So I'll preface this by saying my motor and solenoids aren't bad as they make the right noises and upon crossing the solenoids, I get perfectly good power 
Anyway, purchased a 1980 Robolo 181 CC about a month ago with a 1979 Mercury 150hp v6 on the back. The trim motor and reservoir look new and are OEM and SAE rated. Trim / tilt worked fine until we decided to see how the motor lock worked (the little thingy you flip down when tailoring to prevent bouncing from ruining all your fun).
Upon putting the slightest bit of pressure on the motor lock, we couldn't get the trim / tilt to go back up without using man power to unhitch the lock. Motor wasn't clicking or struggling, just sounded like it was working fine, but no fluid was running.
My first assumption was I blew an o-ring or something was leaking, but I could find no sign of fluid anywhere. The motor, no matter what position it was in, simply wouldn't respond up or down without putting my entire fat-***' worth of weight onto it.
My second assumption was that the fluid was low and/or maybe air got into the system somehow. Now, the trim motor is in the same small compartment the battery is in, so we had to pull it to service it. Also, the stupid dipstick screw was stripped to all hell so it was a pain in the butt to even get out. The relief valve also looks like it was cast aluminum or something and corroded to the point where I can't twist it without it stressing. I'm afraid I'm going to snap it off.
So we get the dipstick out, slowwwwwly pour trim fluid into the resevour with the motor DOWN (states this on motor instructions), but it takes forever to flow in.
Here are my questions... when filling a system without a vent hole and only a fill hole, do I need to move the engine up/down every time to get the fluid through the hoses? Could an air bubble be moving through the system, causing the lack of movement and work? Could there also be an issue with a check-valve and if so, where the heck would that be located?
I've attached some pictures of my setup to show you what I'm talking about. Sorry for my long rant as I wanted to be as descriptive as possible. Thanks!
Motor with tilt / trim rams. Unsure which is which. Circled is the block for return.
View of entire assembly. Blue circle is the trim / tilt remote harness unplugged. Red circle top is the dipstick / fill hole. Red circle bottom is the broken relief valve.
Another close shot of the dipstick hole and relief valve:
Solenoids... both are working fine (hotwired and via remote on throttle):
Anyway, purchased a 1980 Robolo 181 CC about a month ago with a 1979 Mercury 150hp v6 on the back. The trim motor and reservoir look new and are OEM and SAE rated. Trim / tilt worked fine until we decided to see how the motor lock worked (the little thingy you flip down when tailoring to prevent bouncing from ruining all your fun).
Upon putting the slightest bit of pressure on the motor lock, we couldn't get the trim / tilt to go back up without using man power to unhitch the lock. Motor wasn't clicking or struggling, just sounded like it was working fine, but no fluid was running.
My first assumption was I blew an o-ring or something was leaking, but I could find no sign of fluid anywhere. The motor, no matter what position it was in, simply wouldn't respond up or down without putting my entire fat-***' worth of weight onto it.
My second assumption was that the fluid was low and/or maybe air got into the system somehow. Now, the trim motor is in the same small compartment the battery is in, so we had to pull it to service it. Also, the stupid dipstick screw was stripped to all hell so it was a pain in the butt to even get out. The relief valve also looks like it was cast aluminum or something and corroded to the point where I can't twist it without it stressing. I'm afraid I'm going to snap it off.
So we get the dipstick out, slowwwwwly pour trim fluid into the resevour with the motor DOWN (states this on motor instructions), but it takes forever to flow in.
Here are my questions... when filling a system without a vent hole and only a fill hole, do I need to move the engine up/down every time to get the fluid through the hoses? Could an air bubble be moving through the system, causing the lack of movement and work? Could there also be an issue with a check-valve and if so, where the heck would that be located?
I've attached some pictures of my setup to show you what I'm talking about. Sorry for my long rant as I wanted to be as descriptive as possible. Thanks!
Motor with tilt / trim rams. Unsure which is which. Circled is the block for return.
View of entire assembly. Blue circle is the trim / tilt remote harness unplugged. Red circle top is the dipstick / fill hole. Red circle bottom is the broken relief valve.
Another close shot of the dipstick hole and relief valve:
Solenoids... both are working fine (hotwired and via remote on throttle):
