Power Trim fluid

[randallwquirk]

Seloc manual says to use Auto Trans fluid, Merc dealer recommends clear power trim fluid, almost all others say 20W or 10-30W. Mine has red fluid in it and when I checked it I lost a bit, so I topped it off with Auto Trans fluid (Red stuff). New Merc's on the lot have red fluid(I checked)so whats the concensus out there, and Merc shop says don't try to drain & flush & put in new fluid. Why not? As long as fluids aren't mixed I don't see the problem.

 

[randallwquirk]

Re: Power Trim fluid

OOPS! Forgot to ask........What's the proper way to try and get air out of the system?

 

[davejohnson]

Re: Power Trim fluid

Your manual should have detailed bleeding instructions. If you have the non-integrated trim with the separate motor like mine, there are UP and DOWN bleed screws on oppositie ends of the cylinders. Take out the screws, run the motor until the sputtering stops and you have a strong stream of fluid, quickly replace the bleed screw. Do that withe all 4 screws, then top off the reservoir. Done. Chasing air bubbles around can be a pain, though, so don't be in a hurry.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Power Trim fluid

If your trim is self-contained, then all you have to do to bleed it is run it up and down until the bubbles go away. You can hear it. You may have to fill the reservior on occasion.<br /><br />As far as what type of fluid to use...anything you mentioned is fine and you can mix and match with no problem. They get specific, but why I don't know. If you boat in cold water, then you want to keep it thin. That'd be the only real factor that comes to mind.<br /><br />Unless you get water contamination, there is rarely a need to change the fluid. Trim operates for seconds at a time, never gets hot, and there aren't combustion-produced contaminants to make it dirty. It'd take thousands of hours of motor use to get even one hour of trim system use...depending on how often you use it of course.

 

[Winger Ed.]

Re: Power Trim fluid

Either 10-40 motor oil or Auto Trans fluid will work fine.<br /><br />All it has to do is work at hi or lo temps, not leak through or gum up the valves or seals and such, and not eat the gaskets or 'O' rings in the system. And either will do that quite well for several years without needing to be changed.<br /><br /><br />A lot of mechanics data you see is subjective. Many, many things will work fine in the various applications; but the folks putting together a manuel feel the need to appear decisive and authortative. So, they just make a decision to print/use one thing or another even though 20 other fluids will do the same job just fine.<br /><br /><br />Oh,,,<br /><br />Often mechanics will recomend you not do something for a few different reasons:<br /><br />1. They want the item to wear out, so you can pay them to fix it.<br /><br />2. It usually doesn't need to be messed around with much in the first place.<br /><br />3. If you ask such a question, they think you really aren't smart enough to be working on it in the first place, and don't want you calling them to ask 387 questions they have to stop what they are doing to make money, and answer for free while pretending not to be annoyed.