Engine not tilting down

[carlos]

I am currently experiencing a problem on my 2005, 23 CC Hydra Sport with a 200 four strokes Yamaha. The problem consists in the following:

The boat is on the water at all times, and it has its bottom painted. The engine is tilted up and if we try to tilt it down, and we haven’t used it for more than 4 days the engine will get stuck half way down. According to the dealership it is because the engine is finding plant material and as a result it is getting stuck. I used to have a 1992; 260B MAKO with twin 200 Yamahas and I never experienced such a problem. The procedure that the dealership has recommended to remediate the problem which is to clean the plant material as well as continuously tilt the engine back and forth until it goes down. This procedure doesn’t work; please advise me as how to correct this problem.

[Ken]

carlos,
When you bring the boat in, tilt the motor all the way up, drop down the tilt locking lever, and apply a thin film of marine grease on all of the trim/tilt rams - both the sides (full length) and ends of the rams.
I find that Mobil 1 synthetic grease is very water resistant, and that is what I use on my Yamaha trim/tilt rams.
Good luck [img]smile.gif[/img] ,
Ken K

[fish addict]

Ken, do you need to do any maintenance on the trim like change the oil, seals, etc. What procedure do you take to find out if there's any water, especially salt water, getting in the trim and tilt? Examining closely at the push rods, I noticed that the rubber seals are brittled and cracked. tks

[jb123]

carlos, ensure your tilt tube is well lubricated as salt has a way tightening things up.

[Ken]

fish addict,
The only maintenance I do with my Yamaha C115 t/t is to keep the rams lubed (both sides and ends) with a thin film of Mobil 1 synthetic grease. And, of course, you need to check the fluid level to make sure the unit is full.
The seals have to be tight to keep water and dirt out of the unit, that's why when the rams get dry, you will sometimes hear a popping/squealing sound when you try to trim down. I have noticed this more on the trim rams than the tilt ram. The popping/squealing sound comes from the seal surface seizing against the ram surface.
I would not worry about seeing cracks in the seals, unless you see hydraulic fluid leaking. I believe you would see the fluid leaking before any water would ever get into the unit.
Also, you will hear a muffled popping sound if air gets into the unit. When this happens, you need to check for leaks, and do an air purge of the t/t unit. The procedure is outlined in the Yamaha shop manual. I can post the procedure if you don't have a manual.
Good luck [img]smile.gif[/img] ,
Ken K

[fish addict]

just got the shop manual, tks

[Mako Jim]

I'm interested if you can post the purge procedure. I don't have the manual and just replaced my trim seals/o ring. its on the work bench still.

[slim]

do you want to purge it of air? if so, follow these instructions. stand the unit up right. take out the fill plug and fill with oil till it runs out. connect the wires to a battery to go up. run it like this for 3 seconds. fill with oil again. keep repeating this till it goes all the way up. ensure its full of oil while all the way up. install fill plug. run up and down about 4 or 5 times. check fluid. after this you should be good to go.

[Ken]

Jim,
This is what my Yamaha manual says for purging air from the power t/t unit. This assumes there is mostly fluid in the system with a some air:

1)loosen the bypass screw all the way out - turn it till it stops.
2)manually pick up the outboard by grabbing the lower unit (may take two people) and tilting it all the way up.
3)allow the motor to drop down by itself - it will drop slowly.
4)wait five minutes.
5)tighten the bypass valve.
6)raise the motor all the way up using the power t/t switch/motor - drop down the locking lever for safety.
7)wait five minutes.
8)check fluid level - add if needed.
9)pull up locking lever and lower outboard with power t/t.
10)repeat above till no more air is heard "squishing" when outboard is raised.
Good luck [img]smile.gif[/img] ,
Ken K

[slim]

you can go threw the process that ken talked about but if you want to get it done just as good way faster, the way i described above is the way that do it at the factory when they rebuild t/t units. been there and seen it first hand. not to mention i have rebuilt quite a few in the past 13 years.