Trim motor maintenance

[gam101]

Greetings folks! (once again, newbie alert)

Been reading on maintenance for my motor & came across the interesting article below.

The author of the article recommends, "I use Yamalube Marine Grease because it?s made to withstand the saltwater environment, which I consider the toughest place for anything made of metal. I?ll just squeeze a little bit of grease on my fingers and rub it on the tops of the trim rams and their contact points on the bracket pads. You should do this on a regular basis."

My question is to the kind experts here is, if the applied grease on the rams (I am assuming those are the silver metal rods that trim the motor up & down) is going to get washed off anyway, where is the benefit of applying the grease? Seems like a temporary thing to my boat ignorant mind.

Lastly, can I use regular car ATF as hydraulic fluid for the trim motor?

Appreciate the advice.

-gam101

 

[alldodge]

Don't put grease on the rams, it will wash off, and even the wiper seal will scrap it off as it is pulled in.

 

[jakedaawg]

Would need to know what motor you have as far as recommended fluid goes. Some of the etecs use an expensive biodegradable oil.

 

[Chris1956]

I rub a bit of grease on the PTT rams, exposed bolt heads, and anything else that I want to keep rust away from, each winter lay-up. Mercs also have ball bearing ends on their trim rams. These get a bit of grease whenever I have the chance.

 

[gam101]

Appreciate all the replies. So as I understand it, the rams don't need grease for usual operation, rather just for storage. Correct?

Regarding use of ATF as hydraulic fluid; I just had some folks on here help me identify my motor. Here it is;

 

[Fed]

My outboard guy omc trained wacks a bit of grease on the ram ends then wipes his finger on the ram sides, he also sticks some on the sparkplug porcelain.
Can't hurt I guess.

 

[Chris1956]

Also, if the PTT motor is steel, spray it with a corrosion guard to keep it from rusting out.....

 

[clemsonfor]

The ram is thick chrome like most rams or rods from cylinders. It can pit over time. This is why on tractors some recommendat to store the loader so the cylinders are retracted. The wiper seal will wipe and grease off the rod when it first goes in but for storage esp on the water a thin coating of grease of something will not hurt but only help the exposed metal. It would just have to be done every time the ram is used.