Mercury Trim Issues -Help -Help -Help

[BryanStiles]

This weekend I decide to fix my noisy trim. The motor sounded great when trimmed all the way up. When I would trim down the motor it's supposed to change pitch, you know, where it gets to the two cylinders. But mine was making a noise like it needed fluid (I thought), kind of like it my tractor when it needed fluid in the front-end loader. It's hard to describe that sound, but it's like there is air or something in the lines...

So I trimmed the motor all the way up and flipped over the safety lever. I then loosened the fill plug a bit and just before I took it all the way out there was a bit of fluid that came out. I quickly put the fill plug back in and tightened it up.

After that the motor would not raise or lower!!!

I then opened the manual release valve on the side and the motor lowered. Now the motor will not raise or lower. I took the tractor and raised the motor so I could move it back to storage, but it still won't move up and down.

This evening after work I took the tractor and raised and lowered the motor several times with the front end loader, no change really. I raised the motor all the way up and checked the fluid, some came out so I quickly put it back in.

I'm stumped! The manual says that the fill plug can be opened with the motor all the way up, that when you do and fluid comes out that the reservoir is full. Well mine seems full but the motor won't move! What do I do???

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Mercury Trim Issues -Help -Help -Help

Bryan, It will help if you tell us what year and model motor you are working on. You also might identify the color of the trim fluid.

 

[BryanStiles]

Re: Mercury Trim Issues -Help -Help -Help

I'm sorry, it's a 2001 Mercury 150 XR6. The fluid is red in color.

Also an update. Last night I worked more with it and it seems that it will tilt up and down but not trim. Also the tilt won't hold, if youmove it say 3/4 of the way to the top and stop the motor lowers by itself.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Mercury Trim Issues -Help -Help -Help

OK, Try to refill and bleed the system. Tilt it up all the way, engage the manual lock and let it sit for 30 min. Now open up the plug and fill with Dexron III Auto trans fluid. Plug it and cycle thru full up and down a couple of times. Now tilt it up, lock it, let it sit and refill. Repeat until it is full of ATF. If it still leaks down, you will need to disassemble and replace the piston seal.

 

[BryanStiles]

Re: Mercury Trim Issues -Help -Help -Help

Great! Thank you very much.

I have found that if you tilt the motor all the way up and remove the fill plug, fluid will spurt out. This led me to believe that the reservoir was full. I thought of backing the boat up a little incline to try to get the angle of the reservoir closer to 90? so that maybe the fluid would be a bit easier to fill.

Is that why you let it sit a while? I'm not sure I have real good understanding of what's going on with this thing...

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Mercury Trim Issues -Help -Help -Help

You let it sit to allow the air to bubble to the surface, so it can be removed. Whne the air is mixed with the fluid, it will cause the fluid to overflow, when it is in reality lower than needed.