1977 Johnson 140 T/T issues

HOUSTON1

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
32
All,<br />I have done some searching, but haven't really found a good answer to my question, so I am hoping that someone will know right away what my problem is. I have a 1977 Johnson 140. It has a 3 wire t/t (blue, green, red). This weekend my motor quit tilting down. It has been on blocks becuase I was repainting the bottom, and when I put it back on the trailer I noticed the problem. It has been working fine until now. It tilts up strong, no problem there. When trying to tilit down it sounds like the motor/pump is working, but it won't go down. I opened up the black box with the solenoid in it, and when tilting up the solenoid clicks and the motor goes up. When tilting down, I can put pressure on the motor and get it to go down by hand, but it won't go on its own. It almost acts like it wants to go down though. I figured I should ask around before I start messing with it too much and make it worse. I have read a few previous posts about a "hydrolock". Could this be my problem? If so, will my manual tell how to correct this? Should I be looking at the motor/pump? I unscrewed the large slotted screw on the reseviour and filled it till fluid came out. I'm baffeled because it has worked fine (and tilting up still works fine), now it won't go down. You guys are a great resource, and hoped maybe someone could give me some advice. Plan on getting the manual out this weekend and going over it, but hoped I could get some pointers on what to look at first. Thanks for any help you can give.
 

mikeyzx2

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 1, 2005
Messages
633
Re: 1977 Johnson 140 T/T issues

have someone hold the motor and use a larger flat tip screwdriver to loosen the manual release valve. it should come back down, but like I said have someone hold it so it don't drop and hit something or someone. how's the motor sound when trying to lower it anyways? like normal or like it's under stress? I have a service manual for my 1977 85hp but it don't seem to mention "hydrolock". I've heard the term "airlock" thrown around on here also. I'm going through the TNT doldrums myself so I feel your pain too.....
 

HOUSTON1

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
32
Re: 1977 Johnson 140 T/T issues

Mikey,<br />Thanks for the reply. I will look into the manual release valve. After doing some more researching, it appears there is a valve somewhere that can be removed to release any air that may be in the pump causing it to lock up. I may be misusing the term hydrolock. The motor doesn't sound to be straining, but it does have a different sound (maybe like its not pumping fluid???) This really bums me out, because I was slated to do some fishing this weekend, and now I will be stuck fiddling with the T/T. I just want to avoid having to blindly replace parts, or having to take it into an outboard mechanic. Hoping it is still something small.
 

HOUSTON1

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
32
Re: 1977 Johnson 140 T/T issues

All,<br />Wanted to bump this up one more time to see if anyone out there has had this same problem with thier T/T. Like I said I will be going through the manual this weekend, but if someone knows the quick fix, I can get back out on the water this weekend and fish (which is a lot more fulfilling than trying to toubleshoot T/T problems). Thanks again for any additional help.<br />** 1977 v4 Johnson 140 3-wire T/T **
 

willamettejeff

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Nov 15, 2004
Messages
550
Re: 1977 Johnson 140 T/T issues

What I've read here before is that the motor is not pulled down by the tilt ram but drops by its own weight. A dirty, corroded or overly tight tilt tube will prevent this from happpening. First thing to try is loosen the nut at each end of the tilt tube and see if that frees it up. Grease the tilt tube through the grease fittings as well.
 
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