stern drive tilt ?????

brand new to this forum and boats guys I have tried my best to figure this problem out but am getting frustrated so here we go thanks in advance.<br />1981 ranger omc 800 3.8, put a new motor on the stern drive and it works great untill the weight of the motor is on it. Looked inside at the clutch pack assembly,worm drive and all the other stuff it all looks good and works great till you put the motor wieght on it then all I get is the clicking sound of the silonoid and not much else a couple of times it did try to lower/raise the prop but seemed to be short on power. The only thing I see that could be a problem is on the backside of the tilting unit the small gear that turns the cresant shaped piece seems to have some play in it. Is this normal or is the weight of the sterndrive on top of the gear causing everything to get tweeked and bind up inside the assembly.<br /><br />Thanks again guys, jakalope

Re: stern drive tilt ?????

Welcome to Iboats!<br /><br />Search: Stringer 800 tilt and read up on some of the recent posts.<br /><br />Not saying your old motor wasn't bad cause I'm not there, but the majority of tilt problems in general are due to bad electrical connections. Possibly one of the solenoids, but most likely bad/corroded wire connections.<br /><br />Followup and let us know.

Re: stern drive tilt ?????

yep,.... see all that black coating on the relays (two relays just starboard and sternwards of your carburetor)...sealant not very "conducive" to good tilting (puntentional)<br /><br />Undo the connections - the threads will be all shiny and gold so you think "nothing wrong here"...but, the SIDE of the nut/washer is what conducts the current from the stud threads to the wire terminal..<br />so take a file and take the nut and rub the side of the nut back and forth till the black is gone... all shiny? ...do the same with the lockwashers....and the wire terminals.

Re: stern drive tilt ?????

Had the same problem on a 400 sterndrive. Went through the same proceedures as you. Same results. Found that when I tightened the motor mounting capscrews it was binding. Like maybe shaft to long.If I left the motor loose it worked. I think two or three stacked gaskets and it works fine. I probably could have ground off end of shaft but gaskets did the job.

Re: stern drive tilt ?????

Can also be the outdrive piviots pins and the old grease turned to glue. My drive would move 3 inches or less in the up direction until I pull the outdrive away and cleaned all the old grease off and then relubbed with Omc Triple guard grease. Now raises in 3 seconds and full down with 1/4 second punch. I had always greased my pivot pin zerts twice a year.