Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

[93nitro]

Ok so finally ready to take the boat out with the new motor on it. Last night I was power washing some of the crud off of the motor so I could start getting it ready for paint touch up. Went to lower the tilt on it to put the covers back on and all the motor does is whine without any action. Is this possibly a wet relay? Please help asap if you have any ideas. Thanks...

 

[93nitro]

Re: Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

Sorry forgot to add that it is a '91 115 Mercury with a new trim pump just put on it.

 

[sawblade723]

Re: Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

Let the motor down carefully using the manual release screw, then try the trim switch.

 

[RRitt]

Re: Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

if the motor spins but the system does not move then it is a hydraulic problem. has it ever worked both up and down since new pump? and when you say new pump, what do you mean - new motor, new pump, and/or new manifold? also, your engine has three different trim systems from factory .. which one you got?

 

[hotrod53]

Re: Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

Does it make any noise when you try to lower it as in is the pump running? I had a buddy that had that problem and he had 2 relays, an UP and a DOWN relay. One can fail and it wont move in that direction.

 

[93nitro]

Re: Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

Wow this thread exploded while I was gone. Thanks! I have the 2 wire motor. It whines like it is going to do something but does absolutely nothing, up or down. Where is the relief valve? I didn't know it could be that easy. I am so afraid of screwing something up as I am this close to getting it on the water, which of course won't happen today, but oh well.... Is it possible both relays are shot?? I might have sprayed it hard enough to get both wet but that sounds a bit crazy. Thanks all!!!!

 

[sawblade723]

Re: Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

I'm not sure where the relief screw is on that motor, my 150 has it on the starboard side of the mounting bracket. Turn it slowly or it can come down really hard if you over do it.

 

[93nitro]

Re: Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

If it ain't broke, fix it until it is! Ha!! that's great!

Anyway, I went out and played around a bit. There is a bleeder right under the pump. Turned it about 2 turns and it must have been air as no fluid came out, and it started to drop quickly. Hopefully all I need to do is add a little fluid and I won't have the problem again. Appears it may be part of the bleeding system when installing a new pump. Ok, maybe tomorrow we can take it out for a test now.... Thanks again!

 

[RRitt]

Re: Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

If it ain't broke, fix it until it is! Ha!! that's great!

Anyway, I went out and played around a bit. There is a bleeder right under the pump. Turned it about 2 turns and it must have been air as no fluid came out, and it started to drop quickly. Hopefully all I need to do is add a little fluid and I won't have the problem again. Appears it may be part of the bleeding system when installing a new pump. Ok, maybe tomorrow we can take it out for a test now.... Thanks again!

if the motor spins then the relays, circuit breakers, and switch are all working.

if the motor spins and it does not lower then it is almost always bad hydraulics. if the motor spins and it does not lift then it can be an oil leak and your system has become low on fluid. If your motor was spinning all along then I bet your systemn is going to need a rebuild.

Don't overtighten the manual release. It is not a tapered or compression seal. It is a piston with an oring that enters a clydinder to stop fluid from escaping. It is 100% functional a full turn before it reaches bottom. Fingertight is more than enough. If you overtighten a break off the tip then a full rebuild will probably be needed in order to extract the tip with scoring the aluminum.

 

[aussieflash]

Re: Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

Before you get in a panic.Just lift motor to full up and lock.Do this manually with release valve open,then tighten when up.Open fill screw slowly and top up with fluid,when full see if it goes down.If yes you probably have air in system,so up and down 4 or 5 times then fill again.Repeat till it takes no more fluid.
Exact same thing happened to me last month,engine spinning and no movement.Good Luck.

 

[aussieflash]

Re: Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

Forgot to say that mine was due to a leak from tilt ram cylinder.Going to rebuild all three rams while I'm at it.

 

[93nitro]

Re: Want to take the boat out but tilt is stuck in the up position! Please help!!

OK finally got the boat out to see what it would do. It wasn't pretty. Had to unhook the hoods or else I had no power to the starter??? Possible loose connection. Ran like crap and had no power. When pulling the boat out of the water I tilted the motor back up to flip the lever to set it on for the trip home, and it was stuck in the up position again. Appears I need to do the cylinder repair as well. I have a local retired guy (that is one of my friends dads) who had a boat shop for 40 years, looking at it in Thursday. What a disappointment.