Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

[Gas Giant]

Engine is an '82 Johnson 235. I'm trying to replace the non-functional, corroded tilt/trim unit with a much nicer one that actually works. The engine is pretty old, and corroded, but I need to get a few more years out of it before I can afford to repower.

However, that tilt pin is stuck. Very stuck. I've read a lot of threads on this site about that, but I haven't had any luck with the usual methods. I've used a propane torch and gotten it pretty darn hot - the entire midsection casting was hot when I finally gave up - and it wouldn't budge with solid blows from a 2.5lb hammer and a brass drift. I've also been hitting it daily - sometimes several times a day - with PB Blaster.

It hasn't moved a bit. Not at all.

Two questions:

1) Is there any reason I shouldn't try using an air hammer on this pin? I have a air hammer bit for it. (Not the chisel end, its cylindrical and flat on the end)

2) In the even that I can't ever get it to start moving, is there any reason I couldn't drill the pin out? (Other than it being a very annoying thing to do?)

 

[RRitt]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

i use a sawzall and throw away the old mounting brackets when it gets too bad.

 

[Gas Giant]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

I can see why. I guess it might come down to that.

 

[multimech]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

You need more than propane. You have a huge chunk of heat dissipating aluminum to heat up. If you can get an oxy acetelene torch. Heat that mother up and hit it with the drift. Watch out you don't mushroom one side or it won't go through. You can always use a file or a grinder to get rid of the mushroom if it happens. It takes a lot of time and effort to get those things out. Good luck drilling it. It is a stainless pin and you will need to drill straight in a precarious position.

 

[multimech]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

Usually I need to get them busted loose with a hammer and drift, before the air hammer will work. You will need to get it a little loose. Keep the heat on then hit it with the air hammer. Again be careful you don't mushroom the ends, it is easy to do with an air hammer.

 

[Gas Giant]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

Hmm....I don't own an oxy acetelene torch myself, but I think I know someone who might. I was wondering if the propane would be enough, I suppose not.

I REALLY don't want to attempt drilling it out, that is more of a hail mary pass than anything else.

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

oxy is a bit too drastic.
you need a much bigger hammer to be honest.
we used an 8lb hammer and just walloped it from both sides till it started to move then just concentrated on the one side.
they are stupidly tigyht in there and no reason at all to be made like that.
what that bit dont have a plastic sleeve is silly.

anyway we attacked it for a couple of hours each of us having a go when we got worn out etc.
it realy does get to the point that you think its never comming out.

if you do drill you will need a very strong drill bit, make sure the drill is a few mm smaller than the pin and then just ream it out afterwards.
i would say that this is about the hardest job to do on a outboard engine that ive come across, and age dont seem to make any difference.
i had a 3 year old mercury that just would not move, yet my 1995 evinrude was easy, my freinds 77johnson a pain in butt.
but the hammer needs to be bigger, 2 pound club hammer is definitely not big enough for this job.


phill

 

[RRitt]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

what happens is that the aluminum turns into aluminum oxide. ALOX is some like like 10x larger than the amount of AL needed to make it. So you end up with a press fit so tight that the metal will snap or distort before the shafts are freed.

The first thing I do when faced with this is evaluate the overall impact of ALOX and decide which path takes the least amount of labor hours. Is the boat salt? brackish? mineral? quarry? or just neglected anodes? Look for white powder residue. If you can see just a trace of dust around the seams then it is probably worth fighting out. If there is a heavier buildup then fighting to save parts usually works out to around $10 per hour. There may be some honor in victory by defeating the corrosion and saving the part. However, there is more money left in the customers pocket by cutting the part off and replacing with a good used item off craigslist.

all I'm saying is that if you see a lot of white powder then you may want to evaluate the wisdom of re-using some parts. Trim systems almost always have an bracket or shaft that can be cut quickly with a sawzall or power-band. once free from the engine he central shaft can be drilled with four 1/8" holes near perimeter - the holes then expanded to 1/4" until they just barely open up a channel between SS shaft and trim housing. At that time Aluminum screen door lubricant does a good job of softeneing the alox and the pin remnants drive out easily. On the tough systems, you are left hunting for $50 of used brackets while saving 2-6 hours of labor.

 

[durban]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

this what you can do & its the only way i manage to remove a trim & tilt tube that has been corroded in with salt over many years without using a hammer drill 2 or 3mm holes between the pin & aluminum get a doctors syringe & squirt nitric acid in the holes & leave for about 1\2 hour take your wife's hair dryer & put it on the highest heat & heat it up it will come out

 

[Gas Giant]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

Hmm....some good info on here. Let me get you guys some pictures of what I'm dealing with.

 

[colbyt]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

Hmm....I don't own an oxy acetelene torch myself, but I think I know someone who might. I was wondering if the propane would be enough, I suppose not.

MAPS will work in your torch and it does burn quite a bit hotter. It might be enough.

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

the guys problem is not the tilt tube.

its the tilt pin on the centre ram of the power trim from what i understand.
its a solid pin, driven in from new, its about 2.5 inch long and about 1/2 diameter of solid stainless steel.

Durbans nitric acid might work but you cant drill around that pin, maybe drill into it and wait for the acid to melt the steel away.

But thats a good idea for tilt tubes durban ha ha ill keep that one in mind and write it on my dont forget list


phill

 

[boobie]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

Post a pic of what pin you're talking about. That would really help.

 

[durban]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

i very well know its not the tilt tube , my idea my work there , & if you can not drill in there remove the left hand side transom bracket looking aft then it exposes all that area for drilling ,

 

[mauryc]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

I attempted this on my 40. No way top pin was coming out but I managed to remove the lower pin. I ended up removing the unit by unscrewing the ram with the top still attached. I rebuilt the unit and installed new seals on the ram with it still attached to the motor. I slid the rebuilt housing back on the ram and tightened everything up. Worked very well. Just an option if you don't want to fight with the top pin and you can get the bottom one out.

Maury

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

Last one of these I had to get out took some doing - motor was a 60hp Johnson twin that had started life in salt. I started by cutting a couple inches out of the center of the pin with an angle grinder so that I wasn't trying to loosen both sides at once. I then cut the outer ends of the pin flush with the clamp bracket casting so that I could get in there with a flat punch and small sledge. I also heated up the bracket several times, spraying it down with PB-Blaster after each cycle. I then just whacked the &#^! out of the pins until the drove all the way through.

 

[RRitt]

Re: Anyone ever had to drill out a tilt pin?

Post a pic of what pin you're talking about. That would really help.

99.9% sure what he means is the lower mounting shaft. Later models used a thick plastic bushing which isolated the SS shaft from the alox. I don't think anybody was using the thick lower bushings back in '82. He probably has the split bushing made from 1/64th plastic just like top bushings on later years. As soon as those things hit saltwater they just aren't worth the effort to save.

Ebay is great because you can get michigan and idaho parts shipped to florida, texas, lousinana, etc. About 1/3rd of used trim systems are shot even though the description says "good working used freshwater system". If you buy something that is 1000 miles from nearest ocean then it's probably an easy rebuild. In general, the smart money is to use a bandsaw and cut the saltwater cr@p off as quickly as possible and throw it into the trash. Then rebuild a Minnesota freshwater unit to replace it. You'll waste so many hours fighting galvanic corrosion that it works out to less than minimum wage to save the saltwater gear. Just not worth it.