tilt/trim position

[Captain Lucy]

Just read a thread about not running a motor in the raised/tilt position as it may "tear up a bunch of stuff". What can happen? What do you do in shallow water? I have been tilting the outdrive up in such a situation.

 

[Don S]

Re: tilt/trim position

With many drives, if they are tilted all the way up, the ujoints will hit (and destroy) the ujoint bellows, and the aluminum housing the bellows is attached to on the engine side.
Why some get away with it for a while, I don't know, but it happens. Then one day they try it again and thousand dollar bills go out the window.

 

[Bondo]

Re: tilt/trim position

It puts Extreme Stresses on the U-joints,+ their Yokes,.......
And the Gimbel Bearing,+ to some extent the Coupler.......

The Higher the rpms, the Worse it is.......

 

[Captain Lucy]

Re: tilt/trim position

I'm new to boating and completely surprised at this information! Should I have the outdrive all the way in when running on muffs? How about at a launch when warming the engine on throttle? I did not know about this tilt issue and have brought the outdrive up in shallow water. Is this an example of the kinds of information I could have if I purchased a $75 1997 Bayliner manual on ebay?

 

[Fishstick1962]

Re: tilt/trim position

Not sure what the bayliner manual will tell you. But the way to avoid possible/probable damage is to make sure your Trim Limit switch is installed and adjusted properly. And NEVER run the motor with the drive above that position. If I'm in water so shallow that my outdrive hits bottom, I kill the motor, tilt the OD up, and get out and push till I hit deeper water. My Alpa One limit is 20 3/4 inches pin to pin at max Trim Up. If you post your outdrive serial number I'm sure Don-S or BondO will tell you what yours should be set to. They are the real experts on here! Good luck Lucy.

 

[Don S]

Re: tilt/trim position

I don't have a clue what a $75 Bayliner manual is, but here are links to some free stuff that may help you out.
Bayliner Owners Manuals
Mercruiser Owners Manual It's a 2000 manual but basic information is the same. Look at page 32.
General Information on boating.

 

[Captain Lucy]

Re: tilt/trim position

Don, Thank you. The Mercruiser manual was exactly what I've been looking for.

 

[gkosel]

Re: tilt/trim position

My OEM OMC manual says that shallow water operation with the drive tilted up (as long as water inlets are still under water) is ok as long as you do not go over 1000RPMs.

It goes on to explain that any rpms higher then this will not actually increase the speed that much, but can definitely cause damage to the drive.

Is running with the outdrive up for short periods dangerous at any RPM or is it acceptable under 1000RPMs as the manual says?​

 

[RV-Dean]

Re: tilt/trim position

How high is to high?

my 05 Larson with a Merc 5.0 ltr and an Alpha 1 (1:62) drive has a soft stop in the trim up position that you have to depress the rocker harder to get it to the full up position. I never run past that soft stop and only pass it when trailering the boat with the ingine off. Any comments on my practice?