1992 Omc Cobra 3.0 Trim /tilt Wont Go Down..

[QOH'S]

I have 92 four winns w/ a omc cobra 3.0 . i also have the shop manual (factory ). Unfortunately this is the 1 in a million things that it does not cover.

when i hit the switch to lower it , i can hear the motor but it wont go down....If i pull it back out of the water and curse at it a little and kick it ...it will go down just fine and give me no problems all day/ weekend.

now after a few weeks of setting on the trailer it does it all again ??? any suggestions?....i took it to the mechanic and he said the expected...."it worked fine for me ...i could not find anything wrong with it ".

any and all input would be much appreciated!!!


here is where i am at with this problem after 1 year.


facts :
1) the problem only occurs after being trailered for a few days in the full up tilt posituion.

2) the problem is never raising ...its always 100% of time lowering

3) you can always hear the smooth motor when you press the lowere button.

4) the problem is not every time...its just random .

 

[QOH'S]

Re: 1992 Omc Cobra 3.0 Trim /tilt Wont Go Down..

well i have not got a reply yet but i just searched and read about 20 related topics on this and i think that i will try to manually lower the vertical drive and check/ change fluid. I will check breakers and fuses also in the morning.


anything else I should check ?

 

[Don S]

Re: 1992 Omc Cobra 3.0 Trim /tilt Wont Go Down..

When you raise the drive up, you are probably holding the up button till you hear the trim motor start to bog down. This is pressurizing the system against itself. Then is let to set the valves in the pump can stick.
If you hear the pump running and it won't go down, have some one stand on the drive and bounce on it while holding the button to the down possition. This usually frees the valves in the pump.
Next time you put the drive up, just hit the down button for a second to relieve all that excess pressure and it may cure your problem.

 

[QOH'S]

Re: 1992 Omc Cobra 3.0 Trim /tilt Wont Go Down..

Thanks Don.


you are amazing !! I do hold it down when I pull it out of the water before the trip home. i wil start to let it down for a split second from now on. thank you ..now just to get it down 1 more time.

I will try that when i get home from work.

1 more question regarding this, I was under the assumption that full tilt up relieved all of the pressure and all down was pressurized. the manual says to always check fluid when full tilt up or i will get fluid sprayed everywhere....

regardless, i will try the bounce on it thing and manually release the pressure a bit ....i will post my conclusions this afternoon.....does anyone ever buy you lunch? you do deserve it !!!!

 

[Don S]

Re: 1992 Omc Cobra 3.0 Trim /tilt Wont Go Down..

1 more question regarding this, I was under the assumption that full tilt up relieved all of the pressure and all down was pressurized. the manual says to always check fluid when full tilt up or i will get fluid sprayed everywhere....

The pressure is NOT in the reservoir, it's just that when down, the reservoir has more oil in it than it does in the up position (Oil level above the fill hole) and there is some pressure from just the reservoir being fuller.
Full down on some systems is completely depressurized, but full up is pressureized if held against the stops. Up is the high pressure side of the system.

 

[QOH'S]

Re: 1992 Omc Cobra 3.0 Trim /tilt Wont Go Down..

YES THE BOUNCING ON IT WORKED.

so i decided to change the vertical drive hi vis gearcase lube.

The color was not pretty to me , but, I drove it all day 6 days ago and it ran great . so i completely drained and my question now is this :


the color is light brown (not milky just not clear and definitely anything but black. I would compare it to the color of bomit or baby crap.

The new lube going in is golden and clear like motor oil.

It took like an hour or more to completely drain this strange color of gear case lube. Is the color normal and the amount of time it took to drain completely normal ?

Thank you very much for your help.


( I know the last of this thread is off the begining topic so if you wanna change this post to another topic....)

 

[Don S]

Re: 1992 Omc Cobra 3.0 Trim /tilt Wont Go Down..

If it's not milky, there isn't water in it. If it's not black and smell burned, then it hasn't been overheated.
Everything in between (and not showing metal on the magnet or sparkly oil) is called used oil and normal. Change it yearly and keep an eye on color change, do the other maintenance for your engine and drive and have fun out on the water.