Okay. Maybe I'm an idiot. Outside of that I'd like some guidance if someone could please help me. As noted in the title my engine is a 1972 'rude 125283R with the optional power tilt unit.
I was originally having an issue with the tilt unit working to lift but it wouldn't hold the motor in the lifted position. The motor would drift down slowly. I had the motor lifted to the top stop and had a buddy push down the latch to keep it there. I inspected the lines the best I could and I didn't see anything leaking. I checked the reservoir and it was at the level of the fill hole on the reservoir with the motor in the upright lifted position.
The same buddy that was helping me that day is an ASE certified mechanic of countless years and suggested that possibly one of the check balls in the pump valve body was corroded or pitted or debris in the line wasn't allowing the ball to seat properly. Although he did not claim to be an expert on outboard hydraulics he said that the tilt system didn't look very different from the setup used to control his snow plow's motion.
I think my major mistake was to let the motor down to it's boating position. I disassembled the pump to inspect the valve body. Before separating the halves of the valve body it did appear that one of the check balls was unseated. There was a lot of sediment in the pump. I cleaned everything and checked the check balls. I didn't find any corrosion or pitting. I reassembled the valve body and put the pump back together and remounted it and reattached the lines.
Now the motor won't lift. The pump motor turns in both directions but the motor won't lift. I've made sure that the manual release is in the closed position. I tried to run the pump motor in the manual release position hoping it would bleed the system. No dice.
The motor is way to heavy for me to manually lift. I did another dissasembly to check my work but no dice again. I purchased the hydraulic fluid from one of our local boat shops and it is labeled specifically for tilt and trim units. I did not re-use the old stuff because I just don't like doing that.
What's my next step? I was thinking if I could get a jack (if I built a stand for it to put it on an angle) in a position to push the motor up thereby forcing fluid into the rams and then lowering it I could do a partial manual bleed. Am I off base? Is there an easier way?
Help, PLEEEEEEASE help. Thanks in advance.
I was originally having an issue with the tilt unit working to lift but it wouldn't hold the motor in the lifted position. The motor would drift down slowly. I had the motor lifted to the top stop and had a buddy push down the latch to keep it there. I inspected the lines the best I could and I didn't see anything leaking. I checked the reservoir and it was at the level of the fill hole on the reservoir with the motor in the upright lifted position.
The same buddy that was helping me that day is an ASE certified mechanic of countless years and suggested that possibly one of the check balls in the pump valve body was corroded or pitted or debris in the line wasn't allowing the ball to seat properly. Although he did not claim to be an expert on outboard hydraulics he said that the tilt system didn't look very different from the setup used to control his snow plow's motion.
I think my major mistake was to let the motor down to it's boating position. I disassembled the pump to inspect the valve body. Before separating the halves of the valve body it did appear that one of the check balls was unseated. There was a lot of sediment in the pump. I cleaned everything and checked the check balls. I didn't find any corrosion or pitting. I reassembled the valve body and put the pump back together and remounted it and reattached the lines.
Now the motor won't lift. The pump motor turns in both directions but the motor won't lift. I've made sure that the manual release is in the closed position. I tried to run the pump motor in the manual release position hoping it would bleed the system. No dice.
The motor is way to heavy for me to manually lift. I did another dissasembly to check my work but no dice again. I purchased the hydraulic fluid from one of our local boat shops and it is labeled specifically for tilt and trim units. I did not re-use the old stuff because I just don't like doing that.
What's my next step? I was thinking if I could get a jack (if I built a stand for it to put it on an angle) in a position to push the motor up thereby forcing fluid into the rams and then lowering it I could do a partial manual bleed. Am I off base? Is there an easier way?
Help, PLEEEEEEASE help. Thanks in advance.