Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

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trdexpert

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
35
Hello, Recently my unlce gave me a 1974 Seaswirl with a OMC 185 v-8 with 750hrs, I replaced the starter and fuel pump and ran good..

My outdrive is giving me problems..
When I hit the tilt/trim switch all I hear are clicks, up and down, I swapped out Solenoids, removed trim pump to inspect it, when I removed it water came out and inside the motor there was a lot of corrision.. I cleaned out the motor with wd-40 and electrical spray, gave it a littlle sanding and pop'd it back in. I was sure it was going to be fixed. I called my kids to show them that the trim was going to work and NADA.. click, click click, thats all the action im getting by hitting the trim switch.

I re-tested the solenoids by jumping them with a wire, I am gettig power to the trim motor.

I dont know what to do next, im an automotive meachanic and all this outdrive work is new to me.

The Outdrive is stuck in the upright position and its mechanically driven, no hydraulic lines..

PLEASE HELP:confused:
 
B

bucnon75

Seaman Apprentice
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Dec 24, 2009
Messages
30
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

Not familiar with your outdrive, but does it have trim sender and limit switches located on the outdrive? I had to replace mine due to frayed wires leading from the pump to the trim switches located on each side of the outdrive.
Sounds like you have power going to the pump.
 
T

trdexpert

Seaman Apprentice
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Jul 18, 2010
Messages
35
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

I followed the wires going from the outdrive motor to the solenoids and from solenoids it goes all the way to the instument cluter where I have my trim switch, Fuse to the switch is good.
 
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blazer7671

Cadet
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
8
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

Is it clicking at the solenoids or the drive motor? I used jumper cables to make mine go up and down on my Shark until I replaced the solenoids.

On the other hand, if there was water coming out of the motor perhaps the worm gear has bad suport bushings? guessing without seeing it.:redface:
 
superbenk

superbenk

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Oct 27, 2008
Messages
2,033
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

There's no tilt/trim limiting switches on the Stringer drive. You could have a bad motor. Is your battery freshly charged & in good condition? That system needs a good battery to work properly.

I'd also take the worm gear, shaft & clutch ring gear out & inspect them. The gears or shaft could be binding and stuck. Check the hammer-blow coupler that joins the motor to the worm gear shaft. It could be broken and binding.

Did you try the motor by itself after cleaning it & before reinstalling? It should try and torque itself around when you give it power.

Also, try loosening the clutch pack cover slightly and see if that helps. If the gasket between the cover & housing is too narrow, the shaft will bind and not move.

Grease the trunions (there's zerks under the rubber bumpers on either side of the drive - the rubber bumpers just pry off). Can you get it to move while holding the switch and having someone yank up & down on the drive? The quadrant gears could be bound if the bushings on the clutch pack shaft are worn & there's some play.
 
T

trdexpert

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
35
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

after cleaning the motor, I did not test it. While the motor was off, I tryed tuning the gear on the outdrive with a screw driver but it was to hard..

Ill loosen up the clutch cover and retest it tonight

Where are the Truniond and zerks located?

Thanks for all the help..
 
T

trdexpert

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
35
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

okay, im trying this today.. So if mine is only a tilt, whats the trim? Why do some have tilt/trim?
 
superbenk

superbenk

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2,033
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

The Stringer drive trims by moving the entire engine/outdrive as an assembly vs. just the outdrive on most other outdrives. Later Stringer drives came with what's called SelecTrim which uses either a jackscrew on the front motor mount 4cyl & 6cyl, I think) or hydraulic rams (8cyl) on side engine mounts to change the attitude of the engine & outdrive relative to the underlying stringers/boat deck. That's why the Stringers have that massive transom boot around them, so the whole drive can move around inside the transom hole. It's definitely a wacky system.

FYI, here's a pic of my motor with the SelecTrim. Note the jackscrew in the center of the front motor mount:

IMG_4997.JPG
 
B

Bravo

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
May 28, 2010
Messages
81
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

In my humble opinion, you may need to replace the tilt motor. By all means, test the thing to make sure nothing else is binding up, but having water in the thing can't be a good sign. See what it will do when you remove the motor and power it up. I'm guessing that it will jump pretty hard if its in good order. I've always learned to start with the easy things and work your way up by eliminiation. For instance, I towed a big box truck the other night, costing the owner almost $600. His problem turned out to be a 10 amp fuse for the ECM. I can only imagine the cussing involved there!
 
T

trdexpert

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Jul 18, 2010
Messages
35
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

Thanks for all the help. My motivation on working on this boat is for my kids.. Thanks guys, I will post more when I perform these test..
 
T

trdexpert

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
35
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

So, I loosend up the clutch plate on the tilt motor and had no positive outcome, My next step was to double check I was getting power to the tilt motor, I did have power. I removed the tilt motor,hooked up to power and ground, had my wife hit the tilt switch and the motor did not turn, up nor down, I disconnected the tilt motor and manually hooked it up to the battery, found the the tilt motor was completly dead. Next step is to buy a tilt motor. Hopefully it ends my nightmare!

What do they run for?
 
T

trdexpert

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
35
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

superbenk said:
The Stringer drive trims by moving the entire engine/outdrive as an assembly vs. just the outdrive on most other outdrives. Later Stringer drives came with what's called SelecTrim which uses either a jackscrew on the front motor mount 4cyl & 6cyl, I think) or hydraulic rams (8cyl) on side engine mounts to change the attitude of the engine & outdrive relative to the underlying stringers/boat deck. That's why the Stringers have that massive transom boot around them, so the whole drive can move around inside the transom hole. It's definitely a wacky system.

FYI, here's a pic of my motor with the SelecTrim. Note the jackscrew in the center of the front motor mount:

IMG_4997.JPG
Click to expand...

Nice and clean. No leaks
 
superbenk

superbenk

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Messages
2,033
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

trdexpert said:
Why? OMc is not a good motor?
Click to expand...

Because OMC has been out of business for 12+ yrs now & the Stringer drive hasn't been made since 1985. It's a wacky system (the Stringer drive) and it's expensive to find some of the more major parts. If the drive takes a dump, you're looking for a used one off eBay, a donor boat or a really expensive rebuilt used one online.

Sadly I learned all this after picking the boat up for free from a camp I grew up at. It's been a great restore project, but I hate living in constant fear of breaking something I can't replace.
 
T

trdexpert

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
35
Re: Outdirve Nightmare, HELP

Wow.. I saw the pics or ur boat, its really nice..
 
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