Trim pump wont go down????

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Re: Trim pump wont go down????

.... clymer manual ....

:facepalm:...

At the hydraulic connector (under the bottom of the gimbal housing), the front hose (the one towards the BOW of the boat) is the UP hose.
 

riskibusiness

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Nov 27, 2011
Messages
129
Re: Trim pump wont go down????

been super busy lately guys I will check pressure tomorow
 

cdiamond

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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Aug 20, 2008
Messages
94
Re: Trim pump wont go down????

if you're in salt water i wouldn't mess with connections at the gimbel - they can be difficult to remove
you also stand the chance of damaging the threads of the connector - they're aluminum

here's an easy test

disconnect both hose at the trim pump
if the outdrive cannot be pushed down easily
the cylinders are seized

i'd say a 99.9% probability that's your problem

if not - you can check the pressure right there at the pump

lets keep it simple
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Re: Trim pump wont go down????

...the cylinders are seized

i'd say a 99.9% probability that's your problem...

Have a look at post #13 of this thread... I got right royally shot down for that very suggestion.... :D :facepalm:
 

cdiamond

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Aug 20, 2008
Messages
94
Re: Trim pump wont go down????

chris;
i saw your post

i'm not quite sure why sir don
was so quick to suggest pressure tests

not that those test aren't valuable

but it's a matter of a few factors

1. i doubt anyone other than a professional
has a trim system test gauge

2. the laws of probability
don't lean toward some malfunction of the pump
heck, in over 25 years of working on these things
i can count on one hand, and have fingers left over, the number of times i've seen
valves in a pump cause a problem. Usually if a pump runs it will pump oil

of course there a those rare cases, like salt water intrusion into the system,

where internal failure of components in the pump itself can occur
but again thats rare

perhaps most folks here don't see what you and i do
in the saltwater environment

i'm just trying to suggest some simple things to
the experienced boater here, who has some mechanical skills
that he can do to solve some [not all] of his problems
 

Don S

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Aug 31, 2004
Messages
62,321
Re: Trim pump wont go down????

Maybe you should base your opinion on more than one post. He mentioned the drive went from full down to full up in 8 seconds. But won't go down at all. If the cylinders were seized , it would be a lot slower going up than 8 seconds. The ones I've worked on that won't go down because of seized cylinder also took 20 to 30 seconds or more to go up.

PS, there is not a lot of salt water in St.Louis, MO either.

I got right royally shot down for that very suggestion....

Oh, and Chris, you didn't get "royally shot down", I just made a comment about the speed and that I considered the end caps as well.
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Re: Trim pump wont go down????

...Oh, and Chris, you didn't get "royally shot down", I just made a comment about the speed and that I considered the end caps as well.

OK.. Maybe not 'shot down', just cut off at the ankles... :D :D :D

Just for the record I've seen (quite a few) end caps corroded enough to stop the leg going down, but not slowed the UP speed one little bit....

C..........
 
Joined
Dec 23, 2011
Messages
6
Re: Trim pump wont go down????

Discussed this same issue for my boat a couple weeks ago. Just hauled my boat to the shop for the repair. They are backed up a bit. Will tell you in about 10 days whether doing the trim cylinder rebuild fixed the issue. I don't perceive that the up trim speed is slowed down. If I stand on the outdrive I can make it go down. I have to stand on the end of the drive now to make it go down. In the water I have to be at high power to make it go down. This is bad because I live in a Manatee zone where I am not allowed to plane off. If I had more time I would try fixing it myself. Was worried about not having Merc spanner wrench tool (about $150) for endcaps. Notice that Sears has adjustable spanner wrenches on line ($30). SELOC book sounds negative about home mechanics working on the trim cylinders. I was also worried that if the trim cylinder rebuild didn't fix the issue, I don't have anyway to do hydraulic testing. I suppose at that point you would just be rebuilding the trim pump anyway. Achris sounds like he has done the repair many times.
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Re: Trim pump wont go down????

.... Notice that Sears has adjustable spanner wrenches on line ($30).

Or make it out of a scrap of 1/2" plate and a couple of high tensile 1/4" bolts for nothing... :D :D

Bill_Alexander said:
SELOC book

:facepalm: What you working on? I'll post a link to the real thing....

Bill_Alexander said:
sounds negative about home mechanics working on the trim cylinders.

They are a doddle. Outer cylinder housing, piston and rod, a couple of seal and a couple of hoses.... How hard can it be!

Bill_Alexander said:
I was also worried that if the trim cylinder rebuild didn't fix the issue, I don't have anyway to do hydraulic testing.

New end cap fixes 99.5% of these problems... If it doesn't, THEN haul it off the shop...

Bill_Alexander said:
I suppose at that point you would just be rebuilding the trim pump anyway. Achris sounds like he has done the repair many times.

Oh yeah..... Lost count. The first couple I did, I tried to clean up the old cap and put new seals in... It lasts, for about 6 months. Now I just throw a new cap on.... I think the main cause of the corrosion is allowing the leg to sit trimmed up... The water lays in the end cap and the 'corrosions' have a party in there. That doesn't mean draining and drying the end caps, trimmed down, will stop it happening, it'll just reduce the likelihood...

Chris.........
 

riskibusiness

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Nov 27, 2011
Messages
129
Re: Trim pump wont go down????

good news after using a manifold gauge to check pressure I noticed the pressure would go up and down. The guy I got the boat from last year had rebuilt the cylinders and installed new lines. But he never bled out the system. Not sure why it took so long to manifest as a problem. But after going up and down like a hundred times and filling the reservoir as we went. Hooray it goes down now!!!
 
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