughly $30-50 each shaft. I can assure you the new one is very well greased after removing all corrosion buildup inside the drive where the shaft goes through. Lots of luck.

Re: Cannot remove hydraulic rams / arms / shafts / trim on my SX drive

Don S said:

You must boat in salt water. Those bushings build up corrosion and squeeze on the shaft and make things very difficult to get off. Heat helps at times. Once you get them off, get new bushings, clean and paint the cylinders, and GREASE the parts as you put them back together.

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Yes this is a salt water boat, I picked it up over the winter and am doing all the maintenance the previous owner neglected to do. I was worried about trying heat because I did not want to damage any seals in the hydraulics. Was hoping there was a trick to this but I guess I will just have to continue to use force. I know the arms are expensive to replace so I really don't wanna damage them.

Re: Cannot remove hydraulic rams / arms / shafts / trim on my SX drive

Daleg70 said:

I boat in saltwater and had a similar problem, particularly with the ones on the shaft end of the trim cylinders. I had to use a large hammer and move it a fraction of an inch at a time -- lubricating the shaft and then moving it the other way again with the hammer --- getting them to move several inches each way --- grinding off the sides where it was flattened over, and going again. Eventually I got the shaft out and replaced it with a new one --- they are roughly $30-50 each shaft. I can assure you the new one is very well greased after removing all corrosion buildup inside the drive where the shaft goes through. Lots of luck.

Click to expand...

Yeah I tried to bang the pin/rod out of the drive and was not having much luck there. I used a punch but still ended up mushrooming the end and had to file it down to ensure I could get the rams off. I did talk to my dealer about the shaft and he confirmed that price range. I had kinda given up on trying to get that thing out and was going to remove the arms to pull the drive but that is turning out to be just as hard. It sucks because this thing was running great, but I need to do the maintenance before something bad happens. People just do not take care of their *****!

Re: Cannot remove hydraulic rams / arms / shafts / trim on my SX drive

The rear pin (closest to hull) was not moving, so I went back to work on the front and was able to get it out. I didn't mess with the rear anymore but it's def still stuck on there. I moved the rams up and down in opposite directions to loosen them up some from the rear shaft and then just put everything back on with a new front shaft (after cleaning the inside of the drive really good). I'll deal with the rear pin when the time comes when I HAVE to remove it. For now, everything is cleaned up and I am back on the water.