My first day out - 20' Glastron w/ Volvo 4.3 GLPLKD ... SX-C outdrive

Well, I bought the boat I posted about a couple weeks ago with the trim leak down problem. The seller turned into a real ***** when I showed him the estimate to replace the pump... but I bought it anyway without a price adjustment because I wanted the boat and the trailer was in such bad shape I decided to pump my extra cash into it rather than trying to get the trim problem fixed right now. (He was an even bigger jerk about the trailer... confirms my general experience that craigslist sellers just want someone to show up with a pile of cash and no knowledge about what they are buying.)

Anyway, I took the boat out yesterday and it ran beautifully EXCEPT that when I got up on plan at full cruising speed and tried to trim up a little, the engine started to make a squealing sound. I throttled down a little and in a couple of seconds the noise went away. It didn't come back until I tried to adjust the trim again. It seemed to happen at idle as well at the end of the trip when I put up to come into the ramp under power. When I trimmed up to trailer position with the engine off there was no squeal... which makes me think it's not part of the leak down problem... It didn't make the noise on the sea trial either, but the sea was so rough that day that we never got to full cruising speed.

Any ideas what might be wrong, and whether it's something that needs prompt attention to avoid a domino chain of problems?

Re: My first day out - 20' Glastron w/ Volvo 4.3 GLPLKD ... SX-C outdrive

The first thing we would need to know is what is squealing? The trim motor? The V belts on the engine (are they tight?).

Re: My first day out - 20' Glastron w/ Volvo 4.3 GLPLKD ... SX-C outdrive

I think it was coming from the engine compartment but other than that I couldn't say. Where would I look for the trim motor, and how can I tell if the belts on the engine are tight enough?

Re: My first day out - 20' Glastron w/ Volvo 4.3 GLPLKD ... SX-C outdrive

What you have to do is run the engine, OPEN the engine hatch/cover and listen for where the sound is coming from.
Where the trim pump is, depends on where the manufacturer put it. Again, go look around, the hoses are only a few feet long, so it can't be too far away.

Re: My first day out - 20' Glastron w/ Volvo 4.3 GLPLKD ... SX-C outdrive

My thoughts . . .

Why did you buy this boat?

It sounds like from your description that the trim motor is doing the squealing. You should verify this though.

Does it only squeal when you are adjusting trim?

You could check the fluid level in the trim pump and maybe bleed the lines/cylinders if needed.

Re: My first day out - 20' Glastron w/ Volvo 4.3 GLPLKD ... SX-C outdrive

Well, there is a long story of how I ended up buying it, but the basic reason is that it seemed up to snuff in every department other than the trim motor (and trailer).

I am not going to have it in the water again for another few days, but I may be able to run it with muffs in the driveway. Is it o.k. to mess around with the trim while hooked up to muffs?

Re: My first day out - 20' Glastron w/ Volvo 4.3 GLPLKD ... SX-C outdrive

sure, just have someone watch to make sure the muffs stay on, or if your alone watch the tell tale for loss of water pressure.

oops was just on the outboard forum---no tell tale :facepalm: have someone watch the muffs