tilt trim oil leak

[Karla45]

I noticed yesterday that there was alot of oil on the outside of the tilt/trim reservoir. It was on the side towards the bottom, i am wondering if it is coming from the hole on side where you fill it. I have a problem with the motor bleeding down, it seems to impove sometimes but others it bleeds down faster. What do i need to do here?

 

[RRitt]

Re: tilt trim oil leak

what engine? what year? etc etc

 

[Karla45]

Re: tilt trim oil leak

1989 us marine force 85HP

 

[RRitt]

Re: tilt trim oil leak

could be from over filling. could be from a blown reservoir to valve body gasket. could be from stripped port threads. could be from warped or cracked reservoir.

Has any work been done recently? Warped reservoirs and stripped threads usually don't occur unless some body messes with it.

Bleed down just happens with age. My advice depends upon age of trim motor. If the motor is original then I say learn to live with bleed down until you are ready to replace the whole pump assy (motor + valve body). The motor becomes not-waterproof with age and the work is significant enough that doing it once is much better than doing it twice. If you have recently replaced the trim motor then a new or rebuilt valve body is the best path. They run from $125 to $275 depending on where you get it, rebuilt vs new, and how fast you want it.

you first order of business is to identify the leak. Bleed down may be of secondary concern. If you need to replace the pump assy to stop the leak then you'll also fix bleed down by default.

 

[Karla45]

Re: tilt trim oil leak

The leak is comiing from the plug. I think it is stripped because it will not tighten just keeps turning. Where can i buy a new plug?

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: tilt trim oil leak

A new plug is not the answer.E-bay item 300467918443 Housing.The threads in the housing are bad.You will need one of these.
Look around you can find it cheaper.J

 

[RRitt]

Re: tilt trim oil leak

The leak is comiing from the plug. I think it is stripped because it will not tighten just keeps turning. Where can i buy a new plug?

the plug does not need to be tight on a 1972-1992 reservoir. it's only real job in life is to keep water from splashing into your reservoir. As long as it won't fall out into the lake, then your filler plug is good enough. A new filler plug won't make any difference anyway it is the housing that strips. It needs to be removed from boat for repairs. It isn't worth the effort unless you have other problems like bleed down or intermittent motor failure.

If oil is coming out of filler plug during normal operation then system has been overfilled.
If oil is coming out from one of the tubes on bottom then you need to get pump rebuilt. Half measures usually only make the problem go half away while increasing the cost of doing a full repair.

 

[Karla45]

Re: tilt trim oil leak

Yes i do have problem with bleed down & also when stop boat the motor moves down towards the transom from force of water, is this normal or does it mean I have tilt problem too?

 

[RRitt]

Re: tilt trim oil leak

bleed down is from valve body. valve body and motor usually fail within a year or tweo of each other. To fix the threads on either creates debris. Whether a rebuild is required to deal with debris depends upon whether the plastic reservoir or aluminum valve body has problem. In case of reservoir just to remove valve body, fix threads, flush, and reassemble. In case of valve body a full rebuild is needed to ensure that no aluminum flakes remain in system.

Certain seals in your system work from being squeezed like a pancake and other seals work by plugging up a hole like a cork. The ones that get squeezed are in your valve body and motor. They last about 20 years. The ones that plug up a hole are in the rams and they last about 30 years. You can inspect the debris wiper on top of tilt ram where piston goes in/out. If it is still pliable rubber then your rams are probably okay. If it is hard or cracking then it should be replaced as soon as possible before too much water gets into system.

 

[Karla45]

Re: tilt trim oil leak

okay thanks