If the Trim Fails, can you lift the outdrive?

[Woody-jh]

Novice question.
If the power trim system should fail on an Alpha One, can you manually lift the outdrive to get the boat onto a trailer. Helped someone do it on OMC I/B at dock last summer when their battery failed- not sure what outdrive they had. It lifted easily by hand, then we tied it off so he could trailer home.
Tried it on my own boat in the driveway (Regal 20 ft,4.3 Mercruiser with Alpha 1), but can't lift the outdrive one iota. If my trim failed (or power) how would I raise the outdrive? What would I have to take apart, drain or whatever? Would hate to be standing in the bay wishing that I had asked this question....

 

[dazid1]

Re: If the Trim Fails, can you lift the outdrive?

Has it got trim cylinders? two bolts and they should pull off, you could then tie it up in an emergency.
D

 

[Woody-jh]

Re: If the Trim Fails, can you lift the outdrive?

Memory says yes, boat is still in winter storage, but will confirm when I get it home.

 

[Don S]

Re: If the Trim Fails, can you lift the outdrive?

What year is your Alpha drive? All Alpha's have 2 cylinders and they can be removed, but there are a lot of reasons for the trim to fail that you can jump straight to the motor to raise the drive without taking the cylinders loose or getting wet.

 

[Bondo]

Re: If the Trim Fails, can you lift the outdrive?

Ayuh,......

Or,... If the Trim Pump were to Fail,.....
You could Disconnect the 2 Hyd. Lines from the Pump,+ Then Manually Lift the Drive......
There'll be Oil squirting from the Lines, so direct them into a Jug........

 

[Woody-jh]

Re: If the Trim Fails, can you lift the outdrive?

Boat is 1995, so presuming the outdrive is as well. But, as pointed out many times on this site, manufacturers don't necessarily put 1995 components (engine, outdrive) in 1995 boats. Could be 1994's...

 

[Don S]

Re: If the Trim Fails, can you lift the outdrive?

Anything over 91 makes it an Alpha I Gen II drive, not an Alpha I That also makes a difference in trim pumps and how things work and rather there is a release on the pump...... There isn't.

Go to the link below and look at the picture. (Pictures don't work here right now, that is why I just posted the link)
It shows where to hook a jumper from the Battery + terminal to the solenoids to bring the drive up should the switch, the solenoid, or the override switch go bad.

http://www.kpunet.net/~rainyday/GenII trim solenoids.png

One other note. on the solenoids, green wires are green for grass (down) blue for sky or ( UP )

 

[Woody-jh]

Re: If the Trim Fails, can you lift the outdrive?

So, 1) try the jumper test first, then...
2)if that doesn't work, then disconnect the hydralulic lines as Bondo states.

Dazid1 suggested unbolting the cylinders from the outdrive. Would there be a lot of load on those bolts? Presumably the cylinders would be under load, and the retaining bolts would be absorbing this load.

Can you help me understand how the trim system works? I would think that an electric motor drives the pump to force the cylinders out and the outdrive down. To bring the cylinders back in, hydraulic pressure must then be routed to the other end of the cylinder, bringing the cylinders in and the outdrive up. Then the trim switches must be activating the "up" or "down" solenoid? How does the "trailer" switch work? Does it simply allow the "up" solenoid to activate again and extend the travel range of the cylinders until the outdrive is fully retracted? If you hit something in the water, how does the trim react?

I cannot get my boat onto the trailer unless the outdrive is at least partly raised, hence the question.

 

[Don S]

Re: If the Trim Fails, can you lift the outdrive?

Here's a link to an online Merc service manual for the Alpha I Gen II drive. It also includes the trim system.
Look under section 1C (Troubleshooting) and section 5 (Trim) for about everything you need to know.

http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/14/14notice.pdf

 

[Woody-jh]

Re: If the Trim Fails, can you lift the outdrive?

Thanks again for your advice, will check out the link...

 

[iracer99]

So if you can't lift the outdrive manually, what happens if you're cruising along at 30 knots and you hit a submerged tree stump? Do you just end up leaving half your transom & outdrive behind?