Prop up or down for earmuffs?

[who]

Hi guys, I checked the FAQ for this one, but didnt see anything. Im quite the boating newbie, so bear with me while I get to know the correct terms for everything... I just got my 3.0L Mercruiser to fire since I covered it for the winter, but to run it with the earmuffs, do I need to keep the outdrive down, or is it safe to leave it up?<br /><br />Thanks<br /><br />Alex

 

[marinemech1]

Re: Prop up or down for earmuffs?

best to have it down or as low as possible

 

[tommays]

Re: Prop up or down for earmuffs?

the drive should never be run further up then then the trim limit and the lower you can run it on the trailer the better<br /><br /><br />the ujoints in the drive line will cause damage if you run the motor with the drive all the way up<br /><br />tommays

 

[who]

Re: Prop up or down for earmuffs?

damn you guys are fast!<br /><br />Thanks for the advice....

 

[marinemech1]

Re: Prop up or down for earmuffs?

after running motor watch air temp you may want to drain block again

 

[who]

Re: Prop up or down for earmuffs?

Originally posted by tommays:<br /> the drive should never be run further up then then the trim limit and the lower you can run it on the trailer the better<br /><br />tommays

The trim up lever actually raises the drive all the way... No difference than hitting the trailer button.... I'm going to check the wiring shortly, but Im wondering how far up is the trim limit (approx)?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Prop up or down for earmuffs?

Probably,....... Your Trim Limit Switch is Junk,+ somebody jumpered it inside the transom.....<br /><br />I believe if there's Over 6"s of ram showing,.. That's about the End of Trim,+ you're getting into the Tilt range........<br /><br />Basicly,... Lower is Better...... It's all about the Angle of the driveshaft,+ it's U-joints....

 

[who]

Re: Prop up or down for earmuffs?

Thanks for the reply... So there's no real damage being done by having it jumpered for now, as long as I dont lift it too high while riding around the bay... I'll work on that limit switch another time... Another question though (and did I mention that I really appreciate the help?)...<br /><br />Has anyone ever seen a pink hydraulic fluid? Thats what was in the pump resevoir since I bought this boat last year. (88 Stingray 3.0L) I just pulled the pump out of the boat and drained the resevoir. You wouldnt believe the chunk, water, sludge that was in there. Anyway, do y'all think this fluid started out life RED? I'm guessing Yes...<br /><br />Off to flush out the lines.... <br /><br />Thanks<br /><br />Alex

 

[Bizmark]

Re: Prop up or down for earmuffs?

Has anyone ever seen a pink hydraulic fluid?

Sounds like someone used ATF for trim fluid. I've always used 30 weight motor oil in mine.

 

[cuzner]

Re: Prop up or down for earmuffs?

Pink sounds like atf.... with a bit of water ...... ouch

 

[Don S]

Re: Prop up or down for earmuffs?

ATF turns a nice shade of milky pink when there is water in the oil. First, it shouldn't be ATF to begin with, should be either Merc powertrim and tilt fluid, or 10W30 Motor oil. But if it has water in it, you need to find the leak, it's usually a trim cylinder shaft seal leaking, and it probably won't leak fluid, just suck in water.<br />Your trim limit switch could either be bypassed, or the pivot on the switch is broken off and it never moves. Either way if you want it to work, you have to replace the trim limit switch.<br />What you really need is a Mercruiser service manual so you can see how to check things and troubleshoot your system instead of the trial and error method. Below is a link to the OEM manual, it's in .pdf format and takes a while to load some of the larger pages. Just move your cursor over the page to find the links to all the sections. The links are not always obvious.<br /><br /> Merc Service manual #6

 

[who]

Re: Prop up or down for earmuffs?

The manual is on order already, of course it doesnt help while Im out there putzing with the boat today.... I did give all the hoses a good look and everything seems to be in good shape. If it turns out to be a shaft seal, are these replaceable, or am I buying new cylinders?