1991 johnson tilt and trim making alarming noise

Bman2895

Seaman
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Messages
73
So I got the boat not long ago and the trim has worked fine. Still does, but now since its gotten cold out (20s and 30s) it makes a puttering noise when you first trim the motor up and down. It goes away after two complete up and down trip, but I didn't do this before? I'll upload a video in a few of what I'm talking about
 

phillnjack2

Ensign
Joined
Apr 30, 2011
Messages
918
that noise is air !!! you need to get the engine up on full trim as far up as it will go, then open the plug to fill the oil ( up on the right, just out of site on vid).
now you need to get this full up, and its very easy not to completely fill the system.
what I do is lower the front of trailer to get that last bit of angle.
Now when filling the reservoir do it very slow, and dont panic about spilling any as yo u cant fill it with a spill or two ha ha .
once full , trim it up and down about 10 times, wait 3 seconds between up and down or trim motor will get too hot.
Now after about 10 trim ups, check the level again, and so on until its 100% full, it will purge itself of air.
and the putting a touch of grease on the rams dont do much, but not a bad thing.
also have you greased the thru tube from the front of the bracket ? this is a must or corrosion can occur even though there is plastic bushings, they can wear out.
also with the centre trim ram, a spray of we40 or similar up on the top wont do any harm and can help a touch, its another area that from new should have a grease fitting, but omc did not put one on for cheapness.

hope this helps you.
 
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