completely stumped by my tilt! please help!

[breakingbass]

hi all, a few weeks back my tilt went out and i have been trying to get it back in action. i first opened up the clutch assembly, and inspected all of the parts. the worm wheel, worm gear, the clutch assembly, the spindle, everything looked to be in great shape. no burs, no warps, everything is true, plenty of life in all of the parts, the clutch discs looked great. when i ran the tilt motor, the worm gear, the worm wheel and the cover on, it ran fine. once i slipped the spindle with the clutch assembly on, that's where it stopped dead in its tracks.

my tilt motor looked like it had seen much better days, so i bought a brand new one, and still the same result. the hammer blow is also in great condition. everything is in order, and i have a new motor and still no luck getting this thing to work.

here is how i installed it:

i soaked the clutch pack, the spindle and the worm wheel in motor oil for 15 minutes, i filled the entire housing with marine grease, i slid the worm gear, axle, and nylon washer onto the hammer blow it fit flush, i then placed the worm wheel into the housing making sure that the teeth all lined up with the worm gear. i then slid the clutch pack and spindle into the worm wheel, and slipped the spur gear onto the other end of the spindle as the clutch pack went into the worm wheel. before sealing the cover, i put it on, torqued it to 7 ft lbs. no go. i checked all the solenoids all good, and clicking, i checked my battery, it is proper, just a few months old, and has the juice to start the motor, and run the trim. i checked the wiring to the controls, all good. i am completely stumped. someone please let me know if i am just missing a step, or doing something wrong in the order of operations. if i left any information out, please let me know. any help would be really really appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

[breakingbass]

oh, i should probably mention that it is a 1985 OMC stringer 400. again, brand new tilt motor, packed with marine grease. i can get the worm gear and worm wheel to turn fine with the cover on, but once the clutch pack and spindle go in, no go! and thats without the weight of the outdrive on the spur gear. SOS!

 

[superbenk]

Willing to bet the clutch pack cover is on a touch too tight. I used to have to double up the gaskets to hold the cover out just a tad. You can test by loosening the bolts slightly all around & see if it frees up.

 

[breakingbass]

thanks for the reply superbenk. i thought the same thing b/c i couldnt find the exact gasket anywhere so i bought one of those make your own gasket kits, but im not sure what the exact thickness should be. this was the first time i serviced my tilt, and when i removed the clutch cover, i noticed the previous owner hadnt put a gasket on the cover and he just had a lot of permatex sealing it up. i will try again tomorrow and report back on how loosening the cover works. thanks.

 

[breakingbass]

this weekend, i was able to resolve the problem with my tilt. after getting a really good look at the inside of the clutch housing in daylight (i had been working on the boat during the evenings), i noticed a very small bur. i also noticed that the worm wheel had a tendency to run untrue when you spun it by hand while it was in the housing with the cover off, and the worm gear out. the small bur was actually causing the worm wheel to wobble while the worm gear would rotate it and that would jam the worm gear and wheel. i then took a dremel and very carefully got rid of the bur, and any other imperfections inside the housing.

once this w as achieved, we were able to successfully get the whole thing back together and working very well. was sealed it up, added oil, and took it for a spin this past sunday. the tilt was working great. well, anyway i hope this helps anyone else who comes across this same problem.