Another OMC stern drive tilt thread...

[LonestarZ06]

I acquired a 1983 SeaSwirl last summer with an inline 4 (2.5 L) and I'm having some issues with the mechanical tilt. After acquiring the boat, I started having tilt issues. So, I immediately bought a seal kit after finding out that the clutch pack housing was full of goo. I cleaned it all out thoroughly, installed the new seal kit and filled it up with standard automotive gear oil. If I recall, it was 90W synthetic. Then, it was pretty darn reliable the rest of the summer. Well, it's summer again and I was testing the tilt out again and while it would go down, it was not coming back up (clicking sound heard). So, I did the following in a progressive manner:

1. Checked voltage to the solenoids.
2. Flipped the switch in either direction and checked voltage going to the tilt motor.
3. Yanked the tilt motor and inspected the hammer-blow couplers; all was well. Also, hooked the tilt motor back up electrically while it was out and verified that it spins in both directions while toggling the switch.
4. Reassembled the tilt motor and couplers.
5. Then, yanked the clutch pack, spur gear, etc. No goo this time.
6. Removed the worm gear and inspected the rod, pins, etc. and there was no damage.
7. Put the worm gear back together, but left the clutch pack out, and toggled the switch back and forth. The worm gear easily moved in both directions.

So, at this point, I'm starting to believe that the clutch pack is the source of my problem, but since I'm such a noob at this, I thought I would ask the experts on this forum. I spent a couple of hours reading all of the threads related to the lovely tilt problems everyone has and I can't seem to find enough info to lead me in the next correct direction.

I went ahead and bought a few quarts of Type C gear oil and a new gasket in preparation for putting it back together. Do you guys believe that my clutch pack is the problem?

 

[southkogs]

Welcome aboard:

Most often it's the tilt motor (in my experience, anyway). While you have the motor out, you might consider having it rebuilt. It may not be generating all of the power it needs when you have the drive on it.

With the tilt motor off, and the stern drive off, can you turn the worm gear pretty easily with a screwdriver?

Also - to make sure - you're battery is good and charged, right?

 

[LonestarZ06]

Thank you southkogs for the reply. Your second to the last question is a great suggestion and one that I hadn't thought of. As soon as I get my gear oil, soak the clutch pack, and put that all back together, I'll yank the tilt motor again and give that a try. With respect to the clutch pack and before I put it all back together, do you know if there is any type of external indications (w/out taking it apart) that the clutch pack might be in trouble? I realize I'm in troubleshooting mode and may have to do some things twice, but I'm doing my best to avoid that and if you know of anything I can look at, it would be much appreciated.

As to the battery, yes, I'm good there. I just installed a new one with 1000 CCA and when I'm running these kinds of tests, I have a charger attached that has an automatic load assist feature.

 

[southkogs]

I've never torn my clutch apart. And I think the one I have is a little different than what you would have on an '83. Mine has never been a problem, so I don't know enough to speak to it honestly. I think going up shouldn't be a problem for it ... they're designed to "give" in the event that you hit something with the stern drive. So, if it's holding the drive up like it's supposed to it may be working just fine.

I would still lean toward that motor. I had mine checked and rebuilt a couple of years ago by a shop for less than $50.

 

[superbenk]

If the clutch pack were the problem is expect the motor to spin without the drive moving up. Since you're just hearing a click I'd tend to agree that either the motor or electrical connections are the problem. Either the motor isn't putting out enough torque or it's not getting enough current because of corroded connections or a worn out solenoid (solenoid may have carbon buildup internally).

Another option is that you have some play in the tilt shaft bearing causing the tilt gear to bind against the half-moon shaped quadrant gear. This tends to happen when the drive slams down too hard & you have that bit of play in the tilt shaft. Try dropping the drive only half way & see if it can tilt back up again from there. Sometimes you can unbind the gear by having someone tug up & down on the drive while you click the tilt switch but sometimes you have to resort to pulling to quadrant gear to get the drive up and unbound.

 

[LonestarZ06]

Thank you both for the replies thus far. For whatever its worth, I ended up backing off the allen bolt on my clutch pack a tad and soaked the clutch pack in type C gear oil for a while. Then, I tightened it all back up, assembled everything together, and filled it up with type C gear oil. I could easily with the tilt motor go up and down without a load. As soon as I put the load of the stern drive on it, it went up and down a couple of times and the tilt motor was done. I followed the instructions of superbenk by only putting it down a bit rather than all the way down and it still wouldn't come up. So, as southkogs noted, I took the tilt motor out and was easily able to spin the shaft with a flat head screwdriver. Also, the tilt motor was flaming hot after just a little work. So, I don't know a lot of marine shops around here, so I went ahead and ordered a new one up. Based on what has transpired in my t-shooting and the advice of you two guys, I'm 99.9% certain that once I get that new tilt motor in, I will be set. I will follow-up after I get the new motor installed.

 

[southkogs]

Sounds good: I'm just adding a couple notes for reference: 1) with an '83 drive you don't need Type C. There's no problem using it, but if it's cheaper or easier you can use whatever is on the shelf locally. Type C is more necessary for an electric shift drive. Also 2) if you can have the tilt motor rebuilt by a local auto parts shop, it should be cheaper than the new motor. It doesn't need to be a marine shop. I had a local guy who rebuilt starters and alternators do mine.

 

[superbenk]

Another thought I just had is that it is often necessary to double up on the clutch housing gasket because there isn't enough clearance for the end of the tilt shaft and it can bind in the cap of its on too tight. I always made my own gaskets and would double them up to avoid this problem. I ran my tilt clutch housing with grease in it instead of oil so that may have also made a difference in the amount of resistance due to higher viscosity.

 

[LonestarZ06]

So, some great news. Slapped the new tilt motor in and I'm all set. I've been out twice in the last week and it works flawlessly. A sincere THANK YOU to all that assisted me with this endeavor and my old boat.