Tilt & Trim leak

[rich_benson]

I have a 1998 Johnson Tilt & Trim that is leaking from the top where the rod goes in. I picked up the o-ring kit and replaced o-ring, but still leaks. I am confident that I dont know which washers are used for the piston entry point. I looked at the exploded diagram on Johnson's web site I am still unsure of exactly which washer(s) are used, any help would be great.

 

[littletunny]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

What size motor do you have?

 

[rich_benson]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

1998 50 hp

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

Is it leaking at the trim rod or tilt rod?

It sounds as if you are referring to the tilt rod. If that is true, you will likely need part item #54, part #0390007 O ring package. About $17.41

 

[littletunny]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

There are 2 parts to the seal glands. The outer seal you see is the wiper seal which simply cleans the piston before the rod seal. The rod seal is the one you are concerned with and is leaking. The rod seal actually retains the fluid.

I took my seal glands to a hydraulic shop and they replaced the seals for me. The rod seal can be a little tricky to install. Make sure you install the rod seal in the correct direction. The lip should be on the bottom.

Also, the rod seal they pulled out was a very, how might I say this...nonrobust. They installed a much sturdier seal.

Make sure your piston doesn't have any burrs or nicks on it as this will reduce the seal life. Take your fingernail and run it up and down the piston. If your nail catches a nick or burr, it needs to be lightly sanded out with 1200 grit paper.

One final thing, my piston did not have a lead in chamfer to assist in the installation of the seal. The bottom portion of the rod is very sharp and can shear off a portion of the new seal, making it useless. Don't ask me how I know. Again, take some sandpaper and know the edge off to assist the seal as it can be tricky to get it started.

The brown seal is the weak OEM seal.

By the way if you have any more questions let ,me know. I have become way too intimate with a 91' Evinrude 48 tilt trim unit over the past 3 weeks.

 

[rich_benson]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

Awesome, thanks for the info and picture, I still am not confident I know exactly which seal, I know I have the wiper in place, but under that another seal shoudl be there? in the attached pic,
#23 is the wiper
#24 is a flat washer?
#21 I have no idea?

 

[littletunny]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

23 is the wiper seal

24 is the plastic spacer (the dark grey ring in the above photo)

21 is the rod seal

44 is the piston assemby.

****WARNING**** When you remove the piston assembly be very careful. There are 5 3/16" ball bearings and one poppet (among other things) as part of the assembly. All this stuff falls out when you remove the bottom nut. Be sure to place a dish or pan to catch the parts. I ended up loosing a ball bearing.

Here are all the parts that fall out!

 

[rich_benson]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

Thank you. Could you possibly take a picture of the rod seal, this may be missing in my kit.

 

[littletunny]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

The rod seal is the brown one in the first picture. I dont have a pic of the seal removed. Its not an o ring and has a square shap to it. It should be apparent in the kit.

How many pieces of rubber did they give you?

 

[rich_benson]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

I got alot of o-rings and a few flat washers, I will double check

 

[rich_benson]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

This is the only non-o ring item left in the kit, I am also going to remove the titl-trim piston now and take a pic of it.

 

[rich_benson]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

I think I see what happened, all i had was #21 on the top where the piston enters.

 

[littletunny]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

I am not sure I am following your last post.

Here is the deal. If they only gave you one seal (not o ring), its the rod seal they gave you. The wiper seal isnt that important which is likely why one wasn't part of the kit. The other o rings go to various parts of the trim unit. I am not sure if you are doing a total rebuild or just trying to fix the leak.

Let me know. If you are going for a complete rebuild I can help you locate where the o rings go.

 

[rich_benson]

Re: Tilt & Trim leak

Sorry, heres the deal, the diagram I was looking at on johnson.com was not actually the same trim unit I have. http://shop2.evinrude.com/ext/index.aspx?s1=1a70cd066b86e5bf2379dcad5dec7c77

There are 2 types of trim/tilts, one-way and two-way, the two-way uses 3 washers to comprise where the piston enters the cylinder. The one-way unit only has one wiper, like the one in your initial picture. The problem is I had that one wiper upside down, after I flipped it over the unit is not leaking. The wrong way had the channel in the wiper facing outward or away from the cylinder...the correct way is to have the channel facing down towards the cylinder. Also, an identifier is 4 notches in the wiper, those should be visible or facing away from the cylinder.

Thanks for all your help on this one! I couldnt have figured it out without your help and pictures to compare against.

Case closed.