Johnson 85hp power tilt/trim issues

[TheOutboardKid]

1976 Johnson/Javelin 85HP V4 Model: 85ETLR76G

Hello everyone,

I got my boat out of storage a few days ago, tilted the motor down and started it, and as I tried to tilt the motor back up to attach the transom saver, it stopped moving about 3/4 of the way up. It sounded like there wasn't any load on the pump motor. It tilts up and down fine on the bottom 3/4 of it's travel, but once it gets to a certain point it stops, and the motor starts to spin much faster. It's never done this before, and I can't raise it up enough to attach the transom saver. My first guess was that the system was low on fluid, but I've never worked on a tilt/trim system before and I don't know exactly how they work.

Is this a common issue? Is there a way for me to add fluid to the system?

 

[racerone]

Find the plug on the reservoir ( under the tilt motor ) top up with ATF fluid.---Then test.

 

[TheOutboardKid]

I filled it up, (spilled a lot), cycled it all the way down and then back up a few times, and it works great! Thank you so much for your help!