1989 Evinrude 88SPL (E88MSLCER) PTT

[drobertsobx]

Found another weird problem with the motor. This concerns the PTT unit.
The tilt function seems to work as expected.
The trim unit has an issue.
When switching from tilt to trim function the unit is extremely noticeably slow and stalls halfway through the full limit... kind of spins it wheels for about 10 seconds then begins moving again and goes to full trim.
During the trim function the unit is also "creaking" for lack of a better term.
Reversing does not have the "stall" and goes up to the tilt just fine but very very slow.

Steps so far:
Topped off trim fluid, it was about 5-6oz low.
Removed Upper Pin on tilt cleaned lightly greased and reinstalled (it was oxidized very badly thought it might have been the noise, noise persists).
I do not see any fluid leaking anywhere.

Unscrewed the by bass valve with the motor down, lifted the motor by hand and did not hear any noise at the motor where the grease fittings are and moved effortlessly. I have a very bad back and did notice it would slowly fall down to the Trim point and stop, I was unable to push it in manually due to my back, just wouldn't budge with what I could do.
I had assumed it would move freely with a little effort.

Any recommendations for next steps would be appreciated.
I had not even tried the trim on the motor until today, because of the trailer design the trailer needs to be dropped to the ground at the coupler and the rear lifted or it will hit the cement driveway. The unit is not new I have just completed the strip, sand, paint and clearcoat process on the motor already.

Thanks in advance Don

 

[Crosbyman]

had same symptoms on my 75 etec....the PTT likely needs a seal rebuild

6oz low on the oil indicates a leak

 

[drobertsobx]

had same symptoms on my 75 etec....the PTT likely needs a seal rebuild

6oz low on the oil indicates a leak

I found the leak I think... no O-ring in the fill screw, wasn't seeing it because I had not cleaned up the unit from the fill, so each time I put it way up for thunderstorms ( as last night) it was leaking out a little. That's how the original owner kept it for 16 months so I am assuming it just slowly leaked out.
I installed a new O-Ring and Once cleaned I operated a few dozen times times put the bow way up and everything remained dry.

I built myself a switch to run the unit at the transom...
Ran the unit up and put it on the travel latch.
Ran the down until the trim activated.
The starboard side seems to work fine, once it has completed it's full movement the port side will go in and out and makes the creaking sound while moving.
Not sure if I am dealing with a bad seal situation, air or bent rod???

I uploaded a video to my dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1xj6..._001.mp4?dl=0&rlkey=ch6y55qwbd3kr72u8ckbeojs9

 

[drobertsobx]

had same symptoms on my 75 etec....the PTT likely needs a seal rebuild

6oz low on the oil indicates a leak

I found the leak I think... no O-ring in the fill screw, wasn't seeing it because I had not cleaned up the unit from the fill, so each time I put it way up for thunderstorms ( as last night) it was leaking out a little. That's how the original owner kept it for 16 months so I am assuming it just slowly leaked out.
I installed a new O-Ring and Once cleaned I operated a few dozen times times put the bow way up and everything remained dry.

I built myself a switch to run the unit at the transom...
Ran the unit up and put it on the travel latch.
Ran the down until the trim activated.
The starboard side seems to work fine, once it has completed it's full movement the port side will go in and out and makes the creaking sound while moving.
Not sure if I am dealing with a bad seal situation, air or bent rod???

I uploaded a video to my drop box: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1xj6..._001.mp4?dl=0&rlkey=ch6y55qwbd3kr72u8ckbeojs9

I also put the calipers to the Trim cap to order a wrench and it measures out as 35mm OC (Outside edge on top pin hole to inside edge bottom pin hole) x 6mm Pins this is not the size the parts manual calls for (32mm x 4mm) I have been told they ran many different caps on these units as the wrenches are pricey don't want to order the wrong one.

 

[Crosbyman]

search utubes you may find something to assist in solving the problem and tool selection

 

[drobertsobx]

search utubes you may find something to assist in solving the problem and tool selection

Thanks for the info Watched your video and several others, the guy at the site said he would be willing to send both tools and I can return the one that isn't the right size so that's cool.
He also said it sounds like the plastic ring may have **** the bed and is causing the excess friction.
So I ordered the seal kit for all 3 systems and wrenches. Will post what I find out when I do the job.
Thanks again for your input.

 

[drobertsobx]

Took apart both trim cylinders today, looked like a combination of transmission fluid and trim fluid that came out. Flushed it all out rebuilt both cylinders (what I took out looked as good as the new rings and seals) refilled with trim fluid, works good now.