Filling an F50 tilt mechanism with fluid

[spidercrab]

I need to replace some fluid in the tilt mechanism after replacing the rusted up original tilt motor with an after market replacement. The manual I have say to remove the filler nut to put the oil in. However, the picture in my manual only shows one large bolt whereas the tilt body has both a large bolt head and a large slotted screw head above it just like the picture below.

Which is the fluid filler hole? The slotted screw or the hex head bolt?

[boats.net]

The 17mm hex head is the oil level plug and oil fill.

[spidercrab]

The 17mm hex head is the oil level plug and oil fill.

Are you sure? That bolt seems very low on the body.

[spidercrab]

What happens to excess fluid in the tilt mechanism?


I'm still not sure which is the fluid filler hole because the hex head looks too low. The 2000 parts list for the F50 which can be downloaded below:
http://www.anneddlon.co.uk/Yamaha%20...rts%20List.pdf

The tilt mechanism can be seen on pages 35 and 36. The slotted head which I think must be the filler in the picture above is item 38 which is listed as the valve assembly and there appears to be 2 of these on opposite sides of the main body. Item 43 looks like the hex headed bolt and is described as "Plug, reservoir". It's not clear whether the "Plug, reservoir" is for draining or filling. On our engine as shown in the photo above it appears to be too low on the main body and if opened, looks like it will drain most of the fluid in the tilt body.

I am starting to think that our F50 has a different tilt mechanism to the 2000 model. It definitely isn't the 2001 model.

Also when the tilt motor was removed the fluid was almost up to the top of the body. So I am considering filling the body up, fitting the motor on top.
Anyone know what would happen if the fluid was over filled?

[spidercrab]

I spoke to the dealer who sold the original engine in 2000 and they confirmed that the hex head is the filler plug on this model but also agreed that it is very low on those models. He said that a trick that works is to lift the engine up and secure it, then open the release screw on the side and then run the tilt motor to distribute the fluid, check level, fill, run motor, etc. Anyway this method worked and we managed to get a decent amount of fluid into the tilt body. The tilt is now working fine now so many thanks.