Hello,<br /><br /> Although I've been operating boats for most of my adult life, I am not an engineer and know zip about outboards. I bought my Dad's '92 Arima Sea Explorer two years ago, but she's been sitting in my yard for the past 6. 
I finally took her in to a local Merc mechanic to get her running again (mainly major varnish buildup from old fuel, not being run & not properly winterized). That set me back a grand I didn't have (of course, boats are just holes in water, right?). <br /><br /> Anyhoo, the power trim unit isn't working properly. It will only trim up about an inch or two and the mechanic said it would need to be replaced. He quoted me $800 for the part alone. Ouch! I did a little surfing today and it looks like replacing the entire unit would be almost half that... so I'm wondering what sort of troubleshooting I should do first and if it needs to be replaced if it's something I can do myself? The local mechanic recently went out of business and I think the only other Merc mechanic is across the River in Chinook. <br /><br /> Since I've already sunk a chunk of change into her, I'd like to get her out and running before turning around and storing her for the winter. <br /> <br /> Thanks in advance for any advice. <br /><br /> Rain<br /><br /><br />Update: I looked all over for a part number and could only find 12121... that doesn't match anything looking like a part number... When I checked www.outboardparts.com they listed two pumps for "late model Merc outboards" (including 75 Horse 3 cyl) that match the description of mine (2 wire, 1 ram, aft fill)... <br /><br />I'd really like to know how to troubleshoot the pump before I go tearing it out and replacing it. Thanks again for any help, guys!<br /><br /> Rain
I finally took her in to a local Merc mechanic to get her running again (mainly major varnish buildup from old fuel, not being run & not properly winterized). That set me back a grand I didn't have (of course, boats are just holes in water, right?). <br /><br /> Anyhoo, the power trim unit isn't working properly. It will only trim up about an inch or two and the mechanic said it would need to be replaced. He quoted me $800 for the part alone. Ouch! I did a little surfing today and it looks like replacing the entire unit would be almost half that... so I'm wondering what sort of troubleshooting I should do first and if it needs to be replaced if it's something I can do myself? The local mechanic recently went out of business and I think the only other Merc mechanic is across the River in Chinook. <br /><br /> Since I've already sunk a chunk of change into her, I'd like to get her out and running before turning around and storing her for the winter. <br /> <br /> Thanks in advance for any advice. <br /><br /> Rain<br /><br /><br />Update: I looked all over for a part number and could only find 12121... that doesn't match anything looking like a part number... When I checked www.outboardparts.com they listed two pumps for "late model Merc outboards" (including 75 Horse 3 cyl) that match the description of mine (2 wire, 1 ram, aft fill)... <br /><br />I'd really like to know how to troubleshoot the pump before I go tearing it out and replacing it. Thanks again for any help, guys!<br /><br /> Rain