1995 Force 120 - Trim help! Raises and lowers fine, but when fully up, slowly drops

[jpaulson]

I have a 1995 Bayliner Capri 1700 LS with a 1995 outboard Force 120. It trims up and down just fine, however when its trimmed to the up position, it slowly drops down. I would say it takes about 5-8 minutes for it to go from fully up to fully down.

I assume there is an internal seal or o-ring that is faulty. Can someone please help me with steps to troubleshoot this problem? I did check the hydraulic fluid in the fully up position and it is full with a clear oil.

I attached a photo of the hydraulic setup. Can someone please explain the funtions of both of the cylinders shown in the photo? Is one the pump and the other the electric motor? Please help me figure this out and fixed before the season!

Thanks!

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 1995 Force 120 - Trim help! Raises and lowers fine, but when fully up, slowly dr

The quick but not necessarily helpful check is this: There is a white plastic "screw" on the side of the pump body. It can be accessed through a hole in the transom clamp. This is a check valve and also a manual over-ride in case the engine needs to be lifted or lowered by hand.

Reach through with a screwdriver and check that it is tight. If it is tight, lower the engine all the way, unscrew it, and remove it. You will lose fluid so have something on the ground to catch it. Check the O rings on this valve and replace if they look anything other than brand new. Try to find the correct size at Grainger or Fastenal. I believe the valve itself is sold only as a unit and it costs--get this--60 bucks! So, be careful not to cross thread it when you replace it into the valve body. Top off the fluid lost with fresh.

If that set of O ring is OK, then you will need to open the pump and I can not help there--I have never rebuilt one.

 

[jpaulson]

Re: 1995 Force 120 - Trim help! Raises and lowers fine, but when fully up, slowly dr



Thanks! I think I am getting somewhere. This is a pic of the manual release screw. As you can see the o-ring on the tip was seated crooked. It also appears as though the end of the screw is broken off. I dont know what its supposed to look like, does it look like a large chunk has broken off?

I am wondering if I can just reseat the o-ring and give it a try. Also, to refill the fluid, do I just manually lift the engine with the manual screw completely removed and then once fully in the up position, screw it back in, then refill?

Also, what kind of fluid should I be using and where can I get some!? Local Autozone? Walmart? Tractor supply?

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: 1995 Force 120 - Trim help! Raises and lowers fine, but when fully up, slowly dr

The tip should be bullet shaped so obviously you do have a bad valve. If there are no grooves or chips missing from under the O-ring it may seal when you re-seat it. However, even a new valve may not solve the problem--the O-ring probably was cocked during removal.

You should at this point at least get a strong pencil light and see if the broken piece(s) are in the valve body. If the yare, remove them.

Because of the price (I am not certain, check several parts sites-example: **********) check around pricing a new one.

The fill plug should be a black plastic slotted plug on the reservoir, just below the motor. I think it can only be accessed with the engine in the up position.

Fluid will either be red (transmission fluid), clear (Hydraulic oil), or brown (Straight 30 weight oil). Replace with like fluid.

 

[jpaulson]

Re: 1995 Force 120 - Trim help! Raises and lowers fine, but when fully up, slowly dr

Fixed! I reseated the o-ring, refilled the hydraulic fluid, and it no longer drops. Thank you so much for your help! Great forum