Jean from Canada
Recruit
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2011
- Messages
- 1
Dear friends,
I have owned a Fiberform Cuddy with a 470 (serial # 5926786) coupled with a pre-Alpha R type stern drive for the last 5 years. It is tough and quite economical on gas. However, previous owners have apparently messed with a few parts and I am know harvesting their seedings.
In the last couple of years, the trimming down of the drive has slowly deteriorated, becoming slower and slower. Trimming up has always been fine and efficient. The command are the three knobs vertically alligned type, the top and mid knobs for the trimming up and the lower for the trimming down. There is also an on-off switch on the dash control panel that reads ?tilt? but that I cannot recollect having ever initiated any movement of the drive or any sound from the engine compartment when switched on.
When getting the boat ready for this season, I found the drive would not trim fully down anymore. I tested the rams, one at a time by freeing their far end and found out that one would fully retract when the other one (that showed corrosion on the outside) would stop halfway in. I tought that replacing the rams would solve the problem and ordered some used but fully operational ones. I carefully dismantled all oil lines fittings (having to heat some of them quite a lot before they let go) then thoroughly cleaned both male and female parts and their threads from all residues (people had used teflon and maybe lock tite stuffs). I then put everything back in place using anti-seize compound. I refilled the pump reservoir and started the system back. Now my drive trims perfectly up but refuses to go down from any up position, although I can hear the pump work when ordered both ways.
Here is what I went through from then:
1- I could bring the drive down only through bleeding the cyclinders by removing an oil line (which brings me to think that the drive, although brought up at its highest and jammed there is not actually mecanically locked in by a tilt-trailor ratchet-type mechanism the type found on small outboard engines);
2- I went then to the trim/tilt position sensors system and found out that the starboard sensor was connected through a wire that showed multiple cracks and, worse, some unprotected wire because dryed up bits and pieces of its insulation went off between cracks;
3- I found that the trim sensor wiring on the portboard side of the gimbal was cut right out of its case with no hanging wire around that it could have been connecting to and that unfit and rusted screws (standard 1 inch drywall screws ???) were holding it in place ;
4- I detached both sensors and found out that only (starboard) still had its rotating hexagonal switch in it.
5- I cleaned both from their dried hard grease and put them back, NOT CONNECTING ANY of the two.
6- I visually inspected the REVERSE LOCK VALVE, separated and replaced its lever part from the valve casing and then disconnected the whole part from the transmission wiring it is attached to so to investigate if it could trigger the pump to trim down if placed in various positions left or right of its original position when connected to the transmission wires. Which it did not.
My question (s):
Q1: Can UNPLUGGED OR DEFECTIVE TRIM/TILT SENSORS cause the system to fail (in this case, impeach the pump from trimming the drive down)?
Q2: Can separating the lever and the REVERSE LOCK VALVE casing cause inner parts to fly around in the valve casing and making it defective?
Q3: Can it be the pump itself that cannot switch from one soleno?d to the next when requested?
Please help and whatever your opinion on the subject, please feel free to advise on reasonable replacement parts deals.
I have owned a Fiberform Cuddy with a 470 (serial # 5926786) coupled with a pre-Alpha R type stern drive for the last 5 years. It is tough and quite economical on gas. However, previous owners have apparently messed with a few parts and I am know harvesting their seedings.
In the last couple of years, the trimming down of the drive has slowly deteriorated, becoming slower and slower. Trimming up has always been fine and efficient. The command are the three knobs vertically alligned type, the top and mid knobs for the trimming up and the lower for the trimming down. There is also an on-off switch on the dash control panel that reads ?tilt? but that I cannot recollect having ever initiated any movement of the drive or any sound from the engine compartment when switched on.
When getting the boat ready for this season, I found the drive would not trim fully down anymore. I tested the rams, one at a time by freeing their far end and found out that one would fully retract when the other one (that showed corrosion on the outside) would stop halfway in. I tought that replacing the rams would solve the problem and ordered some used but fully operational ones. I carefully dismantled all oil lines fittings (having to heat some of them quite a lot before they let go) then thoroughly cleaned both male and female parts and their threads from all residues (people had used teflon and maybe lock tite stuffs). I then put everything back in place using anti-seize compound. I refilled the pump reservoir and started the system back. Now my drive trims perfectly up but refuses to go down from any up position, although I can hear the pump work when ordered both ways.
Here is what I went through from then:
1- I could bring the drive down only through bleeding the cyclinders by removing an oil line (which brings me to think that the drive, although brought up at its highest and jammed there is not actually mecanically locked in by a tilt-trailor ratchet-type mechanism the type found on small outboard engines);
2- I went then to the trim/tilt position sensors system and found out that the starboard sensor was connected through a wire that showed multiple cracks and, worse, some unprotected wire because dryed up bits and pieces of its insulation went off between cracks;
3- I found that the trim sensor wiring on the portboard side of the gimbal was cut right out of its case with no hanging wire around that it could have been connecting to and that unfit and rusted screws (standard 1 inch drywall screws ???) were holding it in place ;
4- I detached both sensors and found out that only (starboard) still had its rotating hexagonal switch in it.
5- I cleaned both from their dried hard grease and put them back, NOT CONNECTING ANY of the two.
6- I visually inspected the REVERSE LOCK VALVE, separated and replaced its lever part from the valve casing and then disconnected the whole part from the transmission wiring it is attached to so to investigate if it could trigger the pump to trim down if placed in various positions left or right of its original position when connected to the transmission wires. Which it did not.
My question (s):
Q1: Can UNPLUGGED OR DEFECTIVE TRIM/TILT SENSORS cause the system to fail (in this case, impeach the pump from trimming the drive down)?
Q2: Can separating the lever and the REVERSE LOCK VALVE casing cause inner parts to fly around in the valve casing and making it defective?
Q3: Can it be the pump itself that cannot switch from one soleno?d to the next when requested?
Please help and whatever your opinion on the subject, please feel free to advise on reasonable replacement parts deals.