Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

[thube]

Just bought a boat this summer with a 98 5.0 EFI Mercruiser and I believe an Alpha 1 drive. When checking things over as I was winterizing I noticed the fluid in the Trim/Tilt resevoir was white and I'm wondering if water got in?
If water got in can it freeze when mixed with the oil and if so what is the best way to drain and replace the oil?
Thanks

 

[dubs283]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

1998 = alpha one gen II

yep, the oil in the resivior is milky because of water contamination and it can freeze

best way to remove and flush oil is to remove line(s) from the forward connection on the trim ram(s) and run the pump up and down and lift.lower ther drive by hand and get as much of the old oil out

refill the resivior and run the drive up and down mulitiple times to bleed and repeat the process until no more milky oil comes out

merc recommends 10w-30/40 motor oil for trim systems

 

[90stingray]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

Yes suck out all fluid from reservoir refill and bleed system. Dont forget to keep adding more fluid while you are bleeding to keep from running the pump dry. Just fill with your favorite brand motor oil.

FYI- Water gets in the cap easily as it is vented by a small hole in the cap. If it's left outside uncovered... or when on when on the water people getting in the boat dripping with water both don't help. Mine had the same problem when i bought it. I made a cover over the trim pump assy out of some aluminum sheet to shed water. It has been working great. Goodluck.

 

[thube]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

Thanks I'm assuming the lines I need to remove are the braided ones on the out drive cylinders? Is the forward connection the one closest to the transom? Once I have the hoses off do I use the trim switch to get the oil out of the resevoir and raise and lower the drive by hand to get the oil out of the cylinders? Any idea how much oil I'll need to refill?
Thanks

 

[thube]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

anyone

 

[thube]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

bump

 

[Bondo]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

Thanks I'm assuming the lines I need to remove are the braided ones on the out drive cylinders? Is the forward connection the one closest to the transom? Once I have the hoses off do I use the trim switch to get the oil out of the resevoir and raise and lower the drive by hand to get the oil out of the cylinders? Any idea how much oil I'll need to refill?
Thanks

Ayuh,... That'll work, just Fine...

 

[spdracr39]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

Its best to suck out the oil in the reservoir first then refill with fresh oil. I'm not sure which you want do do first but if you take the lines nearest the transom on the cylinders loose with the drive up you'll get a nasty surprise and the drive could come down unexpectedly so be careful. Also be sure and don't let the reservoir go empty and run the pump dry. People have said that the cylinders can allow water into the system if they need resealing but I'm not sure how cause if they were leaking they would let pressurized oil out not unpressurized water in.

Here is a link that someone detailed the procedure to me a while back. I had another issue so I just let the shop do it while they had it.
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=444059

 

[thube]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

Thanks...Here's where I'm at. I pumped out as much of the milky fluid as I could from the resevoir...It seams like the resevoir has a divider in it...I could get the oil out of the part under the fill opening but the other side of the divider still had about 1/2" of fluid left (I assume it was the milky stuff.) So I refilled the resevoir ran the out drive all the way up then removed the lines closest to the stern to get the milky fluid out of the cylinders as the drive dropped. I did this several times ...I've got the milky stuff out off the cylinders..the resevoir is topped off and looks fine but I still see that 1/2" of darker fluid on the 1 side of the resevoir...Could that still be water that might freeze...any ideas on how to remove it?

 

[thube]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

I have cycled the drive up and down several times and the oil level is where it should be and no sign of milkyness. I still see about 1/2" of other colored fluid on the half of the resevoir oposite the fill hole. Should I be concerned?

 

[wire2]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

IF that's water, it should be removed, it will freeze. A simple way is get a 10' length of the clear/white ?" plastic tube for a fridge water dispenser. Put 1 end into the "dark" part of the resesvoir, and suck on the other end. As the water approaches your mouth, remove the other end, place it over a container, blow it out. Repeat as neccesary, top up the oil.

 

[thube]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

Do I need to take the trim motor off to suction out the resevoir? I originally sucked it out but could not seem to get to part of the resevoir, it seamed to have a divider in it

 

[thube]

Re: Water in Trim/Tilt resevoir?

If there was water still in the resevoir would'nt the oil turn milky again after cycling the drive up and down a few times?