Outboard almost hits transom when trimmed up?

[CLi87]

Hey all, I just got a new to me 1999 Nitro 185 Sport and it came with a Tracker 120hp by Mercury Marine. Engine runs great, but the issue is the trim, I'm not sure if this is the original motor for the boat or not but when I trim the motor all the way up to engage the support bracket it almost hits the transom area and if I trim all the way up it'll snap the fuel hose connector. Any ideas how to fit this issue?

 

[racerone]

Can you raise the motor by 1/2" ?----Is it a Mercury motor or an an inline 4 cylinder FORCE ?

 

[CLi87]

Can you raise the motor by 1/2" ?----Is it a Mercury motor or an an inline 4 cylinder FORCE ?

It says Tracker by Mercury Marine on the cover but it's an inline 4 cylinder with 2 carbs sticking way out front, I can try to raise the motor, I hadn't fiddled with it much yet, just got it yesterday and crushed the fuel connector when I trimmed all the way up.

 

[racerone]

It is a FORCE motor marketed / rebadged by Mercury for Tracker boat company.

 

[Chris1956]

Unfortunately that is fairly common, especially on older boats that had smaller splash wells. There is no standard cure. See if turning the motor all way to a side will fix it. If the fuel connector is on the port side, turn the wheel to starboard, or vice versa.

We used to d/c the fuel line when time to trailer. During tilts during a boat trip, don't trim it all the way up. We didn't have PTT so it was much more of an issue than you have. We had to use the manual lock.

 

[Texasmark]

Hey all, I just got a new to me 1999 Nitro 185 Sport and it came with a Tracker 120hp by Mercury Marine. Engine runs great, but the issue is the trim, I'm not sure if this is the original motor for the boat or not but when I trim the motor all the way up to engage the support bracket it almost hits the transom area and if I trim all the way up it'll snap the fuel hose connector. Any ideas how to fit this issue?

I had that problem once and when trailoring I always turned the helm all the way to the starboard side side since my control cables were on the port side of the engine. Problem some shallow draft, low sided boats have the splash pan set too high for the height of the transome clamp bracket position.

Funny, my problem was with a Chrysler 16' Sport Fury and Chrysler 85 hp engine,,,,,engine family was West Bend, Chrysler, Mercury Marine Force badge and your 120 sounds like a Force since regular Merc engines are 115 and 125 HP.