Merc 850 Tilt / trim stuck up and only spins

[efdog]

Hello, I apologize if this has already been answered. My problem is that today when I pulled my boat out of winter storage and tested my tilt, it went up fine, then the pump/motor sounded as if it "disengaged" from something. I'm somewhat of a newbie, and dont have a lot of experience, but it seems to me that the tilt pump/motor isnt catching onto anything anymore. It is just spinning fast on both up or down tilt. When I first started to lower it, it seemed to start to catch, but then quickly let go i guess. Sounds almost as if it's stripped, but I'm hoping there is a fix for this, as I wouldn't even know where to begin to find a new pump. Please HELP!!

 

[efdog]

Re: Merc 850 Tilt / trim stuck up and only spins

I thought I might elaborate to see if anyone out there can help. From what I've read I believe my PTT to be a single solenoid merc type 1.

I've checked the four hoses and all are very firm. I've turned the "reverse release knob" to the right, and engine still stays tilted up. Is there something else I have to do to lower the engine aside from just turning the release knob? I've checked all 4 valves that come out of the bottom of the resevoir for leaks, and nothing. One of the valves is slightly moist of oil, but nothing actually leaking out. I have not checked fluid levels. Not actually sure how to, and don't want to unmount the PTT motor if not necessary. Would fluid levels effect whether the tilt is working? I assumed that because the hoses were solid that it was getting fluid. Again I really have no clue how the hydrolics actually work. Is there a way to bleed the hoses is case there's air in there?
Sorry for all the questions. I know I'm being pretty vague, but I just spent a decent amount of money replacing the floor and painting my boat. Though all was good to hit the lake, and then this! Any help at all would be greatly appreciated...

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Merc 850 Tilt / trim stuck up and only spins

If the motor is trimmed up under power, activiting the manual lock will not let it trim down. it must be done with power. If you release the manual lock, you can lift the motor up by hand and lower by hand.

 

[efdog]

Re: Merc 850 Tilt / trim stuck up and only spins

Thanks for the reply Chris...Okay, I released the manual lock, then loosened the hex nuts on the mounting bracket to the engine. After being sprayed in the face with oil, the engine dropped slightly (approx 3-4 inches). I tried to manually lower it more but it wont budge by hand. I then activated the lock again, and after a few seconds of holding the up buttons down it worked to lift the engine up again. When I try to lower I'm still getting the same problem. I can hear the spinning coming from the cylinder, but it's not catching. When I hold it down it sounds almost like it's trying to catch something at first (kind of a faint sputter), but engine doesnt do anything. Is it possible for something to become stripped in the cylinder? If this is the case, would it go up only and not down? Does loosening the nuts to where the valves connect to the resevoir give a different effect than what I did which was loosen the nuts on the bracket. I'm not sure if this helps any, but I loosened the nuts on the fatter hoses first, and nothing happened, but when I loosened the first nut on the smaller hose, that's when the engine dropped. Should I write this thing off and spring for a new one? If so, where might I look to buy one of these things?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: Merc 850 Tilt / trim stuck up and only spins

First thing you should do is check the fluid level. If its low it should be filled, otherwise you are not operating the system as intended and have no idea what the problem might be.

The fill screw is a domed head slotted screw in the lower front right corner of the reservoir. Remove the screw and verify that the fluid level is even with the bottom of the fill hole WITH THE ENGINE TILTED FULLY UP. Located next to the fill screw is a vent screw, slightly smaller and located a little higher on the reservoir body. It should be 1-2 turns loosen from tight to allow the reservoir to "breath".

 

[efdog]

Re: Merc 850 Tilt / trim stuck up and only spins

Okay, so I'm going to grab a quart of oil tomorrow and top it up full. I dipped a stick in there and it appears to be only about 3/4 full. Hopefully by topping it up, that will solve this problem. Seems too easy if that's all it needs.

Thanks for the info...

 

[efdog]

Re: Merc 850 Tilt / trim stuck up and only spins

We have progress! After topping up the oil. I pushed the down tilt and at first it was just spinning as it did before, but after about 10 seconds the noise the pump makes got deeper as if it was labouring. After a few more seconds it was clear that it was trying to lower the engine. Finally the engine dropped in one big bang onto the tow bar...It will now go up and down which tells me it must have been a fluid issue. I still have 2 concerns. The tilt is a bit jumpy, but I'm thinking that might clear itself up once the fluid is flowing properly again. Secondly, where did the fluid go if I didnt see a leak? Should I just leave as is and just hope it doesnt happen again?

Thanks to everyone for your help. This site is great!

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: Merc 850 Tilt / trim stuck up and only spins

Glad to hear you got it going. It is a good idea to bleed the cylinders and lines to remove any trapped air. That should smooth out the operation. Search these forums for the procedure (its been written numerous times).

The pump itself is self bleeding, and you just need to operate the system fully through a few up/down cycles.

 

[efdog]

Re: Merc 850 Tilt / trim stuck up and only spins

After completely bleeding out the lines, retopping the oil, and about 10 up/downs of the tilt. It is operating as smoothly as it ever did. I'm glad my problem was human error and nothing mechanical.

Thanks!