Johnson 85 tilt not going all the way down

[Tdubb]

Its a 77 Johnson 85hp. The trim does have a slow leek on the hydraulic tube, but I dont believe thats my problemm with getting it down all the way. The motor raises fine, but when going down it stops about 1 1/2" from being all the way down. It seems like the starbard side ( hooked to the pump) wants to keep dropping and the port side wich is just a shock is whats stopping. I'm thinking the shock is air locked. If so can I replace it with any shock of the same length?

Oh ya, by the way this boat has been sitting for 4 years, and the trim is the only thing keeping my hook dry

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: Johnson 85 tilt not going all the way down

Can you elaborate on exactly what you are doing? Do you have a transom saver attached to the lower unit and trailer as your doing this and inspecting the movement of the trim rods? Neither trim rod is a "shock". For your information, the seals for the trim cylinders are much much much cheaper than the trim fluid your pouring onto the ground (now up to $4 a tube!). Not to mention less toxic to marine life. I think I paid $25 for new seals a month ago (including shipping). They are quite easy to replace too...... . Go to this link for your exploded parts diagram.......

http://www.brp.com/en-US/Related.Products/Parts.htm

Click on "Visit site now".
Select "Johnson" from the drop down list and then click the "Go" button.
Click on your appropriate year, horsepower, and model folder.

 

[Tdubb]

Re: Johnson 85 tilt not going all the way down

No I do not have a transom saver. And thanx for the site. I went ahaid and ordered some new seals. I also tried removeing the trim motor and rods, and I ran into a problem getting the port side off. It has a wire at the bottom of it and I cant get to the nut holding it on because theres not much space between the transom,trim rod, and mounting bracket. I have ordered a service manual for the motor, but i'm not shure if it will include the trim and tilt.

thanx for the help and any more suggestions will be much apreciated.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Johnson 85 tilt not going all the way down

Go ahead, replace the seals, cycle the unit fully up, top up the fluid, cycle the unit 5 to 6 times, bleeding air from the system, then re check the fluid level and fill as needed. Are you now still having issues?

To remove the TNT unit, you will need to remove the port stern bracket and steering, slide the bracket to the left, and then you will be able to pull the tnt unit out for servicing.

 

[Theoutdoorsman]

Re: Johnson 85 tilt not going all the way down

I have ordered a service manual for the motor, but i'm not sure if it will include the trim and tilt.

Smartest thing I've heard for days!!!! And yes, it will include the tilt and trim. I sure hope you didn't order the Clymer or another aftermarket. I hope you were wise enough to purchase the OEM manual......?

 

[ezeke]

Re: Johnson 85 tilt not going all the way down

The best thing you can do is to post a picture of the system that you have because you are going to get a lot of misinformation on that particular unit because it is a transition period for the motors. There are tilt systems and tilt and trim systems. And there are two completely different midsection systems each having totally different power tilt and trim systems.

Also, if the unit was added to a manual tilt motor without removing the manual tilt cylinder, the unit will not work correctly.

 

[Tdubb]

Re: Johnson 85 tilt not going all the way down

I hope you were wise enough to purchase the OEM manual......?

Got it.

Just waiting for the O ring kits. I hope to work on it this weekend. Thanx for the advise guys, I'll let ya'll know how it goes.