Mercruiser 165hp Alpha One Outdrive 19' 1975 formula thunderbird
I removed all the oil lines to the outdrive to get the unit to lower
manually. I weight 250 lbs and was standing on the unit and it would
not drop down.I am looking for another way to drop the outdrive into the water. Can I attempt to remove the two bolts from the trim cylinders and undo
the two pistons so the outdrive will drop into the water ? >From past fall seasons my neighbors and I have kept our boats in the
water until november. i hate to get it out of the water early this
year. again, if anyone is near barnegat nj and would like to show me what I
am doing wrong please stop by. thanks sonofadocker |
sonofadocker
Sep 12
2006
|
| Disconnecting the cylinders above the prop will free the outdrive to
move up and down. But you cannot operate it with the cylinders
detached. It will go too far down and there will be nothing to take
the thrust of the prop. In order to run the boat you need to figure
out why the two cylinders will not go to the normal operating position.
You need to get them working or you need to idle to the ramp. 1975 is older than I have hands on experience with. I believe those
used a single hydralic line to each cylinder unlike the twin lines on
the more recent outdrives. There may be something else about that era
outdrive that needs to be checked. Such as a check valve or something
like that. Perhaps there are others on the newsgroup that have
suggestions. Or you can get a clymers for that year. sonofadocker wrote: |
jamesgangnc
Sep 13
|
| I have had a great spring/summer with the boat. Everything worked fine
for a 30 year old boat. I just needed to make a new engine box and two
new seat cushions for the back.
The weak hurricane gave us 12 inches of rain. My boat cover was brittle
and was ripped in shreds by the 60mph winds. I got water in the engine
which is out now. The boat wouldnt start do to moisture in the ignition
and carb. now it runs ok but needs another carb (carb float appear to
be shot). It runs rich. The ignition key stop working or the starter.
the trim pumps stopped working.The dash board gauges filled with water
and they to are not working yet.
I can jump the starter with a screw driver and it starts immediately.
I checked my trim wires. I only get a click when i hit the up botton.
No sound for the down button. I can make the trim solenoid click with
the screw driver but nothing else happens. My manual shows two trim
solenoids. I only have one for the starter and one for the trim. I also
see fuses in the book that are not present on my boat. This manual that
came with the boat appears to be newer than my 1975 boat.
I only undid one hydrolic line the other day to lower the unit. It
would not move and I was afraid of breaking something.Today or friday I
was going to try and undo all the hydrolic lines (two) and undo the
trim pistons. I will duct tape an empty bottle to each line so I dont
make a mess. I already made a mess doing an oil change last week !!
I just needed to know if anyone has done this before. Will it hurt
anything if the boat is used ? Of course I want to keep the boat in the water two more months but I
will go right to the boat ramp if the boat isnt safe driving with the
trim pistions not connected.
This is my first i/o. I have had outboards before. which i think i
might switch back to !! Thanks james |
sonofadocker
Sep 13
|
| I'm not familiar with the trim cylinders from back then so there may be
something about your setup I am not aware of. Youi can disconnect
things to see if you can figure out the problem. But in order to use
the boat it would be best to have the cylinders on and holding the
outdrive somewhere in the neutral range. And you will need to raise it
when you get to the ramp of course. I will agree that for age outboards generally hold up better. But 31
years is a long time for any engine system. |
jamesgangnc
Sep 13
|
| I think you would be more comfortable working this problem on the dry. Can
you get towed to your ramp?
Failing that try this. Disconnect the hydraulic line on the stern drive side
of the reverse lock valve, if there is such a valve on your boat. Disconnect
the other hydraulic line which should go directly to the trim pumpThe real
old drives had a reverse lock valve and a relief valve on the trim pump
resavoior. If you want to diddle with that stuff, you need to read your
manual. I honestly can't remember anything about them except that they exist
in the real old Mercruisers.The drive should drop down under it's own
weight, while oil squirts out of one of the lines.If nothing happens, You
need to stand on the stern drive and see if it will move. If not, jump on
it. Still no Joy? There is only one more thing to try. Disconnect the rear
ends of the trim cylinders. You might want to have an assistant in the boat
to hold the bitter end of a line that you have secured to the skeg.
Otherwise the drive will drop like a rock and potentially cause some damage.
Keep in mind that you can't run the boat in reverse with the cylinders
disconnected. If you still aren't able to get the drive down, your
driveshaft is probably rusted to the engine coupler.
Jim |
Jim
Sep 13
|
| Just to confirm, there is one or two lines from your tilt/trim pump
that go under the engine and out the lower area of the outdrive. You
disconnected these from the tilt/trim pump and the outdrive is still
stuck up? Bummer. Yes, the drive position is controlled by those two pistons, one on each
side of the drive. You can disconnect them at the end and the outdrive
will lower. You just have to disconnect the outside end of the
cylinder, above the prop. You can try one at a time and see if you can
get the cylinder to close by pushing on it. Normally if the line is
disconnected from the tilt/trim pump you can close the cylinder by
hand. The fluid will squirt out the disconnected line. The only explanation I have for what you are seeing is that one or the
other or both of those cylinders is frozen. All this worked ok before the storm? When was the last time you used
this boat?
sonofadocker wrote: |
jamesgangnc
Sep 12
|
