Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

[kinggabbo]

Is there a trim limiter on a 1996 Force 120HP motor? The reason I ask is that it seems like when I driving I can't raise my trim up as much as I could before. I wondered if maybe there was a trim limiter or something that needed adjustment/replacement.

 

[RRitt]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

it is not adjustable. there is a hole drilled into side of cylinder wall about 1/3 way up. The position of trim limit can not be changed, only the horsepower range.

 

[my1stboat1]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

i actually have a ? pertaining to this... should my tilt/trim stop when it comes from the slow position to fast raise... I was under wide open throttle while trimming the engine up and before i knew it the boat prop came right out of the water... should it stop before it gets to fast raise...

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

It depends on the motor.Some have trim limits.Some have a guage that can be installed Forces don't have either.If it stops comming up then check the oil level.
If it comes out of the water under load.Then you MUST have felt a difference in the performance.
On the cheaper motors you just have to live with it.J

 

[my1stboat1]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

yeah i mean the pump operates as designed just wondering if there is a way to have it stop before it gets to the 2nd phase of lifting.. and yes when it came out of the way the boat stopped kinda realized i brought it up to high

 

[kinggabbo]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

It depends on the motor.Some have trim limits.Some have a guage that can be installed Forces don't have either.If it stops comming up then check the oil level.
If it comes out of the water under load.Then you MUST have felt a difference in the performance.
On the cheaper motors you just have to live with it.J

OK so maybe the oil level is low? When it out of the water it will raise normal all the way. I know it's not supposed to do that over a certain RPM but it just doesn't seem to come up as high as before. Oh, and something I just remembered, when I am all the way up on the trim and I push the button to keep raising it, you can see the outboard trying to raise up, sorta jerking up and down. What would that indicate?

 

[RRitt]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

it depends on the system. Let us assume that he has the single ram mercury mariner force system used on various 1989-2005 engines including the 1996 Force 120. Then ...

The trim limiter has 3 possible settings. 20-70HP, 75-150HP, and disabled. When disabled it could lift any horsepower to any angle at any time including a 120HP out of water while running WOT. Disabled is handy if you need to run in a swamp or something. It is possible for a trim limit circuit to become so badly rusted that if disables itself. If this happens and you have a round body reservoir then you should consider service soon. The rocker arm style pump does not have a debris filter and the manifold has a design defect that allows debris to become lodged in inaccessible places. The repair cost on a rocker arm style manifold can go over $700 due the the extreme cost of some Mercury parts. If you have the square body reservoir then your pump has a debris filter. The other possibility that includes a perfectly functioning limiter would be using a 75HP trim system on a 30HP engine.

 

[kinggabbo]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

Thanks RRitt. It is the square body (design I) reservoir. Where is the trim limiter and how do I check it/set it/repair it if it is messed up?

Is it possible low trim fluid could cause this problem?

 

[kinggabbo]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

Any more info? Is the limiter in the same part as the trim sender?

 

[RRitt]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

trim limiter kit - 811678A 5
pump kit - 811670 7

the rocker arm pump doesn't have a debris filter. if the problem is intermittent then its probably debris floating around inside pump.

 

[kinggabbo]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

RRitt,
I still have not gotten around to looking at this on my motor. Would that part you mentioned, the check valve(?), cause the motor to not be able to trim up as high when under pressure/force while running? I think I may be having that problem as the trim used to go higher than it does now. Is that part you mentioned easy to replace?

 

[RRitt]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

RRitt,
I still have not gotten around to looking at this on my motor. Would that part you mentioned, the check valve(?), cause the motor to not be able to trim up as high when under pressure/force while running? I think I may be having that problem as the trim used to go higher than it does now. Is that part you mentioned easy to replace?

if you are going into a trim system then it isn't worth doing only half of a job. fix everything. Do all the parts or don't bother. There is perfect and there is broken. With trim systems the space in between those two is almost zero.

That said - you can't know what parts you will need until you have it completely apart. SO plan on it being a long project. You will very carefully take it apart and then meticulously clean and store all the parts so that you don't forget how to put it back together. Then you go to the dealer and/or hydraulic supply house and order all the parts you need to replace every seal and ball bearing throughout the system as well as any srings or parts that may have formed rust. After collecting all the parts needed to do a perfect job then you put it together. IMO, anything less is just asking for trouble.

 

[kinggabbo]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

Thanks Rritt. Is this something that is common, where the tilt trim will not go up as far as it used to while underway? It's like the range of movement is not as large as it was before. It doesn't seem to be bleeding down at all. And when it is as high as it will go while underway, and I press up on the trim switch, you can see the outboard try to go up briefly, but immediately it stops (but the trim motor keeps running) and this repeats as long as you hold the trim switch down. I have done lots of searches but haven't found a problem like mine on the iboats or the net. I assume that the complete rebuild would fix the problem, correct?

 

[kinggabbo]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

Looks like replacement pumps are hard to find and/or very expensive.

Rritt, I had a question about a post of your earlier in the thread. You said there are 3 "settings" on the trim limiter for horsepower, one for lower hp one for higher horsepower and one for "disabled".

Is there a way to change the settings then or does it sense it automatically? I wonder if when I first got the boat, it was set to disabled, and that is why the trim could go up further. Thanks for all your help.

 

[RRitt]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

Looks like replacement pumps are hard to find and/or very expensive.

Rritt, I had a question about a post of your earlier in the thread. You said there are 3 "settings" on the trim limiter for horsepower, one for lower hp one for higher horsepower and one for "disabled".

Is there a way to change the settings then or does it sense it automatically? I wonder if when I first got the boat, it was set to disabled, and that is why the trim could go up further. Thanks for all your help.

It is not worth trying to figure out which piece is broken. To fix any single part takes as much work as to fix them all. The setting is done when the system is assembled. There are two springs and a plug. Which one you install determines which HP range your are configured for.

 

[kinggabbo]

Re: Trim Limiter-1996 Force 120HP

Thanks Rritt. Do you or anyone else know where to find an aftermarket replacement trim system for it?